The president and CEO of the world’s largest Christian-based mutual fund told graduates at the annual Baccalaureate service (held the evening before Commencement) that if they follow the acronym “VIP,” standing for the three principles of vision, integrity, and purpose, they could become a new sort of VIP — a Very Influential Person.
O.S. Hawkins, head of GuideStone Financial Resources, said each individual has been assigned and appointed to a specific area of influence.
“As you leave this place to enter the world, in every field of endeavor and service, this is my prayer for you — that your own area of influence may be greatly enlarged in our increasingly secular and morally declining culture,” he said.
Hawkins told graduates that if they live life without vision, they will have “little direction” and “influence very few people in the process.” Having vision, he said, brings “definition, design, direction, dynamic, and dependence upon God,” and integrity is
Integrity, Hawkins said, is “rooted in the private world, alone with God. And when we find it there, it will be reflected in our close relationships, reinforced daily in the work world, and ultimately revealed in the public world for God’s own glory.”
And when life is filled with purpose, “others will be caught up in your flow, and you can become a VIP.”
Hawkins has led GuideStone in managing more than $13 billion in assets and serving more than 250,000 individuals from churches, missionary organizations, colleges and universities, hospitals, and other nonprofit institutions. He is the author of more than 30 books, including the best-selling “The Joshua Code” and “The Jesus Code.” He has also served as senior pastor at two prominent churches: First Baptist Church of Dallas and First Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Before Hawkins spoke, President Jerry Falwell explained the rich history of the baccalaureate, a collegiate tradition predating the foundation of America, and how Liberty has remained true to the faith it represents even while the greater academic community — in spite of the biblical mottos etched in stone on many campus façades — have strayed from it.
He said one of the first things that he and his wife, Becki, noticed when he became president in 2007 was how Liberty students “radiated the love of Christ to everyone they encountered.”
“Our fervent prayer for Liberty University is that it will remain true to its Christian roots in perpetuity and that your children, grandchildren, and generations of their descendants will sit in a service just like this one and thank God for their Liberty University education,” Falwell said.
