By Hubert Harriman, FAS Speaker
In the stream of prayer concerns expressed these days, we seldom hear requests for Christian institutions of higher education, and for their leaders. They should be at the top of our prayer lists! Strong, sound Christian colleges/universities are vital to the Christian world, and to the world in general. With the coronavirus shutdown, and with other pressures already in play, these institutions are facing monumental challenges. Here are a few:
- There are four primary ways that institutions of higher education make money: tuition, auxiliary expenses (dorms, food, etc.), fund raising, and endowments. COVID-19 has threatened EACH one of these in its own way.
- Along with having to close classes early and reimbursing students for room and board costs, the coronavirus pandemic has also put many people out of work, creating questions as to whether some students will be able to afford to go back to school in the fall.
- Many are questioning the value of a liberal arts education, advocating rather for specific, quicker technical training, which they think is more practical. This is a growing trend.
- There is an alarming decline in evangelical church growth—what John Dickerson refers to as “The Great Evangelical Recession”—happening in America, which shrinks the pool of interested students.
- Potential “Equality Act” legislation, newly introduced, could make it financially difficult, if not impossible, for Christian liberal arts schools who take a biblical stand on LGBTQ issues to survive.
These threats are real and pressing. The question on the minds of many leaders working with Christian colleges/universities is how to navigate these waters. Will this fundamentally change the way it’s been done? We don’t know to what extent, but it seems changes are inevitable. Leaders will need to give serious thought to what this means and to earnestly seek Divine direction for these times. With God’s hand on these men and women who feel their roles are a divine call and not just a vocation, some exciting things can happen.
Dr. Kevin Brown, president of Asbury University, noted that the theologian, Stanley Hauerwas, once said, “A theologian is someone who is expected to understand every other discipline and its claims, but those same disciplines are not expected to understand theology.” To which Dr. Brown responds: “We want to do the opposite. EVERY student at a Christian liberal arts college/university should have a robust, Bible-inspired theological imagination (i.e., see the world theologically).”
These times demand, and are an opportunity, for Christian colleges/universities to clearly identify, affirm, and declare to the world around them the God-given reason for their existence. Their future will require Spirit-anointed thinking and creativity. It may look different, but God will make a way for the education of our young people and for those who care about their minds and hearts. Christian education, beginning with the training of the first disciples, has been the life-force of evangelism and world missions, bringing powerful, life-saving and life-giving changes in our world.
Let’s pray to that end for these days!