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Christ@Center@HuntingtonWhat does it mean to be a Christ-centered university? |
Members of the Huntington University family have been invited to write a simple, two-page essay in response to the question,
“What does it mean that Huntington is a Christ centered university?”
Please feel free to read these essays, leave a comment, or submit an essay of your own.
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What does it mean that Huntington is a Christ-centered University? To me, it means that Huntington University is an institution that strives for integrity - a state of entireness, of wholeness in the education it offers its students. I believe for Christians this state of wholeness “can only be reached when every aspect of our human existence is submitted to the lordship of Christ.”[i] “Our Christian obedience extends beyond our personal spirituality and into the nitty-gritty of every choice we make each day of the week.”[ii] Continue Reading »
When John Cardinal Newman wrote … The Idea of a University in the late 1850’s, he was hopeful that Oxford might re-engage with its long Christian past and halt the relentless slide to secularization.
“FOR ME [US] TO LIVE IS CHRIST” (Philippians 1:21)
To me, Christ-centered refers not only to the core of the institution but also to the atmosphere in which all participants live. “In Christ” is their residence. Wherever they are found, the core of their being is “in Christ” and the atmosphere of their doing is “in Christ” (In Christ we live and move and have our being, Acts 17:28a).
Since the question is being asked, what does it mean to be a Christ-centered university, there must be something missing between what we say we are and the reality of what we are. I see the problem being this, we as individuals can accept Christ as our Savior and as we grow in Christ we become more Christ centered. The relationship is personal and life changing. Transposing an individual relationship with Christ to an institutional relationship with Christ is where the dilemma starts.
All year long, we have been reminded of our goal on campus to make Christ the Center at Huntington. We have visual reminders in banners and wristbands to remind us of the idea. We also have had chapel services and discussions based solely on what it means to be a Christ-centered university. We must strive to put Christ at the center of our lives spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically, but in order to fully comprehend this idea, we need to first understand what it means to be the center of something.
Students, faculty, and staff are the “stuff” of an educational institution, as John Sloan Dickey, the former President of Dartmouth College used to say. Further, the “stuff” defines the institution. I firmly believe that the “stuff” of Huntington University defines it as Christ centered and that every element within that “stuff” plays an important role in its impact on the world around it.
Christ declares in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth” and in John 18:37 “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me”. With these statements, He is rightly exalting Himself as the fountainhead of truth. He is not just a source of truth or part of the truth, but the truth. As He is the truth, we should seek to examine, know and understand all the truth He is.
First, to state the obvious: if being a Christ-centered university means that a Huntington University accounting graduate is unable to perform cost accounting but is armed to the teeth with how to debate eternal security at the office water cooler, a Huntington degree might be slightly-less prestigious.
On the first day of the first Bible class I took as a freshman at Lipscomb University, Dr. Mac Lynn challenged us with this thought: “True Christianity is having every area of your life informed by your faith convictions.” That very wise man’s bit of wisdom, which is written at the top of the first page of James in my Bible, has remained with me to this day. It constantly reminds me that we, as a Christian university, are more than just passive spectators; Christ called us to be active promoters for Him. His hands and feet. Moving. Doing. Exploring. Seeking.
I was asked to answer the question, “What does it mean that Huntington is a Christ-centered university?” By no means do I have all the answers to that question, but I am starting to nail down some areas that I believe are key issues when it comes to being an undergraduate student at a “Christ-centered” institution. The topic is so broad, so vast, and so diverse that it will indisputably mean different things to different people. Nonetheless, we, as called Christians, are all in the job of defining what “Christ-centeredness” looks like together. I have chosen a two aspects of college life—studies and relationships—for further exploration.
In Community of the King, Howard Snyder writes, “The church is the only divinely appointed means for spreading the gospel.” Christ created the church, and its mission is to go into the world and make disciples. Snyder contends that anything that isn’t the church, per se, is parachurch, a ministry working alongside the church to support its ministry of fulfilling the Great Commission.
As a professor in the Education Department, I understand the significance of the word “centered.” It is a common component of educational hyphenates. As an example, “learner-centered” education focuses on what the child needs to be successful in the learning experience. Similar concepts such as “child-centered” and “student-centered” have been around for more than a century, purporting the value of enticing learners to embrace and discover knowledge. This is not to be confused with “learning-centered” education, a position that is tenaciously focused on the outcome of instruction. “What did the child learn?” and “what should the child learn?” are the questions that are asked when the product becomes more important than the process. Each of these “centered” stances explains a component or perspective of the educational process at the exclusion of other points of view. No one has identified a “center” of education on which experts, practitioners and legislators can all agree. So policies and practices swing back and forth in an attempt to define the mission and find direction.
For me, Huntington being a Christ centered campus has meant a number of different things. As a junior and senior in high school trying to choose a college, I knew I wanted to only look at Christian colleges. That of course narrowed down my search immediately. To my surprise though, many colleges labeled “Christian” or affiliated with a denomination did not live up to what I had hoped to find at a Christian university. I soon learned there is a noticeable difference between an affiliated university and one that truly seeks to be Christ-centered. I was looking for a place in which it was made evident and intentional that Jesus Christ is the foundation of the institution. I was hoping to find a place where my academics and athletics were not compartmentalized away from my faith.
