Supplement to Lincoln Daily News.com
2013 Worship Guide
Page 11
Lincoln Church of the Nazarene
“We didn’t know who you were”
W
e’ve heard Thomas Wolfe’s well-
worn phrase often enough: You
can’t go home again. I suppose that holds
true for an alma mater as well. The cam-
pus you left however many years before
is forever frozen in time in your heart.
Meanwhile, capital campaigns have been
launched to build new buildings; profes-
sors who shaped your way of thinking
have moved on or gone on; and the cur-
rent students who now occupy what was
once YOUR space look awfully young — a
lot younger than you ever remember be-
ing. This point became crystal clear a few
weeks ago when I was visiting the univer-
sity where I received my undergraduate
education. A serious student, I managed
to cram a four-year degree into 11 years.
Part of the reason for my “extended” edu-
cation was that I was given the chance to
work full-time in the university’s main-
tenance department. My crew was re-
sponsible for fixing things like furniture,
remodeling and rehabbing living spaces
— like tearing up old carpet or laying
down new tile in dorm rooms and apart-
ments — building stuff, hanging pictures,
setting up for special events, and, well,
anything else the boss wanted done.
Quietly behind the scenes, we worked
together to ensure the campus was well
maintained for present and future stu-
dents. It had its share of frustrations, but
we took great pride in our work and gave
it our best.
Anyway, after leaving there more than 12
years ago, I wandered through the campus
on a recent break weekend with some fam-
ily members who still work there. Specifi-
cally, they wanted to show off the latest
addition to the facilities — a brand-new
student life center with a massive indoor
rock-climbing wall, Olympic-sized pools,
more fitness equipment than I’ve ever seen
assembled in one place and plenty of social
