ASHLYEE HICKMAN
Living Editor
Senior Cambry Pardee just can’t help it: He is meant to be on college campuses. This realization serves as the driving force for Pardee and his quest of finding his vocation.
With his involvement in Campus Ministry, Pardee has learned to appreciate and enjoy speaking about the word of God. Along with fellow senior Chad Counts, he teaches the “More Questions Than Answers” class on Sunday mornings at 9:50 a.m. in the Appleby Center.
A student recovering from the toils of Songfest, Pardee finishes up his last year at Pepperdine. The next step: Yale.
What do you feel is your vocation?
I think my vocation is to be on college campuses. To me vocation is a lot less about a job; it’s about being where you feel the most comfortable, so I’d like to either teach do campus ministry.
What or who has influenced you in this decision?
The experience with working on Campus Ministry for two years, working with Linda Truschke has been a huge factor of why I want to do this. I can preach to adults and college students, but I can really relate to college students. Working with Campus Ministry made me realize that. Also the religion faculty here has really helped. They are so amazing. They’ve had an effect on me and I’d like to do the same for others.
You just got accepted into the Yale Divinity School. How does that make you feel?
It’s pretty amazing just because it was one of those schools where I didn’t think I’d get into. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I went up there to visit and there are two Pepperdine graduates who go there. I just sent in the papers [to Yale] saying that I’m going for sure. Every time I think about it I’m just blown out of my mind. It’s crazy knowing for sure. This whole thing is just frightening but exciting at the same time.
What is a common misconception that you are faced with in regards to being in the Church of Christ?
Most people our age don’t know about the Church of Christ or what they do know they got from their parents who may not know that much about it either. In the past the Church of Christ has been known to be very legalistic, but that’s changed a lot.
What is your game plan for the future?
For the next three years I’ll be at Yale. I’ll get my Master of Divinity degree and then I’ll hopefully move to a doctorate program. After that, I’ll teach in college campuses or start doing campus ministry.
Tell me about the “More Questions Than Answers” class you teach on Sunday morning.
“More Questions Than Answers” is great for a lot of reasons. We use the NOOMA videos, which are great because they are designed for our age group: they’re short, visual and relevant. I teach it with Chad Counts. We were looking for a class that was relevant to people. We don’t teach really, we just facilitate.
What additional element does the student involvement add to the class?
Student [participation] is a huge aspect. [The class] is based in small groups of four or five people. It gives people an opportunity to be more authentic with each other. When you’re in a group of 60 people it’s hard to do that.
What are your goals in teaching it?
I think that goal is to be relevant to people who come to the class. The people who come to class Sunday morning will come regardless of who’s teaching it. We just want to give them something that they can learn from, connect with and apply to their every day lives.
What inspires you to continuously speak about the word of God?
God transforms people’s lives, whether they know it or not, and it’s always for the better. I almost think it’s selfish to not [share God]. It’s such a joy to play a part in helping people’s lives being transformed that’s inspiration enough. I’ve watched people, who didn’t know God or were jaded by the church, come to an understanding with God and that’s huge. I do feel called to talk about God. In a raw sense, it is my vocation.
03-29-2007