The question posed causes me to consider why a university should be centered on anything. Students might have varied reasons for pursuing a college degree, but we would likely conclude that they are all seeking something which they each perceive as being of value to them presently or in the future. Instructional faculty members likely define their purpose and process for teaching based on what they perceive is valuable to the students. The differences in perceptions are often significant.
For me, to be Christ-centered means that everything you do, say, and are about is focused on Jesus’ life and His Word. One without the others is not genuine. To be Christ- centered you must be solid in your beliefs, grounded in the truth of the Bible. It must permeate the person, and in this case, it must be the bedrock of the institution. Huntington University (sorry, I’m old school, it will always be College to me) has made a stand as this kind of Christ-centered campus, where the lives of it’s students can’t help but be impacted by the amazing calling that is to follow Jesus.
Coming to Huntington University, I anticipated growing in my intelligence but I did not quite realize how much my faith would be challenged. I have grown up in a Christian environment where looking back I can see that there was little spiritual development happening. Because of my decision to attend Huntington, I have seen several changes in my walk that I owe to so many people I am surrounded by. Christ is evident on the campus of Huntington throughout the classrooms, residence halls, chapels, and just the people that make up Huntington.
As an alum, a trustee for the past decade, and now denominational staff person, I have spent considerable time and energy reflecting on what it means to be a “Christ-centered” institution at Huntington University. The connectional nature of the relationship between the University and the denomination yokes us with a common concern: maintaining the primacy of being centered in Christ while having the academic freedom to explore the depths of the intrinsic revelations of Himself God has placed in every facet of creation and culture. The pursuits must never be seen as mutually exclusive or in competition. They are complementary in nature, the ends of one fulfilling the ends of the other.
My first exposure to Huntington University was through athletics, the Women’s Basketball program. I was raised on a farm in Huntington County. As a youngster, I played basketball, worked on the farm, participated in 4-H and attended church. As a middle school post player I watched with admiration as Heidi (Hosler) Lawson, played basketball at the high school. I attended the open gyms at the high school and played against the older players. Heidi graduated and played basketball at Huntington College. I pleaded with my parents to take me to a college game to watch Heidi play. That would have been the early 1990’s; I don’t recall now if the team won or lost the games but attending those games was my first exposure to Huntington College.
As I thought about what it means to be a Christ-centered university, I first wanted to find a definition of the word “center”. The definitions I found are as follows: the source of an action, influence or force; a point, place or person upon which interest and emotion focuses. To have Christ at the center of our lives means that we should be fully focused on Him, and our lives should be lived in such a way that reflects the values and principles that Christ taught in the Gospel.
Whatever directions you choose to enter Huntington University, the signs grab your attention: Honoring Christ in Service and Scholarship. There is no escape! It is a bold, commendable statement! From the outset the Institution declares what it stands for! In order to commence discussion of the statement: What does it mean that Huntington is a Christ centered University; one must pause to reflect on the meaning of Christ centeredness.
Structural Gnosticism and Little Omelettes
If you teach at a Christian college, you have to beware of something I call structural Gnosticism, the idea that some disciplines are inherently more holy or more important than others. The logic runs something like this: “If Christ is at the center, then everything else is at the margin. If Christ is of primary importance, then everything else is of secondary importance.” I don’t really buy that, and Art Holmes, thankfully, put the lie to this idea in The Idea of a Christian College (it’s on page 14-15). But still, it’s there. I like what Allen Ginsberg says in “Footnote to Howl” with his usual exuberance: “Everything is holy!”
As I have considered this question since being invited to share my thoughts I have continued to come back to one underlying thought. This is that for Huntington University to be Christ centered the people who are the University must be centered in Christ and centered on Christ.
To be Christ-centered at Huntington University is to receive God’s gracious activity and to seek opportunities to be gracious to one another. God has given us unmerited blessings and has been compassionate with us, his children. We respond to God’s graciousness by being peacemakers, ministers of reconciliation, merciful, humble, kind; by being gracious to one another.
Before my transition to Huntington, I lived in Fort Wayne, IN, for a year. While driving northbound or southbound on I-69 the Huntington University billboard would inevitably catch my attention. There was nothing colorful or vibrant about the billboard, but rather the words, Christ, Scholarship, and Service boldly emblazoned across the board pricked my heart. I juggled those words around my mind contemplating the meaning and value of those three compelling words.
A Christ-centered university believes that the life of the mind is central to the Christian’s activities. At Huntington we assert that all truth comes from God; because of that all truth is worth pursuing with the goal of knowing God and glorifying him forever. The key word in that previous sentence is “knowing,” and knowing is hard work.
A Christ-Centered University. This simple phrase communicates many things to a broad and diverse group of people. There cannot be a more noble and righteous claim than this. However, at the heart of it comes a certain necessity of humility and service. It is an idea that cannot merely be spoken and advertised.
Forty years ago this coming May I received my Bachelor of Arts degree from Huntington College. Although I had a great experience at Huntington, I couldn’t fully appreciate how deeply influenced I was by my education at this Christ-centered institution. 40 years later I am still being impacted. So…what does it mean to me that Huntington is a Christ- centered university?
What does it mean to be Christ-Centered at Huntington University? Hmmm, it doesn’t sound like such a complicated concept does it? One must simply be centered on Christ. Yet, how does one properly center oneself on Christ? At times it can be as confusing as telling a beginning actor that they must be “centered” before a performance.
Huntington University … founded and remaining Christ-centered! As an honorary alum of HU, that sure means a lot to me. But do most people care?
