Courageous and Faithful Learningby President Greg Christy

DAN ROSS

“Northwestern College is a Christian academic community engaging students in courageous and faithful learning and living that empowers them to follow Christ and pursue God’s redeeming work in the world.” What exactly does our mission statement mean, particularly “courageous and faithful learning?”

Our Reformed heritage proclaims “all truth is God’s truth.” That means we can courageously seek truth in every discipline without fearing the answers we might discover. However, it’s important to note that we engage students in courageous and faithful learning. Courage by itself could be reckless; faithfulness provides an important balance. This distinctive pairing sets us apart even from other Christian colleges. Our goal is not to teach students what to think but how to think within a Christian worldview.

This is not easy. It would be far easier not to touch certain subjects, but that would be a disservice to our students. Trying to be a faithful follower of Christ in a fallen world is messy, and there are a lot of gray areas. We want to prepare our students to enter this world and engage it, especially the messy parts.

One example of this approach is in the sciences. Many colleges, even Christian colleges, are uncomfortable exploring the intersection of God and science. While it may be tempting to avoid discussing the principles of evolutionary theory, for example, it would not be courageous or faithful. God is the creator of all things—including the way creatures evolve and change.

A model for integrating faith and science is Dr. Francis Collins, a committed Christian who leads the National Institutes of Health after having invested years in the human genome project. Our professors have encouraged students to read his book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.

A year ago, I heard Dr. Collins speak to a group of Christian leaders. He challenged us to wrestle with some tough questions: Is it possible that in creating the world God did so in concert with some of the things we have learned from science? Should we use stem cells to improve or even save the lives of others? Answering questions like these requires the kind of brave faith Collins demonstrates.

Our desire is for Northwestern to be a safe place where students can challenge themselves and seek answers to some of the hardest questions. Courage and faithfulness is a fine line to walk, and we will make mistakes as we try to achieve just the right balance.

Perhaps British theologian Charles Spurgeon best summarizes what we are trying to achieve: “Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong. Rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right.” We covet your continued prayers and support as we seek God’s truth together as a Christian academic community.