Tuscola Commencement Address Transcript

The following is the transcript from the Commencement Address I gave at Tuscola High School's graduation, Wednesday, June 10, 7:00 pm, at Western Carolina University:



Thank you…
Dr. Garrett, School Board members, Principal McDonald, Administration & Faculty -- thank you for hosting this special time. And thank you to the class of 2009 for the honor and privilege of speaking to you tonight.

Class of 2009, graduation is about you! Graduation is a time for the world to come to a complete stop while every name is read, every tassel moved, every mother and grandmother can squeeze off a few more shots on her camera. Tonight you will receive your diploma – and there 'ya go. You're done! Tonight, the spotlight shines on you!

So when you receive your diploma, make sure you look at it closely. Make sure your name is spelled correctly, that there is actually a signature on this document. Make sure you didn’t get someone else’s diploma. And check on the back, too. Because on the back of your diploma are printed rules on how to live a successful life! You’re all set!

Not really! If there are rules printed there, they are in invisible ink. Squeeze some lemon juice on that diploma and hold it up to a black light. But it’s still not there. The development of your character is now your responsibility.
Someone once asked this question, "Would you rather be well known or worth knowing?" For me, it's the latter. Making a lasting impression on the people who mean the most to me is what really matters. I would much rather be remembered by a few dear people on rainy days as the friend who listened for hours in a coffee shop or on the phone --than have my name on a building or plaque for thousands of people to pass by and see. Being remembered as a youth pastor or leader matters less to me than being remembered as someone who was a good listener, gave great advice, showed good judgment, and really cared about what I did and who I did it with every day.
For most of you, it's been your parent’s job to worry about you late into the night. And they will continue to worry, to love you, pray for you, and encourage you. So will I! So will all these teachers, and administrators. But the big news bulletin that you need to read before you take off is this: YOU ARE A GROWN UP! It is your job to get up early, go to school or work each day, raise your family, and enjoy your life. No one will live it for you. And no one will pursue opportunity for you, on your behalf, like you can!
If you wake up one morning, and the fish are biting, you will have to load up and go catch them.
If you get a hot tip on a great job, you will have to send in a resume.
If your teeth hurt because you ate too many Skittles, and now you've got cavities, you will have to dial the dentist for an appointment.
You are the best person to chart a successful course for your life. – But YOU will have to make it happen.
Commencement doesn’t mean the end of anything, it means the beginning! Get in the habit of finishing what you start. An unfinished project is like leaving Legos scattered all over the floor. The podium, the spotlight, the television screen – are all reserved for those who have finished well. Parents, one day we’ll celebrate as we look to the evening news, or read a news article – celebrating the achievements of “our” Tuscola graduate. The truly successful person has formed the habit of doing things the failures will not do: Successful people don’t like doing them either, but their dislike is subordinated by their strength of purpose and character. Oswald Chambers once said, “Drudgery is the touchstone of faithfulness.” We might simply restate – Don’t avoid hard work, value it – and allow it to strengthen your character.

For the graduates of Tuscola High School, you should begin to set your course in a way that shows honor to this community. Continue to give your time, resources, and experience – lending a hand to Haywood County and Tuscola High School whenever you can. And wherever you go, be the kind of citizen that makes deposits into the well-being of the community. When you leave a place, people should notice. Make sure to weave your family into the fabric of your neighborhood, and lead your family in giving to the community.
You will find resistance in this world to being selfless and community minded. The Bible says “Those who measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves among themselves are not wise.” You can keep our nation from becoming a dog-eat-dog country. You have a role to play in lending a hand to the weak, the underprivileged, and – as the FFA Creed says so well, promoting ‘less dependence on charity, and more of it when needed.’ Though you have witnessed much taking in your lifetime, resolve to be the one who gives more than he receives. Yours will be the greater reward.

Class of 2009, once you have resolved to develop your own character, and to be a significant contributor to your local community, look up with your eyes and see your generation’s need to give aid to our planet. Your generation is my generation’s ‘Great Hope.’ And our hope tonight is that you will see yourself not as yet another transient tourist of the world and its splendors – but that you will go from an intellectual understanding of science, nature, and biology to an actual experience in the world as a global citizen. And that can be quite shocking!! Imagine it like this: from studying your science textbook, you understand that there is such a thing as gravity, and that it works in a particular way. Great! – Then you fall off a cliff. – Now you know what gravity is. Our hope is that you will KNOW the issues that affect planet earth in a way that makes you conscious of the effects of your decisions, and how millions and billions of decisions each day affect the environment, the economy, the spread of disease, poverty and global health. And we hope you will act in a way that makes this world a better place.
Your adversary in the quest for responsible global citizenship is straight-up greed! It’s easy be greedy!! Its’ been said that the only reason a great many Americans don’t own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy monthly payments! Fight greed by having a vision of financial responsibility – be charitable with your income, be a benevolent sponsor of the good things that are being done in our world, and you are sure to benefit from it.

Beyond personal, local, and even global needs that you need to be concerned with are the unresolved issues of injustice that plague society – the child who has no food, the suffering who cannot defend themselves…our American definition of poverty cannot compare to the injustice suffered by millions around the world. And the enemy here is apathy, an attitude that nothing can be done. But you, the visionaries, the stewards of progress and change, you have the opportunity to fight for the freedoms of the worlds forgotten. Vincent Van Gogh said, “You read books to borrow from them the force to stimulate your activity, but I read books searching for the one who has written them.” Understand that there is something beyond you and all that you can think or imagine in this world, there is a God of Creation who longs to bring justice, with compassion, to those who have been passed over.
In closing, I want to say to the parents and teaches of these amazing students, “Thank you.” From the community, from the world, thank you for your contribution to a better tomorrow. We’ve done these students no favors if we encourage them to discover what they can do before we challenge them to discover what kind of person they should be. And these students have been more than ably challenged to accept the highest callings, dream the biggest dream, and achieve the most daring feats this world has ever known.
Class of 2009, thank you! And God bless.

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