THE SPRINGFIELDER December 1971 Volume 35, Number 3 "Great Things for His Kingdom" T 111: 11 \ 11':11'.10.\ to \\.rite for the special issue of The Spriilg- fielder ~~~il~lishctl in ~'011ncctio11 with thc 125th Anniversary of thc fr)untling of the Semil~arv brings great joy to my heart. I an1 sure that \\-licthcl- I sa!. it no\\. or at tho end of the years IF-hich the I-ord vs inc ill this world, I n.ill her-e to say that my years at Spril~gflclcl \\,crc. thc llaly~iest and most jo!.ful of my entire life. Here rn! chiItlrc~~ grc\\- to nlatul-it).. Here I sl3c11t elevcn years among good fricncl5, l~onornbl~ collcag~~es, interesting studcn ts, doing a tvork for \\.hivli I hacl al\\-i11.s l~rcparccl m!.sclf. On ;In occi~sion lilie this, of course, it gives one a chancc to 1001; bacli and rcinini~cc. I a]\\-ays enjoyed reading the accounts of the early 1iistor1- of tllc Selninary. I don't kno\\- of any institution in our church that ]ins hael a morc interesting and varied histor!.. The hulnor ant1 tllc l~athos, the . love and the controversies, the people an(] tlic. principles a11 play in togethcr to irlake a fabric of 1.ariecl colors ant1 clualit!., \\-hich is beautiful, tender and strong. 1 think \\-it11 grcat affection of Doctor Baepler, who \\-as instru- ~iictital ill 111-inging Inc to thc facultv; Doctor Beto, under ~vhon~ I scl-\-cd \\.it'll such jo\ and ~~ersonal affection; I>octor Kramer; Doctor Spicgel; tllc 111a111. Incn of the old guard Ivith ~rhon~ I aIn,a!.s felt zilch I;inship, as ;re11 as the men who joined the faculty during m!. sc1.c.n !,cars as pl-csidcnt. I regard all of them \vith affection itnd gr;ititiidc. .\~ld ~IIC'II tlicrc \\.ere the students. The\. Ivere a1n.ai.s intcrvsting, al\r.it!-s diffcrcnt, hut the basic ingredient tliat seelned to unite them all \\;IS their intc.grit!-, their devotion to their Lorcl and to His Church, tlicsil* gcliuillo attcction for 017~' another, and the open and frank \vav in \r,hich stutlents and facultv dealt \vith one another. \Ye sometiln~s hacl our tlitfcrcnccs, and occ~sionallv the differences were quite pro- nounccd; !-ct untlerlying it all was the sense of devotion to the corn- mon causc, ~~nmcly, the preaching of the Gospel of our Lord Jestis Christ. \I\ f,~lliil! alld I enjo!*ed our associations in thc Citv of Syrincr- hcld inbl-c tllitli 11cr11aps any place we have ever li\-e;l. \c feTt clcccptcd and lo\ed. The relations between the Seminary and the cornmunit! \vc.rc ;r jo! to all concerned. '1s I look back o\er thc years, I think of several things that were partic~l~~rl! ~igniticant. ~irst, of course, there was the constant clc\~elopn~c.~~t of tllc facult)r. There was also the steady growth of the studcnt bml!,. The achievelnent of accreditation was a matter of tre~nendous labor hut also of tremendous joy. My own part in the establishment of Lincoln Land Community College and Sangaillon State L'niversit! save 111~ greilt personill >;lti\f.i~~io~~. ;1li0 I bcJier.(> made a contribirhon both to the communit) and to tlic Sc~l~inarv. The development of the library and the othcr fncilitic of' tllc sc11&1, cr~lniinating in thc completion of a 1011s _:;II\-,I~~cc~ ;~cll!~i~li~t~-;ltioli building wcrc all causes of great satisfaction :ilicI rcioicing. 'The ti~ic and cordial relationship n.hlch existed betnclcn t 11.c inarj ant1 the pastors and congregations of the C'cntr:~l Illii~ois Ilistric~. \\crc something that gave p!cnsure to all conccrnccl. Ihc ollc~~~ics~ :incl frankness \i.ith \vhicli the faculty ancl sti~tlc'nts \\.<,ri;c~tl \\it11 onc. another, the mutual afFection and trust ~\.hich c~linr,~ctct-id our association \\-ere sonwthing that 1 \\-ill aI\\-a\% trc~ns~~t-c*. 1 belicl-c that n-e had at Springfield n rlevotion to olic iinothcr- ,111tl ;I trust in one another \vhich 1 onl!- wish existed to '1 yrcat1.r clcgrec tlirougho~~t oLlr belovctl S! ~lotl. I suppose no one can t.\.er tiilk about 5prinKtic.ltl ithoi~t nletl- tioning Lincoln, \\Tc a111 n!.s remcmberecl his ci11-I\ a3hoc i,~ tion5 \\ i th the campus, and I belie\-u that Li~lcoln ditl I~