A Last Lecture

In the fall of 2007, a Last Lecture by Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch went viral. His was a last lecture of necessity, as he was facing a terminal cancer diagnosis. Yet despite those painful circumstances, his talk on achieving childhood dreams was funny, poignant, and memorable, unforgettably illustrated by one-handed push-ups, a birthday cake, and a parade of massive stuffed animals.

In his lecture, he described his meeting with his boyhood idol and leadership guru, Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, and his unfulfilled dream to be an NFL football player. He acknowledged the lessons from football, suggesting that most of what we learn is learned indirectly, or by head-fake. He had also hoped to become an Imagineer at Disney, and told how a sabbatical season at Walt Disney World led to an on-going consulting relationship. The fulfillment of that particular dream was proof that brick walls are in our lives for a reason, for they let us prove how badly we want things. Perhaps my favorite bit of counsel from Pausch was on how we face our circumstances: “In life, you have to decide if you’re Eeyore or Tigger.”

Dr. Pausch didn’t invent the concept of a Last Lecture, for professors have been doing these for years. Before the age of YouTube, however, few had the overwhelming reach that his did – millions of views and still counting. Facing retirement or illness, preachers, political leaders, and philosophers have done the same thing, desiring to share words of wisdom with future generations. 

In that tradition, Ashland’s own Dr. Don Rinehart will give his Last Lecture on April 15^th at 7:30 p.m. He’ll be speaking on the topic: “Last Lecture: The Beginning of Wisdom” in the Miller Chapel at the university, and the community has been welcomed to listen in to his words. Rinehart officially retired from the AU religion department in 2007, but he’s continued in the classroom through this semester. Now, as he concludes his official teaching responsibility, he’s doing so with this final gift for all of Ashland.

I wonder what he’ll choose to say. As a Professor Emeritus of Religion, surely his final words will be informed by his faith, and will reflect in some way on the courses he’s taught in biblical studies, practical ministry and Christian education. Perhaps he’ll tell a story or two about the study abroad program in Germany that he and his wife Jan have led for many years. It’s also likely that he’ll share from his pastor’s heart. Will he sneak in the names of his grandchildren? If I was giving this lecture, the lovely Madelyn Simone would be mentioned for sure.

The concept of final words is ancient. Jacob blessed his twelve sons, as noted in Genesis 49:28, “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.” Words of farewell spoken by government leaders through the centuries have echoed those of Winston Churchill in 1955: “Never flinch, never weary, never despair.” Even Cinderella’s mother shared her wisdom, at least according to Disney’s newest version of the classic story, when Ella’s mother lovingly told her, “Have courage and be kind.”

Randy Pausch was a young father when he faced his personal challenge of a last lecture. As he concluded, he asked his gathered listeners if they had figured out his final head fake [the lesson from football]. He explained: “This [lecture] was not for you guys. This was for my kids.” As he wrote in his book of the same name, “I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children.”

Pausch’s children were quite young when he died, and so he was concerned with leaving them something of himself through his words. But we don’t have to put ourselves in a bottle to offer meaningful words or effective head fakes. We can model the courage and kindness that sustained Ella in spite of the cinders, Pausch in the face of aggressive cancer. Day by day, our integrity and care for others become our own last lecture, even without words.