After teaching business law at Ohio State University for seven years, Rich Nathan turned to pastoral ministry. He's now the senior pastor at the Columbus Vineyard church, serving as primary teacher, overseeing staff, and training ministry leaders. He and his wife, Marlene, lead a kinship group for teenagers at their home every week. Rich enjoys sports, exercise, spending time with two children, Daniel and Sharon, and taking long walks with his wife.

When I was a business law professor at Ohio State, I once hosted a luncheon with other professors, with a time set aside for questions and answers. One young professor, without any sense of incongruity, asked me, "How can I live as a Christian in my university department without having it affect my prospects for tenure and promotion?"

I responded, "Whatever made you think you could live as a Christian and not have it affect your tenure? Didn't the apostle Paul say somewhere [Philippians 1:29] that it is appointed to you to not only believe in him but also to suffer for his sake?"

That response didn't scratch his itch. His question left me unsettled and shaken because it sums up why, despite so much religious activity in America, there is so little impact on the public square. Millions of American Christians are asking that professor's question: "How can I serve Christ without paying a price?" The simple biblical answer is, You can't! Whatever made you think you could?