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I was at a Christian high school this morning. Cool kids. We had some good discussion - I was both impressed with some of their thinking and yet disheartened by confusion that was so evident in others. You could say I'm becoming increasingly concerned about these environments. Whether it be high school or college, I'm finding more and more confusion with those attending these schools. Whether or not it's the school's fault I'm not ready to say, but I can say that people in these environments definitely have some of the same confusions and struggles going on.
 I'm concerned that they are feeling pressure to do everything a church ought to be doing in the life of an individual. And frankly, I'm not convinced they should be. How many chapels can a person sit through....really? There is no possible way people can apply all that information! Why are these mandatory? Really, why? Do we really think it's helping the spiritual growth of the students? Or, is there something else driving it? Why is it that college campuses higher pastors for the campus? Shouldn't the school have someone in the position for the purpose of connecting students to local churches? Without this, aren't we just saying that the church isn't important? We might verbally say it is, but through our actions are we not undermining our words by providing everything a church should be doing? Originally Christian colleges were started for the purpose of defending the faith. This purpose is long gone, leaving me to ask the question: why do they even exist? I'm not saying they don't have a role or purpose, but I think that question needs to be answered. Is it just a "better" yet more expensive education? Is it a marketing pitch - that is very effective by the way. Or, and I hate to even say this, is it just another way in which we've created a weird sub-culture that's great marketing? I know God has used Christian colleges in the lives of people. Shoot, I can attest to some of that myself. But just because there are some good things that come of it, doesn't mean we shouldn't talk honestly about some of the negative implications it's causing us today. This is a subject that is worthy of discussion - and possibly upheaval. Much more on this topic to come, I'm sure... |
Comments
i can't answer what the overall purpose of ALL christian colleges is in one comment that i haven't thought through, but I would like to comment on your questioning of chapels and campus pastors. i agree that requiring students to attend chapel can sometimes be counter-productive to the intended edifying purposes of the chapels themselves (simply because making them seem like a chore will cause students to have negative attitudes toward them, or cause students to just not pay attention during them), but on my campus i have noticed that, if nothing else, required chapels (mind you, we're not required to go to all of them - only a certain number per semester) help build a sense of community on our campus. we're all in this together. we're either learning spiritual truths and being challenged together, or enduring drudgery together. either way, i feel like it makes our little community just that much stronger and tighter. maybe this is only effective because my campus is so small, though (about 3,000 undergrads)... as for the campus pastor: yes, colleges should be encouraging students to connect with pastors of their own local churches. however, going back to the "campus as community" concept, if a campus is a community, then there are certain things that happen within that community that can best be understood and handled by a member of it. this is where the campus pastor comes in. he/she is like a spiritual head who can help students and faculty work through matters that occur on their campus (that maybe an outside pastor could help a student with, but he/she may not know the situation as well, nor be able to view the situation in light of what is best for the college community). also, wouldn't you agree that it's a good idea to have somewhat of a "spiritual overseer" (or more than one, ideally) for an institution that claims the name of Christ?
anyway, just some of my thoughts. and having said all that, even though i attend a christian college, i'm still not entirely sure what i think of them...
thanks Angelica. great thoughts! my question is really more of why aren't churches viewed as the community? why do we need yet another one? these college's can serve a real purpose, but if they are seeking to fulfill everything a church is, then there seems to be something wrong.
even if we say these schools being a community is appropriate. what happens when students graduate, now being disconnected from a local church for 4-6 years? i believe this is a huge issue we're facing today, for sure.
anyway, thanks for your thoughts! i'll be blogging about his more and more....
Hey Chuck,
I've run a young adult ministry for 5 years in New Jersey and I've read some good stuff from you over the years but I'm a bit confused here. Can you clarify your point? Are you concerned that Christian educational institutions are sheltering youth from a genuine opportunity to hone their faith expressions in the real world? Or that they might be burdening the kids with a lot of ritual and formalities where they could be encouraging relational skills to become people of God in all situations?
thanks
Joe