Next Gen Roaring Lambs

My Grandpa, Bob Briner, passed away in 1999.  I was 11 years old.  Eleven-year-olds don’t hold on to much that is not right in front of them, and my Grandpa’s legacy as an author and producer went largely unnoticed.  I lost a grandpa, and that was what was in front of me.  Fast forward to 2018, and at 30 years old I, for the first time, read “Roaring Lambs” and “Final Roar.”  It stirred something in me; it took a lot of what I had compartmentalized and meshed it together in a new way.  “It’s important to be excellent, for the right reasons, in the workplace, as it’s a direct reflection of your faith.”   It started a shift in how I approached my day to day running an assisted living facility.  It also changed how I viewed higher education, specifically Christian Liberal Arts. 

I had the privilege and opportunity to go through ROTC while at Spring Arbor University, and graduated with no debt (my wife, on the other hand, a different story). We knocked hers out, to the tune of $50,000, in less than 6 years, of which I am still incredibly proud. I was fortunate to have a Business Administration program presented by a group of professors who are excellent in their craft, and who presented coursework with a Christian perspective.  My professors, many of whom I still know, are incredible examples of being salt and light.  It was a perspective that I find invaluable.  However, as the years have gone on, I have had many friends, graduates from SAU and others, whose ‘debt’ stories are painful to hear (Tuition costs: another topic for another day).  It is a crippling way to start your adult life.  As my uncle says, is the milk worth the squeeze?  Where is the balance?

“How do you encourage young people to get a Christian based higher education given the cost association?”  A question I have wrestled over with many a good friend. 

 When Grandpa RAB (hereby referred to as RAB) passed away, my Grandma Marty, Mom Leigh and Aunt Lynn set up a scholarship at Spring Arbor University (my alma mater).  The Roaring Lambs Scholarship was set up for students in the School of Communication to write an essay on how they plan to be Roaring Lambs.  The award amount varied year to year, but was always a few thousand dollars spread amongst a few students.  A few years ago, when my grandma was no longer in place to help fund or review the scholarship requirements, I felt a nudge.  ‘Here’s your chance to put your money where your mouth is.”  The Holy Spirit?  My conscience after years of pessimistic discussion?  Both?  Probably.  So, I took over the funding of the program.   

The SAU Roaring Lambs Scholarship currently awards one student roughly $4,000 dollars every year.  Essays are submitted, and myself, my mom and aunt come to a consensus on who receives the award.  This year, we expanded the scholarship.  In an informal partnership with the Briner Institute, we aim to not just have a financial award, but to work to partner the recipient with a real-life Roaring Lamb who can work as a mentor helping guide the graduate in their field, in excellence, with a Kingdom focus.  It’s a small thing, my own small contribution to what is hopefully a sustainable model, but hopefully the start of something bigger.

RAB envisioned believers being in the world, being salt and light, and being excellent at what they do.  With your heart in the right spot, with a love for Jesus, and a focus on perfecting your craft, the world is exposed to a lifestyle that it is almost forced to admire, respect, and question. ‘What is different about them?’   The Roaring Lambs scholarship aims to help make the Christian Education pipeline a little more attainable and a little more effective and create a sustainable system where the pipeline takes care of itself and takes care of the world at the same time.

Bobby Ganton, Owner/Administrator, Arbor North and grandson of Bob Briner