The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 48, Ed. 1, Friday, March 22, 1985 Page: 3 of 10
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Optimistfriday march 22 1 985
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This Is pmt one of a three-
prt series on how our educators are educated.
The professors tell of past experiences that have
given them a unique perspective to teaching.
WmKtell Broom assistant professor of Bible
left th mission fit ids of Africa for a different sort
of mission in Abilene. His mission here was to
teach to share what he had learned as a mis-
sionary and to prepare others to go into the mis-
sion field.
Broom a scholarly-looking man with a gray
beard and wire frame glasses casually leaned
back in the creaky chair at his desk in the Mis-
sions Center as he explained about his travels in
Nigeria Africa and how his experiences have af-
fected his teaching.
As ha talks about his travels and work in Africa
Broom seoms to feel at home among the African
ornaments and mementos he's collected and put
in his office. A colorfully decorated hunting bow
hangs on one wall and small statues and other
souvenirs sit among the books on his crowded
shelves.
"My wife and I came to ACU because we found
a great many people in the mission field who did
not have adequate preparation" Broom said.
"After (earning a lot of things the hard way by
doing them wrong and finding better ways to do
them I felt I could accomplish more by coming
back here and preparing people to go rather than
going myself."
Broom said his experiences in the mission field
have enabled him to tell prospective mission
students about some of the things the mis-
sionaries have done right in methodology in
Africa and some of the things they've done
wrong. "I can teach with insights that come from
being on the field and seeing it happen" he said.
His experiences have enabled him to say to
students: "I've been there. I saw it happen. This
Is the way we found it to be."
But even with his years of experience in the
mission field Broom said teaching about the work
can be difficult because he can teach only basic
principles. The best learning comes from actual
experience.
"We're really shooting for fundamentals In mis-
sions" Broom said. "I can't teach a guy how to
speak a particular African language but at ACU
ve can give him some basic principles of
linguistics so when he gets there he can find out
how to speak it."
"I can give him anthropology" he said "and I
can give him church growth. I can give him cer-
tain fundamentals so when he gets there he'll
recognize the problems and find his own
answers but I can't tell him what he'll find in each
tribe."
Broom said he has gained considerable insight
from his missionary experiences to relate in his
teaching but he has gained much more than that.
He's grown spiritually.
"When you get into another culture you have
the very disturbing experience of asking yourself
'How much of what I believe is because I'm an
American and how much of what I believe is real-
ly biblical' " Broom said. "And can you really
be biblical In very non-American ways?" He said
through the process of answering questions like
these he (earned about himself and the Bible.
For example he explained sometimes the mis-
slonarlee have to deal with people who are still
worshipping idols unlike most situations in the
United 'States. Missionaries have to see the dif-
ference between idol-worshipping people and
third generation Christians who worship God
regularly and adjust the mininstry to suit the
peoples' spiritual needs.
He said the process includes learning how to
recognize where people are in their spiritual lives
and learning which parts of the Bible should be
used to deal with them.
Broom said he's also 'gained a deeper ap
preciation of many biblical messages and truths
especially In the Old Testament. Because
Nigerian missionaries deal with many people who
come from idol-worshipping backgrounds he
said he has a broader understanding of things the
Old Testament prophets said about idols and idol
.worship.
Even though Broom's been teaching at ACU for
most of the past 15 years he plans to return to
Nigeria. He took a two-week trip in January to set
up plans for some evangelism and foliow-up work
on World Bible School correspondence work he'll
do there this summer. And after about another
year of teaching here Broom and his wife plan to
return to Nigeria to work for a year.
They want to go back to work and learn but he
said he feels like they have another family in
Nigeria. When he and his wife go back they see
people they baptized or helped go to school. "We
have some deep personal ties because ve were
deeply involved in people's lives" he said.
Those deep personal ties are what it's all about
for Broom. He involves himself in the lives of peo-
ple wherever he is but his mission is always the
same - to see that souls are saved.
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 48, Ed. 1, Friday, March 22, 1985, newspaper, March 22, 1985; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth96166/m1/3/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.