Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9507030082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Jeff Eenigenburg knew his prayer might offend some people.
Still, he is a little surprised that less than half a minute of his valedictory address at Roanoke's Patrick Henry High School's graduation has drawn as much attention as it has.
A newspaper commentary, an editorial and several letters to the editor followed Eenigenburg's invocation of God's blessing on his class "in Jesus' name."
His June 12 address was about "pride and love," Eenigenburg said. "If we show love, we can defeat the spirit of pride," which he sees as driving people to "put others down in order to build themselves up.
When he concluded his prepared remarks, he asked his audience to join him in an unscripted prayer.
"I think that's the thing that offended the most people, probably," Eenigenburg said, although he believes the entire speech - which quoted extensively from Christian writer C.S. Lewis - had a "flavor that was recognizably Christian."
"I didn't really want to offend others. I know what it feels like to be offended by others - people who take the name of the Lord in vain or cuss around me. I can hardly think of a person at school who hasn't done that.
"The only reason I thought I should do it is that I thought I had a higher priority to honor God. If I offended someone, at least that highest priority had been accomplished."
Eenigenburg said he consulted with only a few friends about the legality and propriety of his decision. He followed the advice of those who concluded that students have a right to pray "as long as it was student-led and not led by the school administration."
That decision seems consistent with recently adopted state Department of Education guidelines on student-initiated prayers.
School administrators first heard his speech during a rehearsal - which didn't include the prayer - shortly before graduation, Eenigenburg said.
"They warned me that if the speech was too discriminatory or too exclusive, some of the message I prepared might not be as well received as if I generalized. They didn't edit" the speech, and offered only that advice, Eenigenburg said.
Consequently, the top-ranked senior removed a couple of words from a Lewis quote that Eenigenburg didn't believe altered its impact, but may have made it less offensive to non-Christians.
Nonetheless, he was resolved to maintain the speech's spirit and to conclude with a prayer.
He had four reasons for that, he said:
``I felt that Jesus had put me in the position of speaking that night, and it was only proper to acknowledge him in the speech and a closing prayer."
``In John 16:23, Jesus says, `Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the father in my name, he will give it to you.' ... I wanted the blessing to be legitimate and, based on my beliefs, that is the way to legitimize it."
``Jesus says in Matthew 10:32, `everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my father who is in heaven.'''
``In reading Acts 5, Peter and the Apostles, when told not to preach, said, `We must obey God rather than men.' ... I felt the higher priority was to honor God with the speech and the opportunity to pray."
Eenigenburg knows something about Christian witnessing. His father, the Rev. Larry Eenigenburg, is pastor of Calvary Memorial Church, a half-century-old "independent Bible-believing" congregation in Roanoke. Larry Eenigenburg was called to the congregation's pulpit just six months after Jeff was born and right after graduating from Dallas (Texas) Theological Seminary.
Jeff Eenigenburg says his mother, Patty, led him to a "saving faith" in Jesus Christ when he was just 4. He was baptized - standing on a chair in the baptismal pool - when he was 8.
Since then, he has been telling others about his faith.
In high school, he joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes when his schedule allowed. He also participated in the "See You at the Pole" event early one morning at the school, joining Christian classmates in prayer for their teachers and each other as the school year began.
Eenigenburg said he also discussed religious matters with classmates frequently, between classes and during other free time. He said, he always cultivated an acquaintanceship before engaging someone in a conversation about religion.
Some who know him well, he said, "were surprised I didn't talk about religion through the entire [valedictory] speech. They had known from my four years at Patrick Henry I had strong claims on Christianity.
"I feel the Bible commands us to share our faith with others - not force it on them, but to share. That's all I've ever tried to do. I've wanted to make people think about my faith and theirs and make sure they've considered all the options."
Eenigenburg said he rarely encountered resistance to discussions about Christianity, but found that fellow believers "were the easiest to talk to, because we had something to share."
The 18-year-old will enroll this fall at Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, an evangelical Christian school whose alumni include both his parents.
"It was convenient. Both my grandparents live near there. And it is tuition-free. The only cost is room and board."
Eenigenburg - who says he wouldn't be surprised if he became an ordained minister - also was attracted by the school's music program. A voice student at Roanoke College, he plays guitar and sings in his church choir.
He's a fan of Christian rock bands Petra, Whiteheart and a new group called Jars of Clay. "I'd like to perform. It's just a matter of the Lord's will for me. If the doors open, that's the way I'm heading."
by CNB