Spring 2014 Christian Union The Magazine

Q&A

HARVARD LAW

Five Minutes With Eric Metaxas

Theologian Speaks To HLS Students

Christian Union the magazine :: spring 2014

Ivy League Spiritual Climate The latest from Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton & Yale Seeking God Jonathan Edwards: A Man of the Word

christianunion.org

Special Section: Prayer & Fasting 40-Day Initiative Mobilizes Believers Nationwide

::

page 12

2014

God is Opening Doors for Impact

spring

Culture Changers

1

Pairing intellectual rigor with spiritual formation, Gordon-Conwell equips students to take the gospel wherever god leads them.

Our 20+ degree programs include: Master of Divinity Master of Arts in Counseling Master of Arts in Biblical Languages Master of Arts in Theology Master of Arts in Ethics and Society Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation Master of Arts in World Missions and Evangelism

Learn more at www.gordonconwell.edu/degrees

130 Essex Street, South Hamilton, MA 01982 1 800 428 7329 | info@gordonconwell.edu www.gordonconwell.edu

table of contents

volume xiii issue ii

Christian Union

the maga zine :: spring 2014

in e ach issue Letter from the President / 3 Five Minutes with author and speaker Eric Metaxas / 5

14

What’s Next / 24 Alumni Profiles / 58

6

45

6 Prayer & Fasting

spring 2 014 fe at ure sec t ion The Power of Fasting / 8 Princeton Alumni Impacted by Fast / 9 The Importance of Prayer and Fasting / 10 Two Kinds of Hunger / 11

12 From the University to the City

This Magazine is published by Christian Union, an independent Christian Ministry.

............

cover photo

By Phil Anema

cit y chris tian union New York City Christian Union / 25

28 The Spiritual Climate in the Ivy League

updat e s fr om e ver y iv y l e ague univer si t y Love and Fidelity (Columbia) :: Fighting Human Trafficking Lecture (Cornell) :: Internet Addiction (Dartmouth) :: Music, Suffering, and Transcendence (Penn):: Humans at Princeton :: Keeper of the Flame (Yale) :: News-in-Brief from Each University, and More

christianunion.org

the maga zine

::

............

univer si t y chris t ian union updat e s Brown / 17 Columbia / 17 Cornell / 18 Dartmouth / 19 Harvard / 20 Penn / 20 Princeton / 21 Yale / 22

2014

ChristianUnion.org Twitter.com/ChristianUnion Facebook.com/Christian.Union

spring

on the web

Alumni Profile: Putting Faith into Action / 14 Student Profile: Life Change at Cornell / 15

1

Christian Union

sponsored by princeton faith and action

P R I N C E TO N R E U N I O N S 2 0 1 4

T H E

Christian Union Activities Friday, May 30 - Sunday, June 1, 2014

M A G A Z I N E

volume xiii issue ii spring 2014 editor-in-chief

executive editors

Matthew Bennett

Dan Knapke Lorri Bentch

managing editor

creative director

senior writer

staff writer

field reporters

Tom Campisi Patrick Dennis Eileen Scott Catherine Elvy Luke Foster

Brian Zhang Molly Michaels

f r i d a y, m a y 30 faith and cultural change

The Impact of Christian Leadership Development 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Prospect House, Second Floor, Room E

Christian leaders matter. Get an inside look at the model that prepares more than 400 current Princeton students to lead from a Christian worldview. Princeton Faith and Action (PFA) students will share how Christian leadership development at Princeton has impacted their lives. Matt Bennett, founder and president of Christian Union, and Tim Adhikari, Christian Union ministry director at Princeton, will participate. Refreshments served.

worship and celebrate god’s work

Experience Encounter 8:00 p.m. – 9:15 p.m. McCormick 101 Auditorium

Gather with fellow alumni to worship God and to hear testimonies of how He is working in the lives of both alumni and students.

Reception follows in McCormick Lobby.

Pam Traeger

photo editor

contributing editor

proofreader

Rachel Mari

art director

Michelle Taylor

production

Sarah Camp

Bethany Wakeley

feedback or subscription changes

240 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542 or via e-mail: TheMagazine@ChristianUnion.org new subscriptions

Do you know someone who would enjoy a free subscription to this magazine? Please use either address above to pass along their names.

s at u r d a y, m a y 3 1 transforming princeton Seeking God through Prayer

9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

Frist Campus Center, B-level, Multipurpose Room C

Join fellow Princeton alumni in seeking God through scripture reading and prayer. You are welcome to participate for all or part of the hour.

princeton faith and action annual brunch Celebrating Christian Life at Princeton

By God’s power and with the help of other ministries, Christian Union’s mission is to transform the world by developing and connecting bold Christian leaders. The ministry was founded in 2002 in Princeton, New Jersey.

Princeton Faith and Action invites all Reunions participants from all classes, all denominations, and all Christian ministries to this annual event. Connect with PFA alumni, visit with current PFA students, and meet the Christian Union ministry faculty and staff.

Learn more at ChristianUnion.org

10:15 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Frist Campus Center, B-level, Multipurpose Room A-B

s u n d a y, j u n e 1 featuring testimonies of class reunions participants Worship Service

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Nassau Christian Center (corner of Nassau and Chambers Streets across from Holder Hall) Activities hosted by Princeton Faith & Action, the Christian student organization resourced by Christian Union, will be listed under the student organization name in the University’s Reunions schedule. Be sure to check both the main program and the Religious Services sections.

Learn more: Email Kimberly.Schoelen@ChristianUnion.org Or visit www.christianunion.org/princetonreunions

©2014 Christian Union. All rights reserved. Christian Union: The Magazine is published quarterly. Its goal is to encourage and inform Christian alumni, students, parents, staff, faculty, and friends about Christian Union’s work—and about other spiritual activity—at eight of this country’s most influential colleges, and in key cities.

Our desire is that this publication would inspire readers to seek God, to use their influence for the cause of Christ, to pray, and to give financially to Christian initiatives that are bringing about culture change for God’s glory.

To request an advertising rate card, please e-mail Tom. Campisi@ChristianUnion.org. postmaster: Send address changes to: Christian Union, 240 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542

letter from the president

Fanning the Flame “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, His Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control.”

unclear. From other Pauline writings, however, we see that prayer plays an extraordinarily important role in stirring the Spirit within us. In the book of Ephesians alone, see 1:15-23; 3:14-19 and 6:10-20. In all of these passages, the Spirit of God is providing strength, power, or might, and He is doing it through the prayers of Christians.

My takeaway from this passage is my need to pray fervently for myself and fellow Christians so that we may all be strong in Christ and able to demonstrate love no matter what the circumstances.

Please join me in prayer to help fan into flame the Spirit of God in the hearts of Christians in the Ivy League and across America.

Sincerely in Christ,

Matthew W. Bennett spring

—2 Timothy 1:6, 7

I

:: christianunion.org

matt bennett is the president and founder of Christian Union. He earned undergraduate and MBA degrees from Cornell, and launched Christian Union in 2002 in Princeton, New Jersey.

2014

hope you appreciate the redesign of the Ivy League Christian Observer into what we are now calling the Christian Union Magazine. We are covering the same subjects as before, but are adding even more inspirational stories about how God is changing lives through this ministry. We will be making a few adjustments in the next few issues, so we would appreciate your feedback.

The 2nd Timothy passage quoted on the left has been on my mind recently because of its clear call for followers of Christ to “fan into flame” the “gift of God.” The first question rightly asked is, “What is the gift of God”? Since the Holy Spirit is referenced in verse 14 of the chapter and Paul often referred to the Holy Spirit as the gift of God, many have drawn the conclusion that the “gift of God” is the Holy Spirit Himself, which came upon Timothy when Paul laid his hands on him after he received Christ. We know from the book of Acts that it was not uncommon for Christians to first receive the Spirit this way.

Understanding what it means to “fan into flame” the Holy Spirit becomes important because, as the passage and further context indicate, this is the means by which we have power, love, self-control, and perseverance through suffering. Paul and Timothy spent years together and Timothy doubtless understood what Paul meant, even though the immediate context is

3

seeking god

A Man of the Word Scholar Notes Jonathan Edwards’ Devotion to Bible Study by catherine elvy, staff writer

christian union

::

the magazine

J

4

onathan Edwards stands as one of the top figures in the spiritual history of the United States, and his life serves as an inspiration to believers across the globe.

An article in the latest issue of Jonathan Edwards Studies paused to shed light on the everyday habits and intense biblical study of the famed revivalist preacher and early Yale University alumnus. In the piece, Douglas Sweeney, a key Edwards’ scholar with ties to Yale, reflected on the scriptural fervor behind the theologian’s scholarship. Sweeney serves on the editorial board for the online journal, part of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale.

“Edwards devoted most of his waking life to studying the Bible, its extra-biblical contexts, its theological meanings, and its importance for everyday religion,” wrote Sweeney, the director of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois.

Sweeney, a former lecturer in Yale’s Divinity School and former assistant editor of Yale’s The Works of Jonathan Edwards, also was a featured speaker in late February at a conference on Edwards at Durham University in the United Kingdom.

Edwards, a key figure of the Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s, is best known for his sermon entitled Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. The Yale alumnus of 1720 and 1723 also served as a president of Princeton University.

