Educator lives example of a Christian life
Social media has been buzzing lately about the two-week revival which took place at Asbury University in Kentucky. Reports state that between fifty and seventy-five thousand people from across the globe attended the services during its run. For a town of six thousand people, this number of visitors had to be overwhelming. Despite this, there were zero arrests. There were also no fights or altercations. Imagine that. This fact alone makes me think God was in it.
The revival at Asbury sparked other revivals at several universities across the country. This gives the appearance many young people are excited about the Lord. As with anything to do with religion, there will always be skeptics. There will be those who say the entire thing was a sham. The odd thing is, the judgements will come from people who call themselves Christians. It will never cease to amaze me how we tend to judge everyone who doesn’t believe just as we do.
While talking with Dr. Richard Carnes at a memorial service for one of his students last week, he asked me if anyone ever said anything negative about using my column to discuss God and church. I told him there had been a couple of negative comments during the last eleven years. Only a couple. Those comments won’t change the message. There was a time I would have said negative comments don’t bother me. That’s no longer the case. They shouldn’t. But they do.
Our community is no stranger to unusual revivals. There was a time people planned their lives around revivals. Some still do, I’m sure. Just not as many as once did. I have heard stories of days gone by when the largest industry in town, Canton Textile Mills, shut down for local revivals. That is a remarkable testimony to the employees who worked in the mill at the time. It is also a testament to the kind of people who ran the mill. I wish I knew more about this to share.
Try to imagine this happening today. A large business shutting down for a revival service. Some people would go nuts. There would possibly be protest and unrest. That’s how much society has changed.
There was a period during my life when local revivals would often have numbers in double-digits being saved and baptized. Dr. Carnes and I have worshipped together in a few of those revivals. Those kinds of revivals seem to occur less often in current times.
For that I am sad. God hasn’t changed. People have.
When Creekland Middle School landed Dr. Carnes as its’ principal, they hit the principal lotto. Not only did they get an intelligent leader, but they also got a Godly man. He didn’t show up at the funeral for 12-year old Declan Smith out of obligation. He came because he loves his students. Dr. Carnes knows this tragedy could have happened to any family. He told me he couldn’t imagine what Declan’s father Adam, his mother Lizeth, his sister Danielle, and his brother Damian were going through. Neither can I. If Dr. Carnes could have done more for the Smith family, he would have.
As important as Dr. Carnes is to his school, he’s equally important to his church and his friends. The Bible teaches us to let our light shine. He does it as well as anyone. He can teach.
I’ve seen him lead singing. I’ve heard him pray. Most importantly, I’ve seen him on his knees in the altar praying for lost souls asking God for His gift of salvation. He will stay with them as long as it takes them to work it out.
You won’t find this information on his school biography. The school probably can’t include these kinds of things on their website. But I can. And I have. This is the man who leads your students at Creekland Middle School. Dr. Carnes also takes time from his busy schedule to send me the occasional text message. He will send a song, or words of encouragement, usually following one of my columns.
A lot of people would often confuse the two of us when we were younger. They would think he was me, and me him. Not because of our actions. His actions in life have been far godlier than mine. But it’s our perceived similar looks. I always took it as a compliment and played along. He probably wanted to crawl in a hole. Dr. Carnes has and is living a life his family is no doubt proud of. And while he can’t teach kids about Jesus at school, I can guarantee you he is living a Christian life in front of his students each day.
Someone once said, “We are the only Bible some people ever read.” If this is true, Dr. Carnes, my friend Richie, is well-worth reading.