Outrageous Ideas
Donald Opitz
April 21, 2008
Why Are We Students?
We study in order to
Understand God’s Good Creation
And the Ways sin has distorted it
So that, in Christ’s Power, we may
bring healing to persons and the created order
And, as God’s image-bearers,
Exercise responsible authority
In our task of cultivating the creation
To the end that all people and all things may
Joyfully acknowledge and serve
Their Creator and true king.
Derek and I have enjoyed fabulous fellowship on a number of different campuses in the past couple of months. One or the other or both of us have had the opportunity to visit with students and staff and faculty at Kent State University, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Messiah College, Huntington University, North Central University, Calvin College, Bethel University, The University of Minnesota, Westminster College, and we connected with students from all over the place at the CCO’s annual Jubilee Conference. Most of the students that we’ve talked with are Christian students, and here is what we’ve been noticing as we’ve talked and observed:
- While church involvement does not appear to be a high priority, these students do gather to sing, worship, and learn about their faith in other venues. Most have no strong commitment to a particular Christian tradition, but rather are “generically” Christian and are earnest about their faith.
- Few of these students have been discipled in any very vigorous or consistent way. Their youth groups were lots of fun, but without much substance. The vast majority of these students have not read a substantive book about Jesus or theology or the Christian life in the past year, if at all. Nevertheless many of these students do yearn to go deeper, if only they could find a mentor (one of their favorite words) who would help them.
- Almost none of the students that we’ve encountered can articulate a clear connection between their faith and their field (their academic discipline), unless of course the student is a bible or ministry major, and they are pursuing that calling precisely because they discern the obvious connection.
- Most of the students that we’ve talked to don’t just want to get a job to get by. They want to find meaningful work, ideally work that will enable them to connect their faith to their investment on-the-job.
I could add a few more observations to my list, but this is a good start. And this short list helps to explain why students have responded with curiosity and hope when we have presented the brief motto or mission for the Christian student above. Students are unfamiliar with church creeds, but having some kind of statement is appealing to them. They haven’t read much theology, but this sounds biblical and comprehensive and world-engaging. They can’t articulate the link between faith and field, but they sense that that is exactly what they need to do in order to integrate their often fragmented lives. And these students want to live with purpose, and they know that the purpose has to be big and that it has to be pursued for the well-being of others.
We encourage you to begin to frame your life as a student according to the themes of this motto—creation, fall, redemption, image of God, responsibility, healing, culture—so that you will be equipped to frame your entire lives by these themes. It won’t make your life easy, but it will make it rich and challenging and ultimately fulfilling. We think that is what students are really looking for.
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