As a result of Edwards’ passion for spiritual contemplation, the colonial figure arose most mornings in the predawn hours and often studied 13 hours per day, Sweeney wrote, citing historical sources.

Likewise, Edwards’ diary suggested he often skipped dinner, rather than permit

interruption to Bible study.

Indeed, Edwards, who entered Yale just shy of 13, vowed as a youth to “study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same,” Sweeney noted, quoting from the Puritan’s writings.

Edwards’ commitment spilled over from the pulpit, and he told congregants that religious study was for all and certainly not limited to clergymen. He even recommended colonists dedicate as much of their time to seeking God as pursuing “mammon.”

Additionally, Edwards was shaped by living during an era when most of his close associates would have identified the Bible as their most important book, a frequent source of inspiration and insight.

“The Bible is full of wonderful things,” Edwards told parishioners, adding it also is “unerring” and a “precious treasure.” As well, he asserted the knowledge contained in the Scriptures is “infinitely more useful and important” than the knowledge of other sciences, Sweeney noted, citing from records.

Not surprisingly, the words of the Bible played a central role in New England’s colonies, which derived laws and morals from its contents.

As well, the Scriptures were at the forefront of worship services in the Puritanical enclaves. The Puritans dubbed their churches as “meeting houses” and they shunned stained-glass windows and other fixtures that might distract congregants from the sacred texts. Some houses of worship sang a cappella and even forbade the use of musical instruments, Sweeney wrote.

Similarly, many Puritans embraced literacy, and most children were taught to read with the Bible. Small towns hired reading teachers, and larger boroughs built primary schools. Residents expected their clergy to deliver meaty, insightful messages, Sweeney said.

Edwards learned Greek and Hebrew as a boy with his father, who ran a grammar school in the parlor of their parsonage. He tested in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew when matriculating at Yale and utilized those languages throughout his college career, Sweeney wrote.

Today, 300-plus years after his birth and a half century into the so-called Edwards’ Renaissance, few scholars have thoroughly examined the minister’s “massive exegetical corpus” taken from his decades of intense study.

But, ironically, Edwards’ theology has “far more adherents during the past 200 years than it ever possessed in colonial British North America,” Sweeney wrote.

As for Edwards, the Bible’s subjects were simply inexhaustible, reflecting an infinite, glorious God, and Edwards embraced a lifelong love affair with the Scriptures. | cu

Q & A | interviews with culture changers

Five Minutes with Eric Metaxas “Christians need to be much bolder about proclaiming the truth”

C

hristian Union: The Magazine recently interviewed author and renowned speaker Eric Metaxas, Yale ’84, on the subject of culture change.

Regarding culture change and your recent books, did you find a common denominator between William Wilberforce, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, or any of the other subjects in Seven Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness?

ward secularization inevitably harm everyone, including secularists. To push people of faith out of the public square is to remove the lynchpin connecting liberty of every kind for all persons.

cu:

North Korea, for example. Why does the Church in America remain silent, as though we have nothing to offer them? Their suffering should drive us to anger and action on their behalf. Do we think the atheists will be moved to help them?

cu: In a recent speech, you talked about

the default narrative regarding American history that is being taught at some of the nation’s leading universities, including Yale. How can that change?

What will it take for modern day Bonhoeffers and Wilberforces to emerge from these schools? cu:

em: Whatever

em: These were all men who were “in the world, but not of it,” who all seemed to understand how to bring their faith into the “real world,” as it were, into all spheres, not just the religious sphere.

How can Christians make a radical difference when it comes to influencing culture?

cu:

ed, it will do tremendous damage to the culture and to human beings in the culture.

It needn’t be as dramatic as what happened during the Third Reich, but any steps to-

is the author of several books, including the New York Times’ Bestseller Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy; Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery; and Seven Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness.

eric metaxas

christianunion.org

em: If the voice of the Church can be mut-

::

ing religious freedom in the United States. How are religious freedom and culture change related?

2014

cu: You have been outspoken about erod-

Christians in general need to be much bolder about proclaiming the truth. But they will not do that unless they themselves know that the Gospel really and truly is the answer to all of our woes. They must themselves know that if you care about the poor and the suffering you will want to bring God and His principles to them and to the world in which they live.

If we are not so sure ourselves, we will never be able to stand against the powerful false narrative that is everywhere in our culture.

The idea of America as a force for good can be overstated, for example, but for decades now it has been wildly and devastatingly understated and it has blunted our ability to be a hope to people around the world, who long for the freedoms we have. We must not forget that people in the Soviet gulag rejoiced when they heard that Ronald Reagan had spoken boldly for freedom and had called the Soviet Union an evil empire.

He did not shrink from bold language and he gave the prisoners of that totalitarian tyranny hope. There are people—many of them Christians—suffering horrors in

spring

em: We must strike a balance between being committed and devout members of the Church—the people of God—while understanding that part of that commitment and devotion means facing outward, wanting to affect the world outside the church; to bless those who don’t speak our language or understand our thinking, but whom God loves nonetheless.

em: Evangelicals and serious

it will take, it will have to come from precincts other than the schools themselves. It will take students really knowing history—not the hamstrung historical narratives being put forward in academia these days, but the real thing.

It will take being able to withstand a little criticism if they attempt to do what God has called them to do. If young people want to be liked by everyone, they will not only not be Bonhoeffers and Wilberforces, they will effectively be selling their birth rights for a mess of pottage. God has not given us all of the privileges and advantages and blessings we have for ourselves. We are meant to use them for others. That will cost us many things, including popularity with some people, but we should rejoice as we pay whatever it costs, knowing that God’s opinion is the only one that matters. | cu

5

christian union

::

the magazine

feature section | prayer and fasting

6

feature section :: spring 2014 Christian Union’s 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting Initiative / 8 A ‘Life-Changing’ Fast for Princeton Alumni / 9 The Importance of Prayer and Fasting / 10 Two Kinds of Hunger / 11

Prayer & Fasting Jesus talked about fasting frequently. Yet, in many communities of believers, it might be called the long-lost spiritual discipline.

Ignored, forgotten, or perhaps just not well understood, it is rarely emphasized in the same way believers tend to emphasize other spiritual spring

disciplines.

In this special section, Christian Union: The

2014

Magazine reports on the ministry’s recent 40

::

provides insights that will encourage and inform readers who want to seek the Lord more fervently.

original art

(left) by Michel Keck

christianunion.org

Days of Prayer and Fasting Initiative and also

7

feature section | prayer and fasting

The Power of Fasting

Christian Union Hosts 40-Day Initiative to Start 2014 by catherine elvy, staff writer

christian union

::

the magazine

T

8

imes of wondrous spiritual awakening come on the heels of robust efforts of seeking God through prayer, fasting, repentance, and in reading and applying the Bible.

To that end, Christian Union called upon believers across the nation, especially at top universities and in key cities, to join the leadership development ministry in its 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting Initiative to begin 2014.

“It was really encouraging to fast with the hundreds of people who signed up,” said Christian Union Founder and President Matt Bennett, Cornell ’88, MBA ’89. “There were great breakthroughs and many answered prayers.”

To help participants persevere and pray fervently during the fast, Christian Union faculty members and guest authors composed daily devotionals to correspond with the initiative, which took place January 13 to February 21 (the materials are available at ChristianUnion.org). The leadership development ministry plans to host another major fast in August to coincide with the commencement of the next academic year.

Much of the fast centered upon calling believers across the United States to humble themselves before the Lord, especially in an effort to encourage renewal and cultural transformation. “Except for improvement in race relations in the last 50 years, almost every Christian would agree that the spiritual and social climate has other-

wise declined in the last decades,” Bennett noted.

Individual and corporate humbling are integral parts of imploring God for a profound turnaround. “We can trust that God will hear our prayers and do something extraordinary,” Bennett said.

dr awing closer to him At a personal level, Bennett said he was struck by the grandeur and beauty of the King of Kings during times of meditation and worship, and he finished the fast with a clearer understanding of God’s purposes.

“Humbling ourselves is a way God has given us to draw closer to Him and release His power,” he said.

Bennett was inspired by the accounts shared by individuals taking part in the fast, ranging from gratitude for the 40-day initiative and inspiration gained from the daily devotionals.

Christian Union ministry fellows also were deeply affected as they asked God for His presence to manifest at the nation’s premiere institutions of higher education.

They expressed appreciation for the opportunity to feast upon the Scriptures during the sacrificial season. “I was filling up on the Word of God,” said Jim Thomforde, ministry director at Cornell University. “I was taking in more of the Word and hearing about God and His grace.”

“It was a really good time to humble ourselves before the Lord and practice

the seeking God lifestyle,” said James Fields, a ministry fellow at Princeton University.

the bre ad of life In one of the 40 devotionals that encouraged and edified fast participants, Jesse Peterson, a Christian Union ministry fellow at Columbia University, wrote about man’s deep, habitual oscillation between hunger and satisfaction and noted, “Fasting is a way to remind our forgetful selves that one of our desires is not like the others.”

Peterson exhorted readers to hunger for Christ above all else, quoting two scriptures. In John 6:35, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Jesus had likewise told the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (John 4:13-14).

Ultimately, Bennett said Christian Union wants to educate Christ’s followers on the steps to draw closer to their Savior and to witness a move of God across the United States and beyond.

