By Conrad Dudderar
Senior Staff Writer
“You are not a problem. You are an answer looking for a problem.”
Yukon High School’s graduating seniors heard that message several times as they were challenged to become a solution for God during Sunday afternoon’s YHS Livestream Baccalaureate.
The 50-minute service, livestreamed at Good News Church in Yukon, was presented by the YHS Class of 2020 officers and sponsored by the Yukon Ministerial Alliance.
Dr. Jon Chasteen, lead pastor of Victory Church in Warr Acres, advised Yukon’s graduating seniors that God has “positioned you to be an answer to a problem.”
Chasteen told each YHS Class of 2020 member they are not a mistake, not a problem and not a victim – no matter what anyone says.
Instead, each student is an answer.
“God is cutting you, crafting you to be the perfect fit,” Chasteen said.
At the start of his speech, Chasteen told his audience he wished life had a “Skip Intro” button like Netflix.
“There are problems coming,” Chasteen warned Yukon’s graduating seniors. “There are
going to be issues we constantly face.”
This year has been a perfect example, with the COVID-19 pandemic occurring in the final months of the YHS Class of 2020’s senior year.
The guest speaker reminded the graduating Millers they will face many questions in their life, with college, career and family.
“There’s always problems and you will spend your life looking for answers,” he said.
Chasteen challenged the YHS Class of 2020 to flip the narrative: “What if you are an answer looking for a problem?
“You ARE an answer. God has made every single one of you to be an answer to a specific problem.”
Chasteen, president of The King’s University in Southlake, Texas, has a doctorate in education from Oral Roberts University.
The speaker shared the inspiring story of Joseph from the Bible – how he overcome adversity to become a solution and an “answer looking for a problem.”
Sunday’s Virtual Baccalaureate attendees heard how Joseph faced “problem after problem”, having been placed in a cistern without water and facing famine, being sold into slavery and thrown in prison.
But Joseph had a servant’s heart and did not become a victim.
In Genesis, Pharaoh called for Joseph to be an answer to his problem.
“Be faithful in moments in your life when you feel life has imprisoned you on enslaved you,” Dr. Chasteen advised Sunday’s audience.
Yukon’s new high school grads are now enrolled in the “school of hard knocks” – and it’s difficult to graduate, the speaker noted.
“The school of hard knocks is so important to you becoming an answer,” he said.
Each student must be “carved into shape” to be a key that unlocks the door – but “cutting that key” to fit perfectly requires difficulty and hardship, according to Chasteen.
“Your adversity can actually become your advantage,” the speaker added.
SENIORS OFFER TESTIMONIES
YHS senior class officers participating in Sunday’s YHS Virtual Baccalaureate were: President Kole Frederick, Vice President Tayah Morrison, Secretary Peyton Novosad, and Treasurer Blake Gerber.
The annual pre-commencement religious service featured inspiring testimonies by
graduating senior Kyle Crow and Morrison, Class of ’20 valedictorian.
Crow, who will study to become a youth minister, talked about past challenges in his personal life. He went to high school “to party” but then “came to know Jesus.”
“It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey” Crow said in his testimony.
“It’s not about being married, it’s about staying married. It’s not about having children, it’s about raising children.”
Crow thanked everyone who had a lasting impact on his life, crediting all his teachers for their help.
In her testimony, Morrison told the audience that she “lives for God – not for earthly things.”
Sunday afternoon’s program included entertainment provided by Jaxon Roof, who sang a solo while playing acoustic guitar; and Kali Grizzle and Javier Camacho, who performed a duet.
The YHS Virtual Baccalaureate service closed with a video featuring remarks from YHS administrators and teachers.
YHS Principal Melissa Barlow told the Class of 2020 that Yukon will always be their home.
“Do what you love and love what you do,” Barlow said.
YHS Student Council advisor Darryl Andrews said the graduating seniors had represented the student body well while they showed leadership, character and class “all the way through.”
“Thank you for the legacy you left,” Andrews said. “Your future is bright.”
Tom Arnold, pastor of Good News Church, offered kudos to Yukon’s Wanda Gamble for helping organize the annual YHS Baccalaureate for the past 25 years.
“It has been an honor for me to have served alongside Wanda for 14 years,” Arnould said.
