Starting a New School Year at a Christian University
What makes Christian higher education genuinely Christian? At Spring Arbor University, the answer begins with a community of learners committed to pursuing truth under the lordship of Jesus Christ. There is something special about the beginning of a new school year.
Here at Spring Arbor University in Michigan, our campus has come alive again. Students walking to class. Professors meeting new students. Athletic teams competing. Friendships beginning. Chapel brings the community together. And somewhere on campus, I am fairly certain there is a freshman walking confidently in exactly the wrong direction. We have all been there.
But the beginning of a school year at a Christian university gives us an opportunity to ask a much deeper question. Why are we here? More fundamentally, what exactly makes a Christian university Christian? Is it simply a university with a chapel? Is it a regular university where professors occasionally add a Bible verse to a PowerPoint presentation? Do we take conventional higher education, sprinkle a little Christianity on top, and call the result Christian education? I hope not. Christian higher education begins with a fundamentally different proposition. Jesus Christ is Lord. Not just Lord of Sunday morning. Not just Lord of Monday and Wednesday chapel. Not only Lord of theology and biblical studies. Christ is Lord over all of life, and therefore all of learning. That conviction lies at the heart of the Spring Arbor University Concept.
A Community of Learners in Pursuit of Truth
The Concept describes Spring Arbor as a “community of learners.” I love that phrase. Not a gathering of professors imparting information to students, but a community of learners. That means professors are learners too. Believe it or not, even distinguished professors often discover something they did not know. Please do not spread that around too widely. But that is part of genuine education. Teacher and student come together in pursuit of something greater than either one of them. Truth.
For the Christian university, truth is not something we make up or manufacture. It is not determined by opinion polls. It does not change because an idea becomes fashionable in the culture. And it certainly is not established by how many “likes” something receives on social media. Truth ultimately finds its source in God. Jesus declares in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Consider the magnitude of that claim. Christ does not say, “I know some truths.” He says, “I am the truth.” That changes the purpose of education.
Christ as the Perspective for Learning
The Spring Arbor University Concept contains another remarkable phrase. It describes our educational mission in terms of a “total commitment to Jesus Christ as the perspective for learning.” I spent much of my life in higher education, and I find those words profoundly important. Notice what they do not say. They do not say Jesus Christ is one perspective among many. They do not say Christ is an extracurricular activity. They do not say we study biology, history, economics, law, literature, psychology, and political science exactly as everyone else does—and then attend chapel afterward. The Concept says, Jesus Christ is the perspective for learning. That means our faith should influence the questions we ask. It influences our understanding of who we are as human beings. It influences what we believe about truth, goodness, justice, beauty, freedom, and responsibility.
The Christian studying biology does not have to fear scientific truth. Quite the contrary. Psalm 19 tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” If God created the universe, then studying creation is one way of examining His handiwork. Study mathematics and we encounter order. Study physics and we discover a universe governed by astonishing regularity. Study biology and we encounter the extraordinary complexity of life. Study astronomy and we discover how very small we are. Study history, and we confront both the dignity and the fallen nature of humanity. Study business, and questions arise about stewardship, honesty, and the proper purpose of wealth. Study nursing and medicine, and suddenly the dignity of the human person is not an abstraction. It is lying in the hospital bed in front of you. Study education, and we confront the extraordinary responsibility involved in forming the next generation.
Study law and government, as I had the privilege of doing for many years, and we encounter questions about justice, liberty, authority, human dignity, and the Rule of Law. Every discipline eventually reaches questions that cannot be answered just by asking, “Can we do this?” Sooner or later, someone must ask, “Should we?” And that is where worldview matters.
Education Is Never Worldview-Neutral
Sometimes we incorrectly hear that Christian universities bring faith into education while secular universities remain neutral. But in reality, no worldview-neutral education exists Every educational institution begins with assumptions and presuppositions. What is a human being? Where do rights come from? Does objective truth exist? What constitutes justice? What is freedom? What makes something good What gives human life value? Those are worldview questions.
Scripture gives us a starting point. Genesis tells us that human beings are created in the image of God. That single truth holds enormous implications. It means the student sitting quietly in the back row all semester possesses inherent dignity. It means the student athlete possesses dignity regardless of whether the scoreboard says victory or defeat. It means the person with whom we profoundly disagree possesses dignity. Our worth is not bestowed by government. It is not bestowed by a university. It is not bestowed by social status, intelligence, wealth, athletic ability, or the number of followers we have online.
Human dignity comes from our Creator. That is one reason Christian education produces something increasingly rare in our culture, the ability to disagree without despising one another. Serious intellectual inquiry occurs at a Christian university. Students encounter difficult ideas. They ask hard questions. They test arguments. They learn how to distinguish an assertion from evidence and rhetoric from reason. Christian faith should never require us to fear a difficult question. After all, if God is the author of truth, what truth are we afraid we are going to discover?