“We need this for our era. There’s a lack of spiritual power in some Christian circles.

We want them to encounter the Spirit more fully,” he said.

“By mobilizing a number of fasts, we can trust that God will hear our prayers and do something extraordinary.” | cu

A Life-Changing Fast for Princeton Alumni

‘God Was Closer Than Ever’

P

rinceton University alumni David and Ana Leyva are glad they joined with hundreds of other believers for Christian Union’s 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting Initiative at the beginning of 2014.

David and Ana, who were both very active in Christian Union’s leadership development ministry while at Princeton, reside in San Francisco.

“We’ve never fasted as a couple. This fast changed all of that and forever changed the way I see fasting,” said Ana Leyva ’11.

“I didn’t want to come out of that time of special intimacy with God. I felt that He was closer than ever, and I wanted to always experience Him that way.”

Just as tremendous risks are associated

with big wins in their Silicon Valley region, fasting also involves a big step of faith, Ana Leyva said. However, “God has some awesome returns.”

David Leyva ’11 echoed those comments, adding that he was struck by the lessons he learned in self-control, especially in stripping away the “idol” of appeasing his cravings. “It allowed me to turn to God for satisfaction,” he said.

Encouraged by the experience, the couple has pledged to make Ana and David Leyva fasting a regular practice. “ This 40-day fast was a life-changing, life-enhancing, life-giving husband and I both felt like new, transexperience for us,” said Ana Leyva. “My formed people at the end of the fast.” | cu

......................................................................................................

“I Saw the Lord Work in a Unique and Powerful Way.” In early 2014, Christian Union asked believers to join together in a 40 Day Prayer & Fasting Initiative.

Christians from across the nation (and several foreign countries) committed to pray and fast—in different ways. Here are some of their comments about the experience: • “I saw the Lord work in a unique and powerful way.”

• “Not only has this season of fasting extended my focus to the physical and spiritual needs of others, but it has also prompted me to seek God for daily strength, energy, and renewal.”

spring

• “I have definitely sensed a greater focus in my prayer times.”

2014 ::

• “Fasting makes me more sensitive to the voice of God in my life.”

• “The Lord has been incredibly gracious to me during these days. Despite experiencing physical need, He has been sustaining me. My sense of clarity in Him has grown. I sense His presence, power, peace, and contentment. I’m grateful for His kindness in this season.”

For more information on fasting, visit ChristianUnion.org/40Days.

christianunion.org

• “This has been an incredible time of intimacy with my Lord that will impact me for some time.”

9

feature section | prayer and fasting

The Importance of Prayer and Fasting

This spiritual discipline helps us draw near to God and abide in Christ by matt bennett

J

christian union

::

the magazine

esus tells us that the source of our spiritual strength is He Himself as we abide in Him: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” - John 15:4,5 As Christians, when we need spiritual strength for our lives, communities, and nation, our source of strength and fruitfulness is God Himself. We tap into His divine power as we abide in Him, that is, as we draw close to Him and walk with Him and love Him. God has given us unprecedented access to Himself through the blood of Jesus Christ, and then invites us to draw close to Him to experience Him and His grace in all its fullness.

10

sequences, bringing the removal of God’s blessings and protection. While there have been numerous regional revivals in America’s history, there have been three that have hit every corner of American society, which historians call “Great Awakenings.”

b usine s smen’s re v ival The first was in the 1730s to 40s; the second was from 1800 to the 1830s; and the third is called the Businessmen’s Revival, which lasted from 1857-58. This third “Great Awakening” began through a prayer movement in New York City when businessmen stopped to pray every day from noon to 1 p.m., and often also in the mornings and the evenings. Hundreds of thousands in New York and across the nation joined the movement and in a year’s time, out of a U.S. population of 30 million, over one million came to faith in Christ. It’s absoluteUnknown to most American Christians, ly incredible what God did during fasting has always been intended as an that time. It didn’t mean that society important part of the Christian life. became perfect by any means, but it’s worth noting that just about every social Our nation and churches desperatejustice movement in the history of the ly need the grace of God at the present West has come as a result of a revival. time. You are probably aware that the This matters to us, because it has always Church has been experiencing decline for been a massive increase in prayer which has decades, even as there have been periodic preceded Christian awakenings. All of this blessings through a number of anointed makes sense because praying is communiinitiatives. Increasing numbers are turncating with God, which is part of what it ing from God to other ways of life, and means to abide in Christ. As we abide in we see this reflected in the national polls Him, He gives us fruitfulness! on religion, but also in our local church As Dr. A.T. Pierson once said, “There es. There are more who identify themhas never been a spiritual awakening in any selves in America as having no religion country or locality that did not begin in than at any point in the nation’s history. united prayer.” God uses prayer as part of Straying from God has terrible con-

His means to help us draw close to abide in Him, and also as His means to bring blessing to us. Some may have questions about whether we can cause God to respond to our prayers, but church historian James Edwin Orr explains: “Whether your interpretation is Calvinistic or Arminian, it’s a simple thing, you must pray.”

More is written about fasting on our Web site, but briefly, fasting helps us draw near to God and abide in Christ all the more deeply. Going without food (and the word “fasting” in Hebrew means going without food in particular, and not refraining from other things that God may or may not want you to give up) has a humbling effect on us, and humility helps attract the presence of God to our lives.

Throughout the Scriptures, people humble themselves by going without food for an extended period of time, and from personal experience, I would like to tell you that it’s absolutely true. Going without food deepens your realization of your need for God. This induced humility then attracts God’s blessing and power to your life. As it says in James 4:6, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Unknown to most American Christians, fasting has always been intended as an important part of the Christian life.

Jesus gives instruction about how to fast in a godly way (Matthew 6:16-18), and in the first century, the universal practice of Christians was to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. | cu

Two Kinds of Hunger

Inviting God to Renew Us through a Gospel Tension by tim adhikari Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.

His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.

He said:

• Praying and fasting for the resurrection of righteous hunger that seeks a kingdom lifestyle in us and on these influential campuses and city centers.

May these principles guide us as we seek the Lord unto transformation. May He enable us to experience righteousness via the death of false desires and the resurrection of kingdom-advancing hungers and thirsts in their place. | cu

2014 ::

tim adhikari is Christian Union’s ministry director at Princeton University.

christianunion.org

• R eading and reflecting on Matt. 5:112 where Jesus commends a radical, everyday ethic that necessitates a “hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

• P raying and fasting for the death of unrighteous hunger that covets comfort and compromise in us and on these influential campuses and city centers.

spring

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 5:1-12

O

ur world exists in tension. At a cosmic level, the world is both the product of a benevolent Creator and the consequence of His rebellious creatures. At an experiential level, we encounter love and hate, joy and sorrow, gain and loss, almost simultaneously. In times of extended fasting, we invite God to renew us through another tension, namely a Gospel tension in which His Spirit brings about the death and resurrection of our appetites and desires.

Scripture provides a window into this reality through Jesus’ own teaching. In John’s Gospel, Jesus promises that “whoever comes to me shall not hunger” (John 6:35). Yet, in Matthew’s Gospel, He promises satisfaction to “those who hunger and thirst” (Matt. 5:6). So, Jesus introduces another tension. He commends the absence and presence of hunger. So, how do we resolve this?

It quickly becomes apparent that two species of hunger are at work. One promises to end our appetites for the things that leave us empty. Another beckons us to increase our desires for that which truly fills, namely “righteousness.” Together, they remind us to distinguish between these two hungers both in and around us, for ourselves, our families, and also the campuses we serve and the cultures we engage.

As we set our faces towards God in prayer and fasting, let us invite this Gospel tension. Practically, let us invite death and resurrection by:

11

universit y chris tian union updat e s page 14

How Does

cit y

union updat e s

megan perkins,

christian union

::

the magazine

chris tian

12

page 25

victor hicks,

&

whitney wyckoff

in Yale’s Dwight Hall Chapel

from the university to the city

seeds for culture change are planted as the lives of our future leaders—and the educational institutions they attend—are transformed by God. Specifically, as students who are well-positioned to ascend to spheres of influence learn to seek God, grow in their faith, and develop a thoughtful, Christ-centered worldview, they will be prepared to engage culture effectively. This is at the heart of University Christian Union’s work at Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Yale, and—starting in 2014—Brown.

Culture Change Begin?

As these students graduate, Christian Union’s ministry to its alumni and their peers—City Christian Union—will help them take the next

2014

centers, starting in New York City, their impact will be multiplied.

spring

step. By developing networks of like-minded believers in key cultural

::

through William Wilberforce and the Clapham Circle in the early 1800s. Pray that God will bring similar change to the U.S. as new networks of leaders emerge and engage today’s culture.

christianunion.org

This model was used by the Lord to bring sweeping change to England

13

university christian union

Princeton Alumni Are Putting Their Faith into Action Trent Fuenmayor and Brittany Cesarini Serve a World in Need

christian union

::

the magazine

by eileen scott, senior writer

14

Obedience, charity, self-sacrifice. These are attributes of social justice advocates Trent Fuenmayor ’12 and Brittany Cesarini ’12, two Princeton University alumni who are working in non-profit organizations that serve the poor and marginalized.

