Dr. John Gration retired last year after twenty years as professor of missions and intercultural studies at Wheaton College Graduate School, Illinois. Before that he had served the Africa Inland Mission for fifteen years in Zaire and Kenya, teaching in English, Swahili, and French at Bible institutes and a seminary, and served eight years as an administrator at Mission headquarters in Pearl River, New York.

In an interview that began on the Wheaton campus and rambled on, "African style," through several other conversations, we talked with Dr. Gration about his bicultural teaching career and about his "deep, close, personal relationship" with Africa, which he has maintained by returning regularly to Kenya and Zaire to conduct seminars for the churches there. "I think it's imperative for us to keep mud on our shoes," he said, "so that we don't lose touch with our ministry."

OUT OF AFRICA

An African pastor who was visiting John Gration in his office at Wheaton College once said, "You know, that clock on the wall is your president. It rules you." "He was right," said Dr. Gration. "In America, we're time-driven. The meter is always up and running. We regard time as a commodity that we personally own. We say, 'Could you spare me a few moments?' Or, 'Sorry to take your time, but ...' In Africa, time is viewed as a common possession. People take the time to build relationships. They place a higher value on relationships than on formal contracts.

"In the United States most of us are individualistic," he continued, "shaping our lives around our personal preferences. We don't take time to develop and explore relationships; although, ironically, the generation of students I've been teaching at Wheaton is very relational. Too often in everyday life our approach to people is superficial and utilitarian, without the group consciousness that characterizes the African approach to life.

"This lesson about human relationships was one of the Africa, and one that helped me most in my time at Wheaton. Teaching is not just imparting information. A machine can do that. We have to interact with our students in a dynamic and personal way. And that demands total honesty, integrity, and a good measure of vulnerability.

"We shouldn't try to shield ourselves behind doctorates and other seemingly impressive credentials," said Dr. Gration. "We don't have to know all the answers. Rather, we should open ourselves, without embarrassment, to our students' probing questions and let them help us to create next term's lectures. We should be ready to share our mistakes with them as well as our triumphs. Students are quick to spot sham or superficiality. I let them know that I'm simply a person of God, not humanly perfect, but a pilgrim in progress."

RESPECT FOR OTHERS

"Whether teaching in Africa or in the United States," said Dr. Gration, "I soon learned the importance of respect for others. People are not machines, nor just scenery in our lives to be enjoyed. They must never be seen as a means to an end, because all people are part of God's creation and reflect His image. That means that I have to look at everyone as made in and reflecting the image of God—and that's an awesome responsibility!"

Dr. Gration told us that he never ceases to be amazed at the infinite variety of people and cultures. They all need to be accepted for what they are, he said, and judged by their own standards, in their own context. "Although," he added, "all cultures, including our own, ultimately must be evaluated by a divine standard. I love that saying: 'He who knows but one culture knows none.' I feel that we don't even understand our own culture until we've seen it in comparison with another culture."

In his study of other cultures, Dr. Gration has been saddened at so much evidence—especially in Africa, and in America's inner cities—of undeveloped potential. "I shall never forget being driven around in Zaire by a young man who had assembled the car we were using from the wrecks of two or three old cars," he continued. "Imagine what he could have done if he'd been able to study engineering at a famous American university like MIT and gone on to work for General Motors! So many kids in Africa don't even get to hold a pencil.

"And that brings us back to our responsibility. In my case, as a teacher, I am required to lead by serving. And the model is Christ Jesus: 'For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many' (Mark 10:45). So, the ultimate goal with people is to enable them to become all that God intends them to be—in the fullest sense of those words. I love the way J. B. Phillips expresses it in The New Testament in Modern English: 'We should consider the good of our neighbour and help to build up his character. For even Christ did not choose his own pleasure' (Rom. 15:2, 3).

"Our actions have got to relate to the good of others," said Dr. Gration. "I can't build anyone else's character, but I can help people build their own character. Everyone is a leader at some time. And we all need mentors—enabling us; empowering us; as in football, running interference for us; or simply sharing their life with us.

"But it goes deeper than that," he explained. "As a Christian, I naturally feel it's most important to invite others to come into a proper relationship with God, and encourage them to live life in obedience to Him, guided by His Word. This was always the essence of my missionary life—a firm commitment to the divine revelation of the Bible. And, although I've encouraged my students to read widely and have an awareness of the world about them, I've always insisted that this knowledge be brought under the judgment of the Bible. And I mean the inspired Word of the Bible, not just my—or their—'inspired' interpretation of it!"

LEARNING TOGETHER

Dr. Gration continued: "A colleague of mine put it well when he said, 'Good teachers prepare their students to face life's questions, rather than just giving them life's answers.' I've always liked that. We need to help them understand the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, and be inspired and impassioned with a sense of purpose about their own lives. I love to share with them in their pilgrimage, and for us to be learners together. Hopefully they're standing on my shoulders and learning from some of the dumb things I did, and are doing better!"

Dr. Gration does not hesitate to agree when asked whether he has confidence in the young people of today, including the so-called Generation X. But it bothers him that so many moral absolutes are missing today. "There are too many within the present generation of young people for whom life has no value. They have no religious roots, no fixed values, no Biblical orientation. I unashamedly feel we need a spiritual rebirth as a nation.

"Teenagers in Africa are also facing challenges," he points out. "Only, in their case it's the accelerated education that has loosened them from traditional family values, their tribal languages, and their roots. They can't go home to Grandma anymore. And, in their isolation, they're watching some of the same violent television programs and movies as American kids!

"However, I really do have hope," he adds. "And I'm grateful for the students I've been privileged to teach—and learn from. They are committed to God, and to serving others. They're doing a great job, literally around the world. For example, one of my students has been working for four years under adverse conditions in Mongolia. Others are teaching English as a second language in Vietnam and China. They know that each time you touch a life, the ripple effect goes out to other lives. I find nothing more exciting than helping people unpack their dreams."