Tomorrow, April 17, we remember the 50th anniversary of the safe landing of the stricken spacecraft Apollo 13. Most of us are familiar with the dramatic movie starring Tom Hanks which portrays how an amazing team of scientists on the ground worked with the astronauts in space to resolve what seemed to be an impossible problem. Even though pre-launch preparation was extensive, no one anticipated the explosion which virtually disabled the main spacecraft and left the crew without sufficient oxygen to complete their mission. Through creativity, hard work, and innovation, those on the ground and in space were able to devise and implement a way to bring the astronauts safely home.
The present pandemic, like the explosion on Apollo 13, was unanticipated and catastrophic. Leaders in government, business and education have scrambled to respond to this emergency in a way which would prevent civilization itself from crashing. We continue to pray that God will give them wisdom and humility.
As a member of the RTS family I have been concerned about how the pandemic might affect our beloved institution and have been amazed at the Apollo 13-like performance of our RTS team. I have been impressed and blessed by the creativity, innovation, teamwork, and servant-like faithfulness displayed by our administration and support staff (especially those working with technology and distance education). Their faithful efforts have enabled the mission of RTS to safely continue. I also thank God for our students who have been patient in the midst of transition and have even expressed appreciation for the efforts of the faculty and administration as we seek to repair the spaceship while it is up in the air. Our prayer is that God will bless all these faithful efforts so that our mission of equipping future leaders for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ can continue to thrive.