Trent is the development manager for the Irene Gleeson Foundation in Northern Uganda, which is helping to build sustainable communities and improve the lives of children in that region. Brittany is the co-founder of the Shikamana initiative in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, an organization that focuses on education, leadership training, prevention surrounding violence against women, and HIV/AIDS public health issues.

She is also working as a Princeton Project 55 Fellow at New AlterTrent Fuenmayor, Princeton ’12, has a heart for natives for Children in New York the people of Uganda.

City, where she advocates for low-income families with children in the foster care system.

As students, both Trent and Brittany were active in Christian Union’s leadership development ministry at Princeton. And both credit that ministry with helping to give them some of the skills and ministry training they needed to make a difference in the world.

“The leadership development I received from Christian Union is the only leadership development I received in college,” said Trent. “It’s the main reason I’m equipped to help lead an organization with 300 employees serving 6,000 vulnerable children.”

Brittany said the weekly leadership lecture series, conferences, noon prayer meetings, and Christian Union Bible courses were “absolutely crucial” to her spiritual growth as a new Christian in her junior and senior years. She recalled how a Christian Union ministry fellow mentored her and prayed with her through critical post-graduation decisions.

“The passionate and talented friends I was fortunate to spend time with at Princeton, many of whom were in my Bible Course, also played a huge role in supporting, challenging, and shaping me. This combination of intellectual, spiritual, and emotional growth actually liberated me from the pressure to pursue money as the greatest prize in life,” she said.

Brittany and Trent both concede that there are more financially lucrative jobs they could have taken, but both believe their Ivy League educations are serving them well as they put their faith into action despite hardships like 120-degree weather, limited technology, and a lack of resources.

Brittany is grateful that the spiritual foundation she gained at Princeton is helping her impact families and communities abroad and in New York City.

“The habit of praying and seeking God in community and on my own regularly and frequently is one that keeps me grounded to this day,” she said.

As for Trent, he “experienced God’s heart through Christian Union, and came to understand that I was made to lead people to Christ.”

In 2011, he spent the summer arranging and directing Christian Union at Princeton’s first missionary trip abroad. For four weeks, he was in charge of 14 students who ventured to Uganda to care for orphaned children and run a leadership development camp for local college students. The team also helped a church with aid projects, including maintenance and construction in Kampala.

Today, Trent calls the children he works with “my kids.”

“They call me dad,” he said. “I look forward to seeing my kids graduate and to walking them down the aisle.”

“God gave me the gifts and abilities to serve others in Uganda, and He gave me the heart to love it. I love working in Kitgum every single day. Serving in Uganda is a roller coaster for my faith journey, but I never forget whom I serve.” | cu

Leading and Learning Cornell Freshman Is the Founder of Non-Profit Organization in Ghana by eileen scott, senior writer

From Africa to Ithaca, Nicole Mensa, Cornell ’17, is serving people and sharing the message of God’s love and compassion.

A native of Ghana, Nicole came to Cornell for a top-flight education and to experience another culture; because of her participation with Christian Union’s leadership development ministry at Cornell, she is also growing in her knowledge of the Bible and passion for the Lord.

“I come from a strong Christian family and I have always been a Christian. However, I have grown in my faith and in my desire for Christ even more since I have been at Cornell,” said Nicole.

“I try to lead not just as any leader, but in the way Christ would lead.”

spring

2014 :: christianunion.org

The freshman was particularly attracted to Christian Union at Cornell because of the unity and love among the members, Christian Union Bible courses, and the academically rich leadership lecture series.

Buoyed by that love and her faith in Jesus Christ, Nicole has been able not only to transition to living in a new country, but also continues to serve the people of her homeland.

In May 2012, she founded ProjectHey, a non-profit organization designed to give underprivileged children in Ghana an education in information communication technology. HEY is an acronym for “Helping to Educate the Youth.”

“I realized that the use of technology was spreading rapidly around the world and that, indeed, the youth who lacked knowledge when it came to computers and technology would suffer greatly in the future,” said Nicole.

After visiting schools in Ghana, she noted that many did not have computers and decided to do something about it. Each year, ProjectHey chooses a school in desperate need of technology equipment and provides computers and three weeks of

training for the children.

Nicole is currently an economics major minoring in history, Africana studies, and anthropology. She is also involved with the Cornell Annual Fund and the Cornell International Affairs Society.

The realization that Christ gave Himself for her compels Nicole to give of herself and her talents to others.

“I try to lead not just as any leader, but in the way Christ would lead,” she said.

Nicole credits Christian Union at Cornell with positively impacting her leadership development. As an assistant Nicole Mensa, Cornell ’17, leads a non-profit Bible course leader, she organization that provides computer literacy to the has learned the impor- underserved in Africa. tance of caring about people and has gained valuable insight into organizational management.

With an eye on her work, Nicole keeps her heart fixed on the Lord as she grows as a leader and strives to do what is right in the sight of God, even during challenging times.

“As a Christian leader, I have come to realize that it is important to persevere and never to give up,” she said. “I look at leaders like Moses who, despite everything, fought for his people. Indeed, such leaders inspire me to do what is right and to have patience when things do not go as expected.” | cu

15

the magazine

:: christian union

16

Student leaders with Christian Union’s ministry at Columbia University; pictured left to right are Kalu Ogbureke ’16, Jennifer Mahan ’15, Xavier du Maine ’15, Rebekah Webster ’16, and Luke Foster ’14.

university christian union

Christian Union Will Start Leadership Development Ministry at Brown Bible Courses, One-on-One Mentoring Will Commence in the Fall Semester Christian Union recently announced plans to launch a leadership development ministry at Brown University. “We are excited about partnering with existing campus ministries to be used of God to make an impact for Christ at Brown,” said Tim Henderson, vice president of University Christian Union.

With the addition of Brown, Christian Union will be resourcing and supporting undergraduate leadership development ministries at all eight Ivy League schools, including Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale. Christian Union also has a ministry director and ministry fellow at Harvard Law School, where future attorneys and legislators are attending Bible courses and receiving one-on-one mentoring.

The vision of Christian Union is “to create strategic networks of Christian leaders to transform culture.” And that opportunity is certainly evident at Brown.

“Brown graduates many of the country’s most influential leaders, and Christian Union desires that as many of them as possible be exposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and have every opportunity to be developed as Christian leaders while at Brown,” said Henderson.

Christian Union anticipates placing a ministry director and a ministry fellow at Brown beginning this summer. Henderson said he trusts that “God, in His grace, will bring the people He wants for the positions.” Additionally, he said that Christian Union seeks candidates who love the Lord wholeheartedly and who can work well with students and with ministry peers in the Brown community.

The light of Christ is shining at Brown because of the efforts of current ministries there, said Henderson. And, he said, “Christian Union aspires to join in, adding its distinctive approach to ministry to magnify still further the light and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” | cu

..................................................................................

Christian Union at Columbia :: christianunion.org

Edwards ’14. A team of 70 students spent the week camping on the floor of City Blessing Church in the borough of Queens. The men spread their sleeping bags throughout the sanctuary each night, and the women took over the basement. Each day had time set aside for service, worship, fellowship, and lively conversations—on everything from theology to politics—that often lasted into the wee hours of the morning.

For the Columbia students, the trip took place in their own city, often in marginalized neighborhoods far from their campus on The Upper West Side of Manhattan. The student coordinators for Christian

2014

Several Ivy League universities have a common Spring Break, the third week in March. Many students travel home during their time off, many try to make a trip to warmer climes, and many stay on campus to catch up on sleep and homework. And it has become an annual tradition for Christian Union to host a service project in New York City.

From March 16-21, Columbia students welcomed their peers from Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale for “CU in NYC 2014.” The Christian Union-sponsored trip was planned by Harvard students Eilrayna Gelyana ’14 and Jeffrey

spring

Spring Breaking in Their Own Backyard by luke foster, columbia ’14

17

university christian union

Union at Columbia were Kalu Ogbureke ’16 and Eileen Li ’15, who researched potential service sites and communicated with the ministries’ administrators to ensure that student volunteers would be a help and not a hindrance. In the end, Kalu and Eileen settled on six service sites, ranging from a homeless shelter in downtown Manhattan to a re-building project in Brooklyn to repair Hurricane Sandy damage.

Absorbed in student life, “the brokenness of the rest of the city can slip right under our noses.”

—Kalu Ogbureke, Columbia ’16 Kalu and Eileen spoke eloquently about their motivations in helping bring the service project to fruition. In part, it was about helping Columbia students learn to love their own city and to become aware of its suffering. Absorbed in student life, “the brokenness of the rest of the city can slip right under our noses,” Kalu pointed out, observing that Columbia’s campus largely emerged without feeling the wrath of Hurricane Sandy in November 2012.

But, he noted, suffering “goes beyond the physical brokenness and destruction of a hurricane to the

brokenness found in areas of extreme poverty, drug dependency, and fragmented families.” He called on Columbia students to develop a spirit of service and generosity.

Eileen sounded similar notes, explaining that living in New York and daily seeing poverty and despair on the street can “harden the heart,” but that the experience of serving in fellowship with other believers helped renew her commitment to “look at the pain around me, rather than avoid it.”

