Written by Scroll Reporter Raven in a Cardinal’s Nest

I recently interviewed Dr. Bryan Murawski, an associate professor for the school of divinity. He and his wife Janice are parents to four children and he’s one of the best professors Cairn has to offer–from his burnt offerings of Chick Fil-A to his students, to his atrocious dad jokes, to his passionate teaching of the Bible. If you haven’t met him, I recommend that you walk up to his little foxhole of an office on the third floor of the Smith Administration building for a chat. His heart to serve the Lord and the students at Cairn will make up for what his little office cannot.

A week or two ago, I settled into one of his quaint chairs in the corner as he sat patiently across from me with kind eyes and a mild smile that anticipated my inquiries.

“So, how long have you been at Cairn?” I started out with something easy, but I had a whole other Pandora’s box of deep questions to barrage him with.

“Full-time, just from last semester. So Fall of 2022. And I’ve been teaching here as an adjunct since 2014. I was a full-time pastor during that time and a full-time student elsewhere.”

“What’s your favorite thing to do?”

“I mean, I really enjoy writing. Probably out of anything I do, that’s my favorite.” He tilted his head to the side a little, eyes searching the floor as if for another answer. “I love reading and preaching.” He smiled a little wider. “They sound like really good Christian answers, right? But like my hobby, I’m a rockhound and I look for dinosaur bones.”

We went on with some more small talk including his fondness for Johnny Cash’s When the Man Comes Around, his right to pick on homeschooling because his kids have been through all manner of education, and his desire to be a fiction writer and pet store owner as a kid. But it was time to get down to the true marrow of things.

“When did you become a Christian?” I asked, intent on revealing the truth of the man within.

“I grew up in a family of Christians. They brought me to church all my life but I don’t remember living it until right before my freshman year of high school.” He sighed a little, probably recalling a time long past in his ancient days (time to enter the witness protection program). “I was one person in church and a different one at school. I did go to this one conference with my dad called ‘Promise Keepers’ and that is when the Lord really grabbed a hold of my heart.” He was fourteen when that happened, he’s now 37 (ancient, I told you).

“From that time on, things were very different. I had started a Bible study with a couple of my friends and it exploded to like 40 people coming in every week to study with each other.” His eyes widened as he told the story, almost like he can’t believe that the event happened. “I was leading that even though I had no idea what I was doing.”

“Who really influenced you as a kid?”

He jumped in without hesitation. “It’s my dad, number one. He’s a godly guy and he was a state trooper, so I got to see how he lived out his faith in a secular environment and at home. Even if our family wasn’t perfect, no one’s is,” he makes sure to add with a measure of seasoned wisdom. “I was still able to see good Christian values. Later on, some of the guys in this hallway.” He gazed out into the narrow hallway towards the quiet offices of his professor brethren. There was a deep fondness and respect in his stare.

 “What were your studies in college?”

“I did my Master of Divinity here and then a Ph.D. in Old Testament at Westminster. I think it took me about six or seven years of my Ph.D. work because I had four kids and was in full-time ministry.”

“What’s the most important lesson you’ve ever learned?”

“The most important?” He looked at me like I shapeshifted into an iguana. “That’s a lot of pressure for that question. Geez Louise!” Spoken like a true boomer.

“One of the most important?”

He digested this sentence easier. “I think the value of your individual relationship with the Lord, especially through the Word of God. Studying it, memorizing it, and getting to know Him through that. It’s not just one singular lesson but starting off your morning in the Word and using it as a basis for everything you do in life.” He switched to pastoring mode, but it wasn’t intimidating or cringy. It was the vision of a man who found his true hope and meaning in Christ.

“What’s your favorite thing about teaching?” I want to know because you couldn’t pay me a million dollars to get in front of a bunch of college kids and engage them for an hour and a half at 8 AM.

He was ready for this question since it is one of the most meaningful aspects of his life. “Just getting an opportunity to impact you guys in the time that you’re in, most of you guys being young adults that are just transitioning out of being weird teenagers into being weird young adults.”

Hopefully not that weird. I thought to myself.

“Being able to impact you in these super formative years, hopefully guiding you in the right direction, and seeing the fruit of that is really a special thing. It’s a humbling thing to be able to step into your life at this moment and have some kind of impact.” He thought about it a little more. “And I really just enjoy teaching God’s word every day too. To get up in the morning and know that I get to spend two and a half hours today just sharing the Old Testament with people, or talking about theology or whatever. It’s such a cool privilege that many people don’t have.” His face glowed like Moses when he came down from the mountain after speaking with God.

I smiled. These are the kinds of professors the world needs more of. We’re so blessed to have such a variety of them at Cairn. God truly has hallowed this place with intelligent minds and caring hearts and it is encouraging to know that most if not all our professors have this same kind of mindset. But I had one more question.

“So,” I positioned the question back like an arrow in a bow, “When you meet God, what do you want to say to Him?”

He surprised me with an answer as simple as one of his beloved quizzes (some of you might challenge me on this, but they’re really quite straightforward if you study the slides).

“Thank you. I don’t deserve any of what I have. The gravity of my own sin astounds me and the magnificence of His grace and love blows me away too.”

If you’re interested in more of Dr. Murawski’s thoughts and teachings, I would encourage you to take one of his classes or pick up his book Preaching Difficult Texts at the Masland Library. You will be thoroughly immersed in useful knowledge. I’ll leave you with one last quote from our most beloved Professor Murawski:

“We shouldn’t be wasting our life on the pursuit of money or fame or promotion. We should be spending our life doing spiritual things, seeking spiritual things, being a spiritual person.”