Done, But Never Finished.
by. Scott Tjernagel
I am a grateful graduate of St. Stephen’s University. During my graduation exercises in May of 2025, my emotional state was a hard-to-put-into-words mixture of joy and sorrow. I found myself in a place of both laughter and tears, of letting go and holding on all at the same time.
When I registered for my degree program, I was quick to select the option of what I perceived to be a more tutorial style of graduate studies. Each semester I prepared for the two-week visit to the campus. My preparation alone in my home was propelled forward not only by the relevance of the material I was reading, but also by the anticipation of face-to-face encounters with fellow students and faculty. These very memorable visits were followed by a return to my home study where I wrote my final papers for each course.
This annual rhythm for three years was just what I needed to survive what we painfully began to name the COVID-plus years. Life in central Texas during these years was extremely disorienting to me, to my family, and to the church we were attempting to hold together relationally. The politics of COVID-plus began to tear our church community apart. In the chaos and pain of this disorientation, SSU provided a safe place for me to reorient my faith toward something worth believing in again. What I learned I was able to share immediately with a small group willing to hang together like the survivors of a shipwreck clinging to a small raft built from the debris of a sunken ship.
The time spent studying with SSU has left me with a debt of gratitude. Borrowing from Yahoo Scout, I feel “morally and emotionally compelled to honor the support bestowed upon me” by the students, the staff, the faculty, and the friends of SSU. My educational experience and graduation have “created a lasting bond of appreciation.” These feelings bubble to the top of my awareness on a daily basis. This debt of gratitude has created in me a moral conviction to do what I can to support the university as an alumnus.
There are multiple ways for the alumni to support SSU, but I have discovered the joy of tutoring others enrolled in the graduate study programs. Tutoring has given me a pathway to travel on with fellow students. I am invited to come alongside others who occasionally need a word of encouragement or a question asked at the right time. At the same time, tutoring is not just about the student currently enrolled at the university. It is the graduate like me who yearns to continue study being introduced to new ideas and thoughts expressed through the writings and conversations with the current student.
My dear fellow alumni, some of us are needed by some of the current students of SSU. I am asking all of us to consider the possibilities of helping others achieve what each of us has. Please consider expressing your debt of gratitude to SSU by serving a student or two each semester through the tutoring opportunities available.
Scott Tjernagel is one of several community leaders for The Sanctuary NB. In New Braunfels, Texas. With thirty-five years of service in Vineyard USA as a church planter, senior pastor, worship leader, and mission partnership leader, our local Vineyard Church after COVID made the decision to focus on loving our neighbors better. The Sanctuary is a house church where we grow a garden, tend to a flock of chickens, and participate in a rhythm of community life. We remain a center set ministry in hopes of providing a safe place for all to belong, become, and believe. Scott is married to Susan and our fiftieth anniversary is close. Scott and Susan have a family of three children and eleven grandchildren meaning we have a busy and full family life. Scott has both a Master of Theology (Dallas Theological Seminary, 1981) and a Master of Ministry in Theology and Culture. (St. Stephen’s University, 2025).