Both Eileen and Kalu emphasized that fostering encouragement and friendship between Christian Union-supported student organizations was both a major goal and achievement of the service trip.

Kalu concluded by stressing how much he hoped to see the lessons of the service project pervade and build up Christian Union at Columbia. “The motto for this year’s Spring Break trip was Philippians 2:6-11; the passage talks about how Christ humbled Himself on earth in order for God the Father to exalt Him. The verses preceding this command us as children of God to follow this same model of humbling oneself before God. My hope is that we as a ministry cultivate a servant attitude that transforms the nature of our daily routine from one that is ‘me-focused’ to ‘others-focused.’” | cu

.................................................................................

Big Red Bible Courses

christian union

::

the magazine

Christian Union Ministry Director ‘Coaching’ Football Players

18

God is changing lives on the Big Red football team, and Jim Thomforde, Christian Union’s director of undergraduate ministry at Cornell, is excited to see how it will play out on the field and across campus.

Thomforde says he is “thrilled” how Christian Union’s ministry at Cornell is impacting leaders within the team. There are roughly 20 football players who attend Christian Union Bible courses and receive one-on-one mentoring from Thomforde, a former minor league baseball player in the New York Yankees’ farm system.

“God is really at work,” said Thomforde, who noted that many of the Bible course attendees are

still young in their faith. However, these players are consistent in their participation, he said, and want to know Christ more.

“They see the deep level at which the Gospel is impacting themselves as individuals and as a team,” he said.

The Christian Union Bible courses during spring semester are focused on the Gospel of Mark for sophomores and Sex and Spirituality for freshmen.

Thomforde is especially encouraged by how the players are seeking the Lord, even in tough times. He recalled how one player began attending a Bible course after being temporarily suspended from the team.

“They have a long way to go,” Thomforde said,

noting the temptations the players face, including the party scene on campus. “In spite of the challenges, as we proclaim the Gospel and explain its implications, we are seeing God’s Spirit is at work changing their hearts,” he said.

In the meantime, Thomforde said he will con-

tinue to be steadfast in teaching the Word of God and mentoring students.

“We will work with the team leaders and the other teammates who are committed to growth and help them become the spiritual leaders of the team,” said Thomforde. “That’s our prayer.” | cu

.................................................................................

Dwelling in Unity at Dartmouth Leadership Development Ministry “Infused with Spiritual Fervency” After Conference Desire, delight, and discipline. They are key ingredients of a personal relationship with God and each is vital to interaction among believers. That was a major theme when Christian Union’s leadership development ministry at Dartmouth held its winter conference in January at the Singing Hills Christian Conference Center in Western New Hampshire.

Approximately 55 Dartmouth undergraduates spent much of the weekend probing the community nature of intercession, worship, and biblical inquiry.

Kevin Collins (Harvard ’89), Christian Union’s ministry director at Dartmouth, and Zach and Caroline Albanese, Christian Union ministry fellows, were the featured speakers for the weekend.

Caroline Albanese said many students left the weekend with a deep commitment to sustain the

2014 :: christianunion.org

vitality of their spiritual encounter with God. “Many students went away with a greater desire to pursue the Lord and keep Him as their priority once getting back to campus,” she said.

Additionally, “Students really enjoyed bonding together and developing deeper friendships with one

spring

“Many students went away with a greater desire to pursue the Lord and keep Him as their priority once getting back to campus.”

another,” she said. “These strengthened connections can help students live out their faith more fully when they return to campus.”

Andrew Pillsbury ’15, a student leader in the ministry, said the highlight of the conference was leaving the weekend infused with spiritual fervency. “I was challenged and encouraged in my walk with Andrew Pillsbury, Dartmouth ’15, returned to campus with new spiritual God,” he said.

Pillsbury was also passion after attending the winter conference hosted by a Christian excited about how freshUnion-sponsored leadership men and upperclassmen develop ministry. connected during the event. “One important benefit I took from the time together was relationships with the first-year students,” said Pillsbury, who spent the fall studying in Scotland. “It was really good for me to be able to connect with them and meet all of them.”

As well, the computer science major said he was energized after returning to Dartmouth from studies abroad and seeing “how the ministry had grown and how well it is doing.” The ministry, which launched at Dartmouth in 2011, now involves more than 119 students in Bible courses and other programs. | cu

19

university christian union

Go and Make Disciples Harvard Upperclassmen Are Mentoring Younger Students Seasoned upperclassmen with Christian Union’s ministry at Harvard University are playing an active role in mentoring younger students.

About 50 students involved with Christian Union at Harvard are holding regular meetings with underclassmen to help them widen their spiritual understanding and deepen their intimacy with God. “We have a lot of spiritually mature upperclassmen,” said Teal McGarvey, a Christian Union ministry fellow. “You see the evidence of that as they pour out to fellow students the things they are learning. For them and the students they are discipling, Teal McGarvey, a Christian it’s a two-way experience— Union ministry fellow at walking, sharing, and goHarvard ing to the Lord together.”

The peer-to-peer mentoring has steadily grown since its inception at the beginning of the academic year. To aid the effort,

McGarvey and Christian Union Teaching Fellow Nick Nowalk conducted training sessions with the upperclassmen.

Discipleship is a hallmark of University Christian Union with ministry fellows providing personal mentoring and leadership coaching to students enrolled in Christian Union Bible courses. Those students are trained to be leaders. At Harvard, a number of upperclassmen saw an opportunity to contribute to the discipleship process by helping freshmen and sophomores grow deep in their faith.

The students convene in clusters or one-on-one on a weekly or bi-weekly basis for an hour or so to pray and discuss spiritual topics. Some of the sessions take place over coffee or a meal.

Already, the younger students describe the peerto-peer discipleship initiative as helpful. “It’s one piece of what we’re trying to accomplish,” said McGarvey. “Discipling relationships provide a place for students to flourish.”

Ultimately, the goal of the program is to help young believers at Harvard learn to articulate their faith and walk out its applications.

“It’s what we’re about as Christians,” McGarvey said. “It’s about wanting to grow.” | cu

.................................................................................

christian union

::

the magazine

Freshman Is Focused on the Big Picture

20

Cody Min ’17 Integrates Faith and Work Cody Min started working as a professional photographer in eighth grade and has acquired clients such as ING Group and Google, among others. Today, the visual studies major is keeping his faith in focus as he integrates his work, academics, and extracurricular activities.

Cody is the public relations chair for Penn’s taekwondo club team and is the photographer and assistant blog director for The Walk, Penn’s fashion and lifestyle magazine.

The freshman is also excited to be part of Chris-

tian Union’s leadership development ministry at Penn as it continues to grow during its first year on campus. He currently serves as the student team leader for the ministry’s weekly leadership lecture series.

“Christianity is not supposed to be a solo mission, especially in college,” he said. “I think it’s important to find a strong community of like-minded Christians to encourage and edify you in your walk with God. That has definitely happened by being involved with Christian Union at Penn.”

Cody ’17 is one of 36 students enrolled in Chris-

tian Union Bible courses on campus. This academic year, the focus has included Philippians, The Seeking God Lifestyle, and most recently, Sex and Spirituality. Those Bible courses are led by Justin Mills (Penn ’05), Christian Union’s director of undergraduate ministry at Cornell, and John Cunningham, a Christian Union ministry fellow. The mission of Christian Union is to “develop and network Christian leaders who will impact the culture” around them.

And Cody is definitely a leader on and off the

Penn campus, where he regularly shares the Gospel with fellow students. He also showed the maturity necessary to make tough choices, turning down a photo shoot with an acclaimed fashion photographer because it would have required taking inappropriate shots.

“I try to live my life with actions that glorify God,” he said. “I don’t separate that from my work as an artist.” | cu

.................................................................................

Why We Went to the Woods Christian Union’s Leadership Development Ministry at Princeton Enjoys Powerful Winter Conference That message resonated with the students, and many sought God intensively during times of worship.

“They saw the face of God in the face of their friends, their peers,” said James Fields, a ministry fellow at Princeton University. “They had one week

“The Spirit was very active during our time as students shared testimonies of what the Lord has helped them overcome and how He has drawn near to them in times of suffering.”

—Mark Catlin, Christian Union teaching fellow

2014 :: christianunion.org

to focus entirely on God and on loving one another.”

More importantly, the “authentic Spirit of God was moving in that place,” Fields said. “The worship was so heavy. Students came to us constantly for prayer.”

Away from the intensity of academic life, students experienced a rhythm of learning, worship, and rest and also enjoyed a plethora of outdoor activities and skiing. The recreation provided ideal opportunities for bonding and fellowship.

Not surprising, the undergraduates left the winter conference with zeal to seek God. “We returned to campus renewed as a community ready to serve Princeton,” Catlin said. | cu

spring

In what is celebrated as one of the highlights of the year, students involved with Christian Union’s leadership development ministry at Princeton ventured to Upstate New York during intersession for their annual winter conference.

This year’s five-night event at a Christian camp near Speculator, New York lived up to the event’s reputation for combining engaging scriptural teaching, powerful corporate worship, and intimate spiritual encounters with God. A combined 165 students and Christian Union faculty travelled to Camp-of-the-Woods in January.

“It was a sweet time delving into Scripture, skiing, worshipping, and experiencing an overall level of community that was a work of the Spirit,” said Mark Catlin, Christian Union’s teaching fellow at Princeton University.

