Mission-True Mentoring

MISSION-TRUE MENTORING

PREVENTING DRIFT IN CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

BY Jeff A. Jenkins | TRUSTEE OF FREED-HARDEMAN UNIVERSITY, WBS BOARD MEMBER

“Courageous Mission True leaders have stood unwaveringly upon the Truth of the Gospel. In all areas, they have demonstrated intentionality and clarity in retaining Christian distinctiveness. They are committed to Christ, first and foremost.” These powerful words from the book “Mission Drift” remind us that Christian education must remain true to the Word of God. The authors of this book further emphasize the need for accountability to prevent this drift and maintain faithfulness to the school’s original mission and purpose.

Mission Drift is real. We see it in colleges and universities around the globe. The list of one-time great universities that have abandoned their original mission is long and illustrious. Sadly, this can affect “our” schools as well.

Some of our Christian universities, founded on the veracity, authenticity and authority of God’s Holy Word, have strayed from their original purpose. The good news is that Christian families can help Christian education stay true to its mission!

Christian families must encourage Christian universities to stay true to the inspired Word of God and their original mission. The authors of “Mission Drift” remind us what it means to be true to God and His Word. “Mission True organizations know why they exist and protect their core at all costs. They remain faithful to what they believe God has entrusted them to do. They define what is immutable: their values and purposes, their DNA, their heart and soul … To remain Mission True is to adapt and grow, so long as that adaptation and growth do not alter the core identity.”

President David R. Shannon of Freed-Hardeman University reminds us of the importance of these years for our young people. “For generations, Christian higher education has helped bridge the gap between adolescence and adulthood, developing the whole person spiritually, intellectually and relationally. Flavil Yeakley’s research found that Christian college graduates were more likely to maintain their faith into adulthood than those attending state universities, and we continue to see this at Freed-Hardeman.”

Some argue that the cost is too great and the results are not adequate. When asked about the cost, President Shannon states, “When discussions focus only on cost, we miss the deeper value: we’re investing in our children’s spiritual lives, what they’re taught, who teaches them, and with whom they learn truly matter. Our Christ-centered approach makes us fundamentally different—we exist to ‘teach how to live and how to make a living, for His glory!’ It is also true that we are investing in the choices they will make during these formative years, about who they will marry and who will become their lifelong friends.”

It is not my conviction that it is the responsibility of Christian universities to create faith in the hearts of our children; that is the responsibility of the Christian home.However, we should at least expect that Christian universities will not remove, or even replace with doubt, the faith we have attempted for years to instill in our children’s hearts.

The college years are among the most formative periods of a young person’s life as they move into adulthood. They are developing their own ideas, beliefs, values, choices and decisions. During these years, they will be influenced mightily by their peers, and perhaps even more so by their professors.

Dean of the College of Biblical Studies at Freed-Hardeman University, Justin Rogers, explained how crucial these years become. “Christian education is needed because emerging adults are at the prime age to develop their faith and philosophy of life, and godly Christian instructors and fellow students inevitably shape and deepen a student’s spirituality. The world needs faithful Christians in positions of influence, and higher education is America’s
access card into those spaces.”

Those ultimately responsible for the Christian university’s commitment to the Word of God are the university’s trustees. Suppose they hire administrators who either do not know or do not care about their commitment to the Word. This will influence the hiring of deans, professors and other personnel within the university. Trustees have both the right and the obligation to know what is believed by presidents, deans of colleges, and professors, as well as what is being taught in the classroom.

It only takes one professor in a classroom telling students that the church and their parents have been wrong—wrong concerning what the student has been taught about the inspiration of Scripture, the uniqueness of the church, how one becomes a Christian, our worship to our Father, God’s plan that one man be married to one woman, human sexuality, gender and many other critical biblical matters to undermine a student’s spiritual future.

So, what can we do? First and foremost, we can pray for our Christian universities. We can pray that they will remain faithful to God and His Word. We can pray that those who have drifted will return to their original mission. We can pray for trustees, school administrators, faculty, staff and our students.

Christian families being aware of what our young people are being taught is imperative. We can and must insist that the trustees and administrators make wise, Biblical decisions. We can encourage our young people in our homes and congregations to choose schools that are true to God and His Word. We can be mission-true!