Luke A. Corwin
SLAC, Ohio State University Office
2575 Sand Hill Road, Mail Stop 35
Menlo Park, CA 94025-7015
corwin.54@osu.edu
2005 Sep. 11
John Thomas
Boundless Webzine
Focus on the Family
Colrado Springs, CO 80995
Mr. Thomas:
I have been an active reader of Boundless for several years, but this is the first time I have ever written a response to an article. I am writing about your recent article “Gringos.” Before I give you my response, I should introduce myself.
My name is Luke Corwin; I am a third-year graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in Physics at The Ohio State University. My return address is in California because I am part of the Ohio State group working on the BaBar experiment, which is located at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in California. I believe my vocation is summarized in Psalm 111:2, “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.”
The office in which I work may be more of a “multiculturalist’s grand slam” than your experience in Mexico. Of the six people who occupy the office, two of us are Americans; the others are from Israel, Germany, Hong Kong, and Italy. Those postdoctoral students in our group who are currently still in Ohio hail from Iran and Great Britain, and my advisor is German. I mention this only to show that a foreign missions trip is not the only way to contact members of other cultures and nations.
I am writing because your article seems to contain some implications that, while probably unintentional on your part, I find discouraging. I realize that I may simply be projecting my own doubts, fears, and weaknesses into your article; if that is true, I apologize. If not, I pray that you will accept this letter as a humble and honest assessment of what you may have unintentionally communicated. I can break these apparent discouraging implications into three groups.
First, an implication that I find in “Gringos” and in much evangelical Christian literature is that some callings or vocations are inherently superior to others. Specifically, foreign missions trips, professional pastoral work or volunteer service are portrayed as the only legitimate callings. In nearly all of the stories I have heard and read about people finding their calling, other vocations or forms of gainful employment are mentioned only as worldly things from which the storyteller had to be separated, sometimes forcibly, to fulfill their true purpose.
Similarly, you wrote that most of the people you met in Mexico had sacrificed jobs at law firms, engineering companies, and (I surmise) The Gap. You quoted Sheila, who “wanted to do something that makes a difference” rather than spending another summer at her usual job. This seems to imply that one can “make a difference” only while one is sacrificing money and time to cheerfully physically serve others in a foreign environment. Is “making a difference” possible as an engineering intern, a paralegal, or even a Gap associate? Does the Kingdom of God not need well trained and dedicated engineers, lawyers, and even physicists? Luke 3:12-14 records an exchange in which soldiers and tax collectors asked John the Baptist, “what should we do?” He could have told them to quit their jobs and pursue more “spiritual” vocations, but did he not tell them how to live ethically and be witnesses within their current jobs?
I do not think I am arrogant or prideful to state that few people posses the gifts, talents, desire, and opportunity necessary to be a physicist. Few of them are Christians. I believe that God has placed me in this field to explore his creation and be a witness to my colleagues. Despite much encouragement from fellow Christians, I have never been able to fully free myself from the fear that my vocation is not legitimate. You article, while marvelous in intent, aggravated that fear.
Second, much of “Gringos” contemplates the stereotypical self-centeredness, passionlessness, greed, and insignificance of my generation. The group of students that you taught violated this stereotype by being missionaries to Mexico for the summer, and you gave them much well-deserved praise. You concluded that “they don’t speak for their entire generation, but at least for this group this summer, significance is in, selfishness out.”
This could be interpreted as saying that every member of my generation who does not participate in a similar mission trip is selfish and insignificant. I realize this was probably not an intended or conscious message, but I want you to be aware of it. I am probably not the only reader to react this way.
Do you believe that Christians can be passionate and selfless as individuals and as a generation in other less obviously servile and Christian settings? To paraphrase Paul in I Corinthians 12, if the brain were to say, “because I am not a hand that is mobile and that serves in a physically obvious manner, I am not part of the body,” would it be therefore not a part of the body?
I am passionate about Physics, and I have used my scientific skills to serve others in many ways. I have been a volunteer tutor for grade school and high school students in several cities where I have been in college or graduate school. I see this service as a natural component of my education and vocation, but it is not my primary reason or purpose for being a physicist.
Third, the phrase “get out of your comfort zone” may be the most over-used cliché in American Christendom. You used it once in your article to partially explain why your students change as a result of their experience. However, after hearing this cliché so often from the pulpit and reading it in articles like yours, young Christians may conclude that comfort is inherently sinful and should be avoided. Do you believe that conclusion is correct? If I am comfortable in a particular job or situation, does that mean I am doing something wrong? If we Christians intend to truly influence and transform our section of the world, do we not sometimes need to become familiar and comfortable in it? I realize that Christians often need to be in uncomfortable situations, but how often does that actually require spending hundreds of dollars and traveling thousands of miles?
In Mark 5, Jesus instructs the healed demoniac to go home to his people and “tell them how much the Lord has done for you.” Given the fear the crowd shows and the unbelievable nature of this man’s tale, his home may not have been in his comfort zone. So, this story is probably an example of how one can serve Christ out of one’s comfort zone without leaving home. However, the demoniac may have been grateful to return to the comfort of his family now that he was free, in which case Jesus was telling him to return to his comfort zone!
I am presented with many opportunities to leave my comfort zone for Christ’s sake while in my office or lab. In Physics, I have found that reactions to Christianity vary widely from curiosity to disdain and are often unpredictable. Simply stating my faith and its implications for the current topic of conversation can be uncomfortable. However, most of the time I spend in the office and lab are definitely within my comfort zone; I am doing a job and advancing a discipline that I enjoy. I believe that I am still serving God.
I hope that I have not rambled or whined too much in this letter, and I pray that you will not take offense at it. I share your deep respect for your students; they and those who pursue similar callings deserve the tribute you have given them and more. They are beautiful examples of selflessness and service. In this letter, I only ask you not to imply that they are the only examples.
Your brother in Christ,
Luke Corwin
Physicist, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
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