“The Spirit was very active during our time as students shared testimonies of what the Lord has helped them overcome and how He has drawn near to them in times of suffering.”

Mike Reed, pastor of Church at Bergen in Mahwah, New Jersey, and a church planter for The Acts 29 Network, served as the guest speaker. As he highlighted passages from Haggai, Reed challenged students to build their lives for Christ, rather than for themselves.

21

university christian union

‘Is Not This the Kind of Fasting I Have Chosen…?’

Yale Students Reach out to the Homeless in New Haven by catherine elvy, staff writer

Students involved with Christian Union at Yale are taking their commitment to prayer, fasting, and service to new heights.

During the spring semester, 25-plus students who regularly fast together on Mondays began distributing their foregone meals to the homeless men and women who gather on the nearby New Haven Green.

christian union

::

the magazine

Students involved with Christian Union’s leadership development ministry at Yale reached out to the homeless community on the Green in New Haven this year.

22

Regular fasting is a hallmark of the seeking God lifestyle practiced by members of Christian Union’s leadership development ministry at Yale.

“There’s a lot of poverty in New Haven,” said Jon Yeager, a Christian Union ministry fellow, noting that the disparities of the Connecticut community are shocking.

As such, the undergraduates head to the Green to pass out boxed lunches and other fare on Monday afternoons, before breaking their fast together at dinner time. The 16-acre park bordering Yale and downtown serves as a hub for the area’s surging homeless population, where many sleep on benches throughout the Green.

Undergraduates who take part say their conversations and interactions with the homeless men and women on the Green are deeply moving.

“It has been wonderful to see students modeling Isaiah 58 in this way, by using their fasting practices to care for the needs of others,” said Lauren Ballard, a Christian Union ministry fellow at Yale.

In Isaiah 58:6 and 7, the Old Testament figure prophetically asks, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”

“Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked to clothe them and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

The students are “taking their fast to the next level by serving others,” Ballard said.

Likewise, the students are bonding during the collaborative effort. “With fasting, it’s such a hard discipline and exercise that you gain so much more doing it with community,” said Yeager.

The initiative to distribute lunches comes on the heels of a recent focus on prayer. During the fall semester, the students began assembling for regular morning prayer and worship sessions, and such gatherings have served to build unity in seeking God together and even deeper camaraderie.

“This regular hour of prayer has become a consistent place of refocusing priorities and rich fellowship for our students,” Ballard said.

As a result, the students also are expanding their outward service to the larger student body at Yale and their municipal neighbors.

Among their efforts, the students have handed out hot apple cider on chilly days and wellness packages during flu season and prayed with anxious classmates during finals week. In December, they collected Christmas gifts for underprivileged youngsters in New Haven’s troubled urban core.

“It is wonderful to see these students serving others out of the joy they have received from knowing Christ,” Ballard said. | cu

The God of Justice Attorney/Theologian Speaks to Harvard Law Students by catherine elvy, staff writer

Ministry Fellow Jared Wortman echoed those comments. “We’re really loving and appreciating the students as they are taking a deeper, vested interest in discipleship,” said Wortman, a former teaching minister who holds a master of theological studies from Duke University.

As for VanDrunen, the scholar told students that enforcing civil ordinances can usher relief and order and place constraints on wrongdoers when properly pursued.

“If you practice law in ways that promote justice, you are, in many respects, loving your neighbor.

Through loving your neighbor, you are, ultimately, loving God,” VanDrunen said.

“Preserving order and the peace of society, helps preserve the wellbeing of the Church and allows the Church to do its work at proclaiming and announcing the Gospel in this world.”

2014

“If you practice law in ways that promote justice, you are, in many respects, loving your neighbor. Through loving your neighbor, you are, ultimately, loving God. Preserving order and the peace of society, helps preserve the wellbeing of the Church and allows the Church to do its work at proclaiming and announcing the Gospel in this world.”

spring

::

Likewise, attorneys often deal with life-and-death matters and other pressing issues involving financial and family concerns and even personal freedom.

Practicing law “helps to bring relief to those who have suffered injury. Those who have been wronged want justice, not just technical knowledge,” VanDrunen said.

Ultimately, “God loves justice,” VanDrunen said. | cu

christianunion.org

God desires for humans to pursue justice throughout the world.

As such, practicing law can be an honorable profession, according to David VanDrunen.

During Skype lectures in February and March, the theologian and lawyer encouraged students involved with Christian Union’s leadership development ministry at Harvard Law School to use their professional talents in Christian service.

God values justice, and He delegates hefty responsibility for administering justice to humans. In the modern world, legal professionals play key roles in acting as agents of justice, VanDrunen told law students from his office at Westminster Seminary California.

“It’s a divinely authorized task,” said VanDrunen.

“We’re acting on God’s behalf.”

VanDrunen, who specializes in systematic theology and Christian ethics, holds a series of academic credentials, including a law degree from Northwestern University and a doctorate of philosophy in theology from Loyola University Chicago.

A prolific author, VanDrunen most recently penned, Living in God’s Two Kingdoms: A Biblical Vision for Christianity and Culture.

With the commencement of the 2014 academic year, Christian Union launched a leadership development ministry for students at one of the world’s foremost law schools. Ministry faculty hold dual sets of weekly Bible courses and offer dinner discussions and regular mentoring sessions for Harvard Law School students.

The lectures are part of an effort to share with students “what the Bible says about law, the biblical principles of law, from the perspective of a professing Christian in today’s culture,” said Jim Garretson, Christian Union’s ministry director at Harvard Law School. “We wanted to begin by starting with a biblical foundation.”

An ordained minister and author, Garretson holds a doctorate in homiletics from Westminster Seminary California.

23

university christian union

What’s Next...

Please pray for upcoming Christian Union Events

26 june

10

august

2

christian union

::

the magazine

september

24

28

october

18

november

Uganda Mission Trip Christian Union and the Rural Orphans and Widows AIDS Network are partnering to offer students an internship opportunity to study community development as it is occurring in the rural East Ugandan village of Mawanga.

Worldview Summer Sessions The second Christian Worldview Sessions of the summer will provide an opportunity for students to engage deeply with the most arresting questions in relation to the viability of the Christian faith in today’s postmodern culture.

Brown University Ministry Launch Christian Union will sponsor and support an undergraduate leadership development ministry at Brown at the start of the academic year.

Dallas Benefit Event An evening of celebration in Dallas, Texas to support the ministry of Christian Union in developing Christian leaders to transform culture.

New York City Benefit Event An evening of celebration in New York City to support the ministry of Christian Union in developing Christian leaders to transform culture.

city christian union

New York City Christian Union The King’s College President Greg Thornbury Speaks at Manhattan Salon by catherine elvy, staff writer

spring

2014 :: christianunion.org

The new president of Him and find Him, The King’s College enthough He is not far couraged participants in from any one of us.” a New York City ChrisEven in settings tian Union salon to rewhere atheism abounds, flect Christ as they labor many individuals are in the powerful, but surprisingly attentive to decidedly secular, corrispiritual issues. dors of their megalopolis.

“It’s about how we Greg Thornbury engage people, underspoke on February 20 standing our faith, but at the ministry’s quarnot being defensive,” terly salon, which was said Scott Crosby, minheld at the editorial istry director of New offices of First Things York City Christian journal in Manhattan.

Union. “There’s a lot of Thornbury, who stepped questioning and openinto his newest leaderness toward ideas of ship role in July, entitled faith.” his message, “He Is Not Thornbury, who Far from Any of Us: serves as the sixth presThe Art of Living and ident of The King’s ColWorking with People of lege, previously acted as Non-Faith.” dean of the theology During the eve- Greg Thornbury, the president of The King’s College, school and vice presining, Thornbury told was a speaker at a recent salon hosted by New York City dent for spiritual life at Christian Union. listeners to be aware Union University in that many of their Tennessee. atheistic and agnostic In addition, Thorncounterparts are open to meaningful bury is a senior fellow with The Kairos discussions on topics of faith, but they Journal and the author of Recovering Clasare exhausted with cultural wars. sic Evangelicalism: Applying the Wisdom As one of his central texts, he pointed and Vision of Carl F. H. Henry. to Acts 17:26-27, which reads, “From one New York City Christian Union’s saman, He made all the nations that they lons offer intimate gatherings with topshould inhabit the whole earth, and He flight speakers to enable Christian leaders marked out their appointed times in history and to cultivate meaningful ties and interact on topics the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that that strengthen the intellectual or spiritual dimenthey would seek Him and perhaps reach out for sions of their faith. | cu

25

donor spotlight

Shaping Future Leaders Christian Union Alumna Is a Bible Course Sponsor

christian union

::

the magazine

L

26

indsay Grinols Simmons (Princeton ’04) was one of just a handful of students involved with the budding Christian Union ministry when it first launched at Princeton over a decade ago. In fact, she was a member of the ministry’s first women’s Bible course. You might say that gives her a unique vantage point on the ministry’s growth at Princeton over the years, where it has surged from three students in 2002 to more than 400 students in 2013-14.

“The year-over-year increase in Princeton students’ engagement with Christian Union is astonishing,” she says. “It shows Princeton students are hungry for the truth.”