The Renewing of the Mind
Romans 12:2 instructs us: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” That is a wonderful verse for the beginning of an academic year. Notice that Christianity places tremendous importance on the mind. We are commanded to love God with our heart, soul, strength and mind. Christianity is not an excuse to retreat from thinking. It is a call to think faithfully. Academic institutions too often teach students what to think. Christian education must counter the culture and teach them how to think. How do we evaluate evidence? How do we recognize a bad argument? How do we distinguish truth from propaganda? How do we listen fairly to someone with whom we disagree? How do we defend our convictions without demeaning our opponent? And, are we willing to change our minds when truth requires it? That is intellectual humility. And humility is a Christian virtue. A Christian scholar should be different. We pursue truth confidently because truth exists. But we pursue it humbly because we are not God.
Knowledge Is Not Enough
Another danger exists in higher education. One can become very knowledgeable without becoming very wise. Those are not the same thing. Knowledge concerns apprehending what is true, what we can do. Wisdom helps us understand and apply truth in accordance with God's purposes, what we ought to do
Proverbs teaches, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” A university can graduate brilliant people who lack character. History has certainly supplied enough examples of that. Producing competent accountants, teachers, nurses, scientists, business leaders, pastors, coaches, and lawyers ought not be the primary purpose of Christian education. We want excellence, certainly. Christians ought to pursue excellence. But our greater calling is to form men and women of Christian character. People who tell the truth when lying is easier. People who keep their promises when breaking them is profitable. People who defend the vulnerable when remaining silent is safer. People who exercise authority as servants rather than tyrants or masters. People who understand that vocation is about faithful service to our God and our neighbor. Colossians 3:23 puts it beautifully, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord.” Whatever you do. Teach. Study. Coach. Practice medicine. Run a business. Write software. Serve in government. Raise a family. Practice law. Repair an automobile. Create music. Whatever God calls you to do, do it faithfully.
Critical Participation in the Contemporary World
That brings us to another important part of the Spring Arbor University Concept. It calls us toward “critical participation in the contemporary world.” Those words belong together. Participation means Christians do not retreat from the world. Jesus did not tell His disciples to hide from society. He called us salt and light. Salt must touch something to influence it. Light must shine into darkness to illuminate it. But the Concept does not just call for participation. It calls for critical participation. That means we do not simply absorb whatever the culture happens to believe this year. Again, Romans 12 warns us: “Do not be conformed to this world.”
Christians should neither withdraw from culture nor surrender to it. We engage it. We examine it. We appreciate what is good. We challenge what is false. We defend what is true. And we do so with courage, humility, and love. That is precisely the kind of graduate our culture desperately needs.
A Challenge for the New School Year
So, as this new academic year begins, I would like to offer our students a simple challenge. Do not waste these years. Yes, earn the degree. Yes, prepare for a career. Yes, go to the soccer and basketball games. Make lifelong friends. Enjoy late-night conversations. Drink some coffee. But do not settle for just obtaining credentials.
Ask God to use these years to shape who you become. Seek truth. Develop wisdom. Practice courage. Learn humility. Serve others. And above all, know Christ. Because eventually the textbooks close. The examinations end. The diploma goes into a frame. The career begins. And someday even the career ends. The ultimate question is not, “What did I accomplish?” It is, “Was I faithful?”
An Education Worth Pursuing
That is what makes the beginning of a school year at a Christian university so exciting. Beyond beginning another semester, we welcome another generation into a community of learners. We pursue the liberal arts. We seek wisdom. We prepare men and women for meaningful vocations. We encourage critical participation in the contemporary world. But holding all of those things together is the conviction that makes Christian higher education genuinely distinctive, a total commitment to Jesus Christ as the perspective for learning.
Paul writes in Colossians that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” All the treasures. Not some. And so, to our students beginning this academic year: Ask questions. Work hard. Think deeply. Make friends. Serve others. Do not be afraid of difficult ideas. Do not confuse cultural popularity with truth. And do not allow four years of education to just fill your mind with information. Allow Christ to transform your character. Because the world does not need more educated people. It needs educated men and women who possess wisdom, courage, integrity, compassion, and faith. Men and women who know what they believe. Who understand why they believe it. Who can engage people who disagree with them. And who possess enough courage to stand for truth, and enough humility to do so in love.
That is an education worth pursuing. That is a university worth building. And that is a new school year worth celebrating. To everyone beginning a new academic year, students, professors, staff, administrators, and, yes, those parents still recovering from move-in day, welcome back. May this be a year of learning. A year of service. A year of wisdom. And above all, a year in which everything we do points toward Jesus Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
