LTSP’s Board of Directors are in town. I’m excited. Can you tell that I am excited? I am excited.
I woke up early this morning, prettied myself up, and headed to breakfast early. When I arrived, a breakfast buffet was before me. Bacon! Sausage! Pancakes! Eggs! Fruit! EVERYTHING! When the board is in town, the food at the refectory improves. The lawn is cleaned up. The President tells all the students to behave. LTSP beautifies itself. The sun seems brighter, the clouds puffier, the sky bluer (except when it’s raining like today).
It is a good time to be on campus.
I know, I know – a common complaint is that the Seminary is not being honest with itself to the board. Should it not keep everything the same? Should the food options be as limited as normal? NO. Heh. The thing is, the board knows. They expect the place to be prettied. They expect the Seminary to put its best face forward. The Board is very good at talking to students to find out what is really going on and quite a few of them went to seminary at some point in their lives. One board member already discovered that none of the computers in the dorm, nor the communal tv, work and that the students used all the desks that are currently being stored there to build a fort. The Board understands.
It’s how I imagine the Seminary might be if financial resources were endless or if we all won megamillions twice a week for the next three years. But I think what’s really neat is that during the twice-yearly visits by the board, the education doesn’t get better. My classes aren’t more enjoyable. The professors don’t get smarter. The quality of the education is still really good. It’s just the things on the side that get nicer and I’m fine with the things on the side only being really nice a couple times of years. As long as the coffee is hot and good (which isn’t always true but hey, there’s WaWa), I’m pretty easy to please.
I have found that an assembly’s response to humor depends on several things. Size is the main factor — a big crowd laughs with less inhibition. Culture is another; some jokes are funnier to one ethnic group than another.
Here in Romania, preaching to a very small crowd from many places and with many native languages, I use very, very little deliberate humor. OTOH, I served in Uniondale for a while, to a group fitting just that description, and humor worked like a charm.
I’m still waiting for the opportunity to start the whole sermon with a proper joke and punch line. If it becomes a habit, you’ll know who I stole it from.