During her student years, Lindsay says her Christian faith kept her grounded. In Princeton’s secular environment, “You need moorings to keep from drifting in a strong current,” Lindsay says. Being networked to an encouraging Lindsay Simmons, Princeton ’04 Christian community is essential. “The college years are some of the best ones to have guiding principles of faith, and some of the worst ones to go without.”

Lindsay graduated from Princeton, cum laude, with a degree in politics and a certificate in political theory. She was a member of the Princeton Tigerlilies (Princeton’s oldest all-female a cappella group); the Princeton Tower Club; and a junior fellow in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. She also studied abroad at Oxford University, Hertford College.

At many levels, Lindsay herself embodies Christian Union’s vision to see Christians influence their field with godliness, combining a zeal for excellence with a purposeful, vocational mindset.

In 2007 Lindsay received her JD from the University of Virginia Law School, where she was active

in the Law Christian Fellowship, among other groups. It was through a law journal that she met her husband, Josh. He struck up a conversation and she invited him to join her at the Law Christian Fellowship meeting later that day. Two years later, they married.

Today, Lindsay is Assistant General Counsel at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Previously, she was attorney-advisor in the Office of the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and also Senior Advisor to the General Counsel. Earlier in her career, Lindsay was an associate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in Washington, DC. The path Lindsay took to each of these positions was intentional and Spirit-driven: “I’ve always been interested in making government work well. In law school, I learned that a niche within corporate law would align with my interests. Taking stock of my gifts and following the Holy Spirit’s guidance led me each step of the way.”

In the meantime, the Illinois native kept tabs on Christian Union’s deepening impact at Princeton, and was pleased to see it extend its presence to other key campuses, including: Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale. Already an energetic supporter, Lindsay increased her advocacy for the growing ministry.

Since 2009, Lindsay’s involvement with Christian Union has deepened. She is currently serving on the Princeton President’s Council, alumni volunteers who are developing a nationwide Princeton alumni network to support and pray for the ministry at Princeton. “I have been honored to serve on the council,” Lindsay says. “It gives me a great opportunity to see how a well-organized Christian ministry works.”

Lindsay notes that one of the reasons she supports Christian Union is its strategy of developing the faith and Christian leadership skills at culturally influential schools. The purpose resonates with her, as does the ministry’s proactive engagement on campus. “Christian Union leaders advocate with uni-

versity administration and engage the culture at all levels.”

“Most importantly,” she says, “I see leaders and staff who pray, fast, and work diligently to bring God’s kingdom.”

For the past two academic years, Lindsay and Josh have sponsored a Class of 2016 fall semester women’s Bible course. “I love being connected to current students and seeing our gifts at work,” Lindsay reports. “I was thrilled to receive a video of students in the Bible course we sponsor introducing themselves and sending their thanks.”

The sense of satisfaction is deeply personal: “I see myself and my college friends in them, and I am grateful I can make a difference for them,” Lindsay says. “Each of their souls is precious to God, and each of them has many lives to touch in the years to come. Any investment I can make to enrich their relationships with Jesus is so worth it!”

Lindsay and Josh now have two young children, a son, Jamison, and daughter, Eliza. Sensitive to God’s timing, Lindsay is carefully balancing her time with her 1 and 3-year-olds with career considerations.

“God has been faithful to lead me each step of the way, bringing me amazing opportunities I couldn’t have anticipated. I know I can trust God with my career.”

“Any investment I can make to enrich their relationships with Jesus is so worth it!”

At the same time, Lindsay has become an ever-more-persuasive advocate for Christian Union, urging others to become ministry partners. “The number of students enrolled in Bible courses is limited only by the number of staff Christian Union can support – not because more students aren’t interested. This is fertile ground!” | cu

spring

2014 :: christianunion.org

Christian Union Ministry Fellow Rebekah Hannah (back row, far right) leads a Christian Union Bible course at Columbia University. During the past academic year, 1,046 student were enrolled in Christian Union Bible courses at Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale.

27

christian union

::

the magazine

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

28

reports from america’s most influential universities

The Spiritual Climate in the

Ivy League

The following articles were written to keep readers informed about the spiritual atmosphere at Ivy League universities. Some stories will encourage you by highlighting ways God is working through other (non-Christian Union) ministries. Other articles—on news, trends, and events—are included to help motivate you to pray for these institutions, their students, faculty, and staff, and for all of the Christian ministies that work at these schools. ......................................................................................

I VY L E A G U E R E POR T S | Spring 2014 spring

Hope Instead of Despair He also posted his phone number, encouraging students to call if they needed to talk or wanted to share a cup of coffee. He wrote, “Please, please, do not attempt to kill yourself, and call this number if you want to hear me out. Life is so much more beautiful than death.”

christianunion.org

tempted suicide twice during his freshman year.

“Please, Penn undergraduate students, talk to one another about your weaknesses and insecurities. Listen to each other’s struggles, and help each other out,” Park wrote on Pennsive, a blog that focuses on mental health.

::

F

ollowing the tragic suicides of two promising students at the University of Pennsylvania this winter, one upperclassman reached out with a message of hope on a school blog.

Jack Park, a junior from Seoul, South Korea, knows all too well the anguish these students felt. He at-

2014

PENN JUNIOR WRITE S EN COUR AGIN G BLO G P OS T FOLLOWIN G S U I C I D E S | By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer

29

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

Penn Freshman Madison Holleran was a popular young woman and member of Penn’s track and field team. She took her life between the fall and winter semesters, leaping to her death from a Philadelphia parking garage.

Holleran, a gifted athlete, achieved a 3.5 grade point average in her only semester. In her final hour, she snapped a scenic photo of Rittenhouse Square and posted it to Instagram.

“She was bright and well-liked, with an incredible future ahead of her,” said Penn President Amy Gutmann in a statement.

Sophomore Elvis Hatcher, a gifted mathematician and treasurer of Pi

Somehow, these students came to believe that perfection is attainable, and that failure is unacceptable.

In an article in the New York Post, James Holleran, Madison’s father, cited the pressures of Penn as a contributor to her death.

“There was a lot more pressure in the classroom at Penn. She wasn’t normal happy Madison. Now she had worries and stress,” he told the Post.

“She knew she needed help. She had lost confidence in academics and she also lost confidence in her track abilities.”

In February, Columbia sophomore Chayenne Mia wrote a first-person account for the Columbia Spectator

christian union

::

the magazine

Park attempted to shed light on the silent suffering that often hides behind façades of smiles and successes.

30

Lamda Phi fraternity, committed suicide in February.

In The Daily Pennsylvanian, Hatcher was described by Penn Instructor Sophie Degat-Willis as one of her “brightest and funniest students.”

With his blog post, Park attempted to shed light on the silent suffering that often hides behind façades of smiles and successes.

In some ways, the sad stories of Holleran and Hatcher are similar to those of fellow Ivy League students who have lost battles with despair in recent years.

In 2010, just hours before he took his life by jumping from the Empire State Building, Yale student Cameron Dabaghi shared an umbrella and a light-hearted conversation with a professor. In 2012, Columbia freshman Marta Corey-Ochoa leaped to her death just hours after a meet and greet at school.

about her struggles with stress and anxiety.

“I hated the system that obliged me to run myself into the ground for a grade point average… I felt like I wasn’t afforded the time to take care of myself physically, mentally, or emotionally while maintaining the academic performance expected of me,” she wrote.

Park talked about the pressures at Penn.

“Penn has a culture of trying to appear put-together all the time, since people usually don’t like hanging out with sad people,” said Park. “Students want to be likable. They want to look like they know what they are doing all the time.”

As he considered taking his own life a couple of years ago, he looked around and saw futility.

“I saw no point in studying or making money for a living, since there

was no purpose of my life anymore,” said Park, who couldn’t understand how God could create “such a messed up world.”

“I observed other people for a while and concluded that the world is a sad, sad place. From then on, I did not want to participate in the sinful world anymore.”

Thankfully, Park’s attempts to take his life failed. Today, he cites God’s purpose and the love of his parents for his triumph. “[God] had a purpose for me to overcome depression and end my suicidal thoughts forever: it is to share a powerful testimony… and to spread the Gospel,” he said.

Now, Park is sharing his story and standing in the gap of despair, offering friendship and hope to his peers.

Following the suicides at Penn, University Chaplain Chaz Howard, Penn 2001, said that “every corner of the university pulled together” to address the bigger conversation around mental health and stress. Campus ministries and local churches reached out to students with the Gospel and challenged them to think about how to deal with death in a realistic, authentic way.

What students need most is love, said Park, “love from parents, friends, family, and ultimately, Jesus.” They also need hope and the Word of God and a willingness to talk to family, friends, and pastors about their struggles.

“Life is beautiful,” he said. “I have so much hope. I want to spread His Word as best as I can [through] a vivid, personal testimony of how I met Christ.” | cu

BROW N | On Campus

Hitting the High Notes S IN G IN G WITH B R OWN D E R B IE S TE S T S THE FAITH O F J UN I O R

By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

E

2014 :: christianunion.org

changed the world before they had gotten into college,” Mabeza wrote for Cornerstone.

“When I didn’t make it into those groups, I felt like I was being told I wasn’t good enough at the one thing I thought I was good at.”

