By Melissa Overbeck
Staff Writer
Pepperdine campus minister Scott Lambert was not expecting an award. In fact, as he sat at his table at the National Campus Ministry Seminar final banquet, he was hardly paying attention to the presentation going on at the front of the room. He was suddenly called to attention when his friend pointed to the stage whispering, “Hey, I think they’re talking about you.”
Lambert glanced up at Pepperdine professor Rick Rowland, who was describing the winner of the 2003 Campus Minister of the Year award. A few seconds later, the room erupted in applause as Rowland announced that this year’s winner was in fact, Scott Lambert.
Although the award came as a surprise to Lambert, many Pepperdine students said the award was well deserved.
“Scott is unbelievable,” junior Lance Westfall said. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with as much heart…He has a genuine care for people and their walk with the Lord…I look at Scott and see a servant’s heart.”
Laura Pearson, an intern at Campus Ministries, agrees Lambert deserves a lot of respect.
“He relates to people really well (and) shows God’s love through everything he does,” Pearson said. “He’s been here for 17 years and poured his life into it. People in other ministries respect him because he is such an amazing person.”
Lambert is the ninth winner of the Steven Eckstein Award for Campus Minister of the Year. The award was created to honor campus minister Steven Eckstein, who served at Rochester College in Rochester, Mich., for 49 years. The recipient is selected every year by campus ministers from 100 schools throughout the United States and announced at the 500-person banquet at the end of each year’s national conference.
This year’s conference took place in early August at Kansas State University. Rowland, a past recipient and former Pepperdine campus minister, was selected to present the award.
“Rick is one of my mentors, so having him present the award was very special,” Lambert said.
Lambert transferred to Pepperdine as a junior in 1985 looking for a spiritual challenge. He wanted to go to a school where a wide variety of world views were represented and where his own would be challenged.
“I wanted to go to a Christian school where I would be put to work spiritually,” he said. “I liked the rough and tumble of having to stand up for what you believe in.”
Lambert found just what he was looking for at Pepperdine. In his third year, he accepted a one-year internship with campus ministries. Through that internship, he discovered his passion for ministry and went on to get a master’s degree in the field at Pepperdine. After his graduation, Lambert was offered the campus minister position on a one-year trial basis.
“We were supposed to meet and re-evaluate after a year, but we just never had the follow-up meeting,” Lambert said.
Seventeen years later, he is still enthusiastic about his job.
“My longevity is due to the fact that I work for a great church and great university,” he said. “I love what I do,” he said.
Lambert also has a passion for college students and the chaotic college lifestyle.
“College ministry is chaos. You have to love to embrace chaos and make something out of it,” he said.
He said his main goals in ministry are to be a spiritual friend and advocate for students and to have a long-term vision for creating a Christian community that God can work through.
Many students say these goals are what make him successful. Pearson, a senior, credits him with her spiritual development during her time at Pepperdine.
“Scott and the Campus Ministry program have been a lot of the reason my faith has grown so much,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot about Christian leadership from him.
“He taught me how to show God’s love to other people. He both ministered to me and trained me. He truly invested in my life.”
Junior Catie Royal said Lambert is more than a minister — he’s a friend.
“Scott is the type of person who actually wants to be your friend, no matter who you are or what your beliefs are,” Royal said. “He just has this charisma that makes everyone feel like they can talk to him, or not say anything, and he will still accept you. He is a big reason why I am still involved with the university church.”
Stories like these are what keep Lambert’s passion alive.
“I feel like I’m running on all cylinders,” he said. “I’m doing what I am supposed to be doing.”
September 18, 2003