Inside the minds and hearts of today's college students, we can see a glimpse of the how the next generation views our task of Christian engagement with culture.
Here at Union University where I teach, most of our students flow to us from the Baptist and evangelical families and churches of west Tennessee and the surrounding region. Most come to us with a Christian faith that is personally significant to them. They believe in Christ and want to live for him. They are eager to know what that life ought to look like as they reach adulthood.
For generations of Baptists and evangelicals, the “default setting” for a mature adult Christian includes a personal relationship with Christ, a vibrant devotional life, moral sobriety, church involvement and a commitment to evangelism and missions.
Evidence that this vision of Christianity has been successfully transmitted across the generations is apparent to me every time I step into the classroom. Certainly there is not a 100 percent “transmission success” rate. But I can report that human beings with these commitments are readily to be found in my classes. They are a joy to work with. I reflect often on my gratitude to God, parents and churches for all that they have done to nurture such young people.
One of the surest indicators of the kinds of people who come through our universities is what they voluntarily choose to do with their free time. I am regularly struck by the numerous Bible studies, worship experiences, accountability groups and book studies that are established by our students. I am equally impressed with the hundreds of students every year who go on mission trips to various places around the world. Many are also serving in local churches and parachurch ministries, often working with youth.
But there is a weak spot in this historic default setting. It is pretty widely shared among Baptists and evangelicals worldwide.
Beyond our commitment to evangelism, we have not consistently been involved in meaningful social and ethical engagement with the world. We have lacked a shared vision of the public ethics of the Christian faith. We have pieces of a vision, but not the whole of it.
This may be one reason why we have been so susceptible in recent decades to an uncritical embrace of various political ideologies. There has been a vacuum, and politics has moved to fill it.
One reason for this lack of a social vision is that many people still operate with the implicit belief that winning the world to Christ, one soul at a time, is the only way Christians will change the world. Personal evangelism is certainly a primary way God uses Christians to change the world, but it is not the only way.
I see hopeful signs that a broader vision is taking hold. Among the many options students can choose from to spend their free time, there are several student organizations on Union's campus that reflect broader forms of social engagement. Four of them are International Justice Mission, Friends of Ethics, Student Association of Social Workers, and Common Ground. And there are signs that more are on the way, offering hope that meaningful social engagement will be a part of the landscape as this generation matures.
International Justice Mission is “a Christian ministry led by human-rights professionals that helps people suffering injustice and oppression who cannot rely on local authorities for relief.” The IJM campus chapter holds events to promote awareness of gross violations of justice around the world, organizes prayer support for victims of injustice and those who seek to aid them, and empowers students with practical methods for pursuing a just world.
Friends of Ethics is “a gathering place for students who are passionate about a vision of Christianity that is actively dedicated to advancing the kingdom of God here on earth.” Students affiliated with this organization are involved in study, community service, and activism on various moral concerns.
The Student Association of Social Workers “assists in developing professional social-work identity and provides an opportunity to be involved in community service.” This organization has a long track record of serving the community and inculcating the practice of caring for those whom Jesus called “the least of these.”
Common Ground is “a student-led organization that seeks to improve campus unity by chipping away social barriers, raising intercultural awareness, improving communication, and taking the initiative on issues related to race, culture and society.” This organization emerged entirely as a student initiative and has played a key role in advancing the critical work of racial reconciliation.
Organizations like these—and the students who lead them—offer hope that evangelical Christians in the next generation will build on the best of our piety while extending it into a more consistent practice of Christ-centered service and activism on behalf of a suffering world.
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