As a result of the ordeal, Mabeza immersed himself in the Branch Christian Fellowship (thebranchconnect.com), part of Chi Alpha Campus Ministries. “It was the relative calm in which I would start figuring out my faith and relationship with God,” Mabeza wrote.

However, the ecology and evolutionary biology major now acknowledges the rebuffs of his initial semester at Brown saved him from arrogance. Even after being accepted into the Derbies during his second semester, Mabeza went on to confront personal shortcomings tied to the far-reaching glare of the musical spotlight, especially after solos.

“Even now, pride is still something for which I need to watch myself.

Performances come with a plethora of compliments,” Mabeza noted. “It is so, so easy to let flattery go to one’s head, and I’ve always been wary of that.”

At times, Mabeza still feels God challenging him to keep his faith ahead of all things Derby and stage.

“There are nights when I try to sleep but can’t because I am preoccupied with Derby-related things – our adventures and gigs, the group dynamic, our relationships,” Mabeza wrote for Cornerstone.

spring

stablishing his identity as a Chris- quire six-plus hours of practice per tian in the heart of Brown Uni- week, have delivered high-energy versity’s lively performing arts scene shows for Brown audiences, hit the has proven a formidable journey for road for tours, and released 11 albums. one multi-talented junior.

In 1997, the vocalists even appeared “I always knew I before former Presiwanted to get out of dent Bill Clinton, my comfort zone,” Yale Law ’73, at The said Russyan MabeWhite House. za ’15, a pre-med Among the issues student whose extrathat surfaced after curricular activities joining the Derbies, center on music and Mabeza noted he theater. “It’s been a was bombarded with growing experience.” questions tied to his The entertainer pledge not to concandidly described sume alcohol. the hurdles of living Russyan Mabeza, Brown ’15, is Such self-analysis using his talent to glorify the out his faith on the left Mabeza wresdecidedly secular Lord: “My voice, along with tling with whether anything in me that is remotely campus, especially in he was ashamed of beautiful, is all God’s doing.” its artsy enclaves, for his beliefs in his new the fall issue of The collegiate environBrown & RISD Cornerstone, a stu- ment, far from his Christian high dent-run Christian journal. “Brown school pals of sun-soaked Southern really questions whatever you’re unsure California. of,” Mabeza said. “It was kind of like Joining an a cappella group at a coming-out piece.”

Brown also forced Mabeza to grapple Mabeza poignantly reflected on with the tentacles of pride. During the spiritual challenges of his mem- the fall semester of his freshman year, bership in a celebrated, but notori- Mabeza auditioned and interviewed ously rowdy, all-male a cappella group. with two vocal troupes that rejected Winning a coveted spot on the him. The tryout process for campus a Brown Derbies exposed the Philip- cappella groups rivals the rush process pines native to unexpected confron- for the Greek system at most state tations. “They have challenged my universities, and members gain notabeliefs and led me to wrestle with ble status from their musical affiliation. different aspects of my faith,” Mabe“In my first weeks at Brown, I tried za wrote of his involvement in the to build my identity as a singer. I acclaimed, tight-knit ensemble. wanted to be somebody amidst a sea Since 1982, the Derbies, who re- of people who had traveled and

31

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

In those moments, Mabeza often senses God asking him whether he values show accolades more than spiritual commitments. Through mentorship from his campus ministry, Mabeza has pledged to offer all compliments and collegiate fame as gifts to his Savior.

“My voice, along with anything in me that is remotely beautiful, is all God’s doing. He is the beauty in me,”

Mabeza wrote.

Among his thespian activities, Mabeza has been involved in technical design for several theater productions, and he recently portrayed a role in Passing Strange, an electrified rock musical. As well, he has acted in musical revues, the Bat Boy musical, a Web comedy, and a student-written play, The Reality Effect.

In addition, Mabeza serves as a

residential advisor and undergraduate researcher, and mentors disadvantaged freshmen and students prepping for college. He attends Renaissance Church in Providence.

As for his time with the Derbies, the tenor said the group has provided some of the lowest and highest notes of his collegiate days. “I will keep these people forever,” he said. “We all love music and love singing.” | cu

.......................................................................................

BROW N | On Campus

Evolution and Faith

B R O W N P R O F E S S O R : ‘ S C I E N C E D O E S N O T T E L L YO U E V E R Y T H I N G ’

By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

for mankind. he evolutionary nature of biology “If we’re just here because of the reflects the genius of God. roll of a dice, how can we be the inThat is one of the themes from tentional product of a gracious and Ken Miller, Brown ’70, as the longloving God?” Miller rhetorically time Brown University biologist regasked. ularly takes to the speaking circuit.

Instead, evolution is “driven by In a recent lecture entitled, Darnatural selection and constrained by win, God, and Design: A Catholic patterns of developmental biology and Understanding of Evolution and Faith, the laws of physics and chemistry. the prolific author probed religious They’re not random, either,” Miller issues tied to evolution and described said. “That’s important to appreciate.” how the controversial concept actuEssentially, life is material, and the ally reflects God’s creative power.

Brown Professor Ken Miller, Brown “capacity of life is built into nature At its core, Miller said an embrace ’70, travels extensively as a speaker, and to be expected,” Miller said. of evolution does not conflict with commentator, and expert witness on Miller touts he is in good compabelief in a supreme being. Rather, the subject of evolution. ny with other scientists who affirm Miller said evolution can be underboth evolution and Christianity, instood to be “part of God’s providenin my fellow students who follow cluding Francis Collins, Yale Ph.D. tial plan.”

On his campus, a student writer Christ, and in professors, like Ken ’74, director of the National Institutes praised Miller for his role in pointing Miller, who aren’t afraid to profess of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Collins, who is known for his piBrown students to God. In 2013, His name in the classroom,” wrote oneering research as director of the Elizabeth Jean-Marie ’15 highlighted Jean-Marie.

As he addresses religious audienc- National Human Genome Research the professor’s commitment to faith in a blog for Cornerstone, a stu- es, Miller is quick to dismiss the com- Institute, has penned a series of books mon conception of evolution as on spirituality, including The Landent-run Christian journal.

“So how do I find God on Brown’s merely a random process and one that guage of God: A Scientist Presents Evcampus? I find Him all around me, points to an ultimate lack of purpose idence for Belief.

christian union

::

the magazine

T

32

b r o w n ne w s - in - b r ie f

Providence Named Least Bible-Minded City A new study from the American Bible Society named Providence, Rhode Island − home of Brown University − as the least Bible-minded city in the United States.

The study, released in January, tied Bible cognition to frequency of use within the past seven days and how strongly respondents agreed with its accuracy. Not surprisingly, other metropolitans hosting Ivy League colleges were close behind in results, including Boston, New Haven, Connecticut, and New York. Chattanooga, Tennessee, secured the spot as the nation’s most Bible-minded municipality, followed by Birmingham, Alabama.

Addressing Freshman Drinking

:: christianunion.org

A review of data from over 40 studies of freshman alcohol interventions finds there are effective options for colleges to address drinking problems among students.

Brown University researchers recommend colleges screen freshmen within their first few weeks for alcohol risk and offer intervention for those who report drinking. Even small steps can have a large impact when implemented broadly, a phenomenon known as the prevention paradox, according to Brown findings published in a clinical psychology journal.

2014

clude: Finding Darwin’s God: a Scientist’s Search for Common Ground between God and Evolution and Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul.

Since publishing his initial textbook, Miller mused he has been thrust into the “midst of defending evolution... This is an issue that arouses very strong feelings.”

More notably, Miller served as a lead witness for the plaintiffs in Kitzmiller vs. Dover Area School District in 2005. In a federal court in Pennsylvania, the plaintiffs successfully argued the teaching of intelligent design represented a form of creationism and violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“This was an extremely emotional issue for the community,” Miller said.

Judicial victory aside, Miller is quick to point out that science, while deemed as rational, faces limitations and cannot answer all philosophical questions worth postulating, including ones on the purpose and meaning of life.

“Science does not tell you everything,” he said. “That’s where faith guides us.”

Still, Miller wants believers to remember the “first duty of any Christian should be to the truth… We were given the ability to do science.”

During his appearance at Princeton, such messages resonated with students immersed in spirituality and science.

Edwin Carbajal ’14, an undergraduate leader with Aquinas, noted Miller “echoes three popes in recent history who have spoken and accepted evolution as a natural process and believers need not find the two incompatible.” | cu

spring

As well, a host of Catholic scientists, including both modern and historical figures, accept evolution along with theism because of the logical and intelligible nature of the universe.

As for Miller, the cell biologist crisscrosses the globe as he maintains a busy speaking schedule exploring the strengths and limitations of evolution.

On February 27, during an appearance at Princeton University on behalf of the Aquinas Institute (PrincetonCatholic.org), Miller shared the account of how he became intrigued by the field of evolution.

Namely, after joining Brown’s faculty in 1981, students from Campus Crusade for Christ (cru-brown.org) approached Miller about debating Henry Morris. The young-Earth creationist and Christian apologist had offered to square off against any professor from the university’s anthropology or biology departments on the subject of the earth’s origins.

With some prodding, Miller, a debater during his high-school days in New Jersey, agreed. Eventually, the proposed session attracted so much attention that Cru organizers relocated