The world has been obsessed with the U.S. presidency this year, and it has been a spectacle. But in the spirit of “all politics is local,” we’re going to focus on one way that RPs can change the world. A key part of world transformation, the Lord tells us, is how we train our children and youth. So here is an editorial about the Reformed Presbyterian college and especially its new president.

I have had the privilege of interviewing every Geneva College president who has served during the past half century, either while I worked on Geneva’s student newspaper, the Cabinet, or as editor of the Witness. They all had strong gifts for their calling, including new president Calvin Troup. But interviewing Dr. Troup was a different experience for me, because we worked together on Geneva’s student newspaper.

A college newspaper staff is a close-knit bunch, with editors often working through the night on deadlines. As we worked, we discussed our goals and dreams but also the goals and strategies of the college itself. To be on campus again talking with Calvin about Geneva’s present and future after a 30-year hiatus was a special treat.

Refreshingly, most Geneva athletes I knew didn’t fit the stereotype of the jock who did the minimum to get through school while focusing on sports. Calvin was a dedicated athlete, a serious student of God’s Word, and a guy who cultivated relationships. He was a thinker. He began as sports writer for the Cabinet, became sports editor, and expanded into the roles of columnist and assistant editor. He was a man whose thoughts deserved to be heard, and they were heard throughout campus via the newspaper column, “Calvin’s Commentaries.”

Despite Calvin’s maturity, he was just beginning to learn. Some of that growth is referenced in the interview on page 8 of this issue; some you can hear in his testimony, which you can find at the link mentioned in that article. Dr. Troup is a man who has borne heavy burdens in his adult life, and who has testified that Christ is beside him easing those burdens.

Geneva College is a unique institution of higher learning, as Dr. Troup is quick to mention. It is an institution where Christ is foundational and where eternal truths matter. You certainly don’t see Harvard and Yale going to the Supreme Court to protect the unborn.

A relatively small school like Geneva is setting a big example. And Calvin Troup is an exemplary graduate of Geneva College, someone whose accurate and comprehensive worldview prepared him for a wide-ranging life after college, a life dedicated to continuing to learn about God’s world while evidencing that learning in Christian character.

You might be an alum of a different school, one that brought great blessing to you; but I hope you will pray for our Reformed Presbyterian school, and pray for Calvin Troup as he leads.