The Durant High School 2024 Senior Baccalaureate was last Sunday at the First United Methodist Church.
Speaker Jordan Hutchings graduated from Durant High School in 2015 and he has served five years as the youth minister at Redemption Church in Oklahoma City.
Hutchings earned a degree in Biblical & Theological Studies in 2019 from Oklahoma Baptist University.
He is currently pursuing a Master’s of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Hutchings is dedicated to deepening his understanding of theology. Alongside his academic pursuits, Hutchings is a committed husband to his wife Jessica and a father of two children, Everett and Wyatt.
Scott Mendez opened the Baccalaureate with a welcoming that was followed with a prayer by Colby Marlow. Tanner Piearcy led the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a performance of the National Anthem by Hunter Duke. Jack Burrage read scripture that was followed with another prayer by Brooklyn Sullivan.
JaLonnie Lawson and Braden Hamilton also read scripture and there was special music by Chloe Henderson.
Bellamy Knight introduced Hutchings, who spoke about the changes that begin after graduation.
“This graduation stuff, it is an amazing moment in our lives,” he said. “We’re moving forward with something much bigger that can also be such a moment of anxiety, worry and troubles for many people.”
He said that in the nine years since graduating, there have been countless things that happened that either had him celebrating his good luck or in tears from feeling unlucky.
“So many things in my life have been shrouded in uncertainty, yet I’ve gone into each of those assuming that I knew the outcome,” Hutchings said. “I went into college thinking I knew exactly how everything was going to go. I went into my first job in ministry thinking it would go how all of the pastors and books I had read said it was going to. I went into being a husband and later a dad thinking this was just another stage in life, I can handle this. No big deal. But in each of these cases, I realized quickly how little I could plan some things that was to come.”
Hutchings quoted scripture and said you cannot plan for what is to come.
“We should not look at the things that have happened to us and lament our misfortune or celebrate our good luck but search for the ways that God is moving and seniors, I can tell you for a fact that God is moving in each of your lives,” Hutchings said. “I can promise you that one day, you will look back on things that seemed misfortunate and will be able to see God’s handiwork.”
Hutchings encouraged the graduates to resist the urge to have their lives figured out.
“Ask any adult in this room if their lives panned out the way that they thought it would when they were in school, and if they say, ‘yes,’ they’d be lying,” Hutchings said. “But ask anyone who’s truly followed God’s plan for their lives, is it better than they ever could have ever imagined or planned themselves?”
“So give us more plans in favor of those made by the creator of the universe who knew you before your parents were even born and who knit you together in your mother’s womb.”
Hutchings spoke of attending a lecture recently at Lexington Prison. The inmates all had sentences ranging from 12 years to life, yet many of them are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in theology.
“I realized that everyone single one of them is there to learn more about God and what he has plans for this,” Hutchings said. “These men may never leave this prison, yet they’re so on fire for God that they’re desiring to see what God has plans for them next.”
Hutchings spoke of how the graduates are going to need the summer break after more than a decade of schooling.
“You’re going to need to recover for a while,” he said. “My encouragement would be to continue growing in wisdom and knowledge. Not only of the world and your immediate surroundings, but of God and His goodness as well, and finally, surround yourselves with a community of people that are pursuing God’s plan, God’s plan for their lives.”
Hutchings said that much like it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to truly support an adult.
“If you’ve got a church home, encourage your family and friends to joining your walk with God,” Hutchings said. “Keep learning, growing and finding ways to better your community through the changes that God makes in your life.”
At the end of the service, Kiwanis treasurer Darrell Mendez announced that $1,000 Spiritual Aims scholarships were being awarded to Eduardo Becerra from St. William Catholic Church and Taler Eggenberg from Fusion Bible Church.
The Senior Baccalaureate was presented by the Durant High School Class of 2024, First United Methodist Church and United Youth Ministries of Durant. Sponsors were the Kiwanis Club of Durant and Durant First United Methodist Church.
