Blog

We caught up with one of our new Upper School Teachers, Mr. Brad Payne, in order to help the community learn more about him.

1. 1. Are you married? Kids?
      Yes, my wife, Elizabeth (“Buffie”) and I have been married for 41 years. God gave us one son, Aeryk, who is grown, married, the father of two sons, and lives here in Carmel.

1. 1. Where did you go to school?
      I attended Bob Jones University: BS Social Studies Education (’81), MA Church History (’83), and MS School Leadership (’92). I have also taken doctoral and seminary classes from BJU.

1. 1. What gets you up in the morning?
      To answer literally, it is usually my alarm clock, the precursor to coffee, Bible, and morning run. However, to answer what the question is truly asking, it is the opportunity to use another day to be “a servant of the Lord.”

1. 1. What are your favorite hobbies?
      I like my morning runs. I also enjoy hiking and most major sports. While it may seem somewhat of an odd hobby, God has given me numerous opportunities to act, and I consider acting a hobby. I also like to dabble in poetry, or perhaps more accurately, making rhymes, and word games and puzzles.

1. 1. What is one of your hidden talents?
      This question gave rise to my pondering: If something is truly a talent, should it be hidden, or, conversely, if that something should be hidden, is it really a talent? However, to answer the question, I am very comfortable in the water. I served many summers as a lifeguard, and I earned scuba certification.

1. 1. What is your favorite book and why?
      My favorite book is the Bible, which, yes, is comprised of 66 books. Of those, Proverbs would be my favorite. It is the instruction book for life. Outside of the Bible, perhaps no other book has impacted my life as much as John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. I find myself often returning to the illustrations there.

1. 1. How long have you lived in Indiana, and why do you enjoy living here?
      I have never lived in Indiana, so this will be a new experience for me. I was born in Utah, lived briefly in Newfoundland, spent most of my childhood in Ohio, and finished high school in Pennsylvania. Since graduating from college, I have lived in South Carolina.

1. 1. What meaningful event in your past significantly influenced your life?
      Apart from my coming to know Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, probably the one event that changed the whole trajectory of my life occurred my junior year of high school. A caring youth pastor took me on a college visit that resulted in my attending Bob Jones University. At BJU, I found God’s calling, met my wife, and became a dad. That trip put me on a path I would not have taken, a path that, to use the words of Robert Frost, “has made all the difference.”

1. 1. What historical figure would you like to spend a day with?
      Having taught history for many years, I have so many persons with whom, were I to have a time machine, I would love to converse. If, however, I had to narrow the field to one, it would be the Apostle Paul. I believe that a day with him would be exhausting and incredibly rewarding.

1. 1. What would we be surprised to learn about you?
      While I may appear comfortable on a stage or in front of a classroom or a camera, I am actually more of an introvert by nature and need to remind myself regularly that God called me to minister to others, not to sit quietly alone.