LU accounting professor shares her testimony about Christ

Two minus one equals one thousand. That’s the way it works in God’s kingdom, according to Liberty accounting professor Charlene Geisler. Geisler highlighted how God’s plan will always triumph, even when his ways seem completely opposite of what seems rational.

Geisler grew up in a Buddhist and Taoist household in her home country of Singapore. Christianity was especially discouraged among her family and instead, they viewed many things around the home as spiritual and would seek to appease all of the perceived spirits so that they would have blessings in their life. Much of life was about working endlessly for blessings, and there was non-stop pressure to get to the top and become successful.

“It is really such a performance-driven type of society … because if you don’t do well, you kind of feel (like) you are worthless,” Geisler said. “Your identity is very tied to how well you do (or) how successful you are.”

Geisler recalls that when one of her friends in middle school asked her to come to church, she said no. However, God did not give up on her and continued pursuing her. About a year later, she got an invitation to go to a Luis Palau crusade and she decided to accept the invite. 

At the crusade, Geisler heard the gospel for the first time, and she was moved by the fact that Jesus did everything for her. No longer did she have to work tirelessly as her culture demanded, but instead she could rely on Jesus’ work on the cross for salvation. She responded to the altar call that day and as she walked, she recalls hearing the song, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,” underscoring her decision. 

Her parents were not pleased, and when they found out, she faced persecution from her family. She had to sneak off to church, was often disciplined for her faith and had to sacrifice several lunches in order to secretly save money to buy a Bible, knowing if her family found it, it would get tossed in the garbage. Yet through all of those moments, she believes that God’s grace sustained her. 

“As I grow in my relationship (with God), I really understand what God did to help me through those times,” Geisler said.  

God gave her a calling to become a professor and the desire to teach others and to constantly learn new things. After graduating and gaining some experience in accounting, she moved to the United States to get her doctorate, where she met her husband. She then returned to Singapore where she taught in several universities over the course of seven years, before subsequently returning to the United States and teaching for three more years. 

It was at this moment that God called her to step out in faith and leave her career as a professor behind in order to homeschool her children. This was a massive step in faith for her family because her husband was a full-time missionary and she needed to work to help support her family. 

“God provided for us during those years that I wasn’t working full-time,” Geisler said. “We actually (went) to more countries, traveled more (and did) more things than when I was working. In my accountant’s mind, it’s like two minus one equals one, but somehow in God’s kingdom, it’s like two minus one equals one thousand.” 

God eventually used her homeschooling to lead her to Liberty University. She discovered Liberty Online Academy while searching for a homeschool curriculum and enrolled her daughter in it. After attending College for a Weekend (CFAW) in 2019, she and her husband both felt a strong calling from God to move to Lynchburg and for her to come and work at Liberty. 

In the fall of 2022, God opened a door, and she began working full-time as a professor at Liberty. 

“When I first came … one of the things I remember, was I opened the class with prayer and that was such an amazing experience because up to this point, I (had) only taught in secular universit(ies) and in fact in Singapore, I (could) not mention Jesus at all,” Geisler said.

As a professor, Geisler intentionally emphasizes her faith by praying regularly for her students and sending weekly devotionals. She concludes that while any university can teach accounting, at Liberty, she has the privilege to also pour into students spiritually. At the start of every year, she shares her testimony and how God has led her down his path. She shares how, from a human perspective, her story may seem unlikely, but in God’s eyes, it was all planned out from the start. 

Freund is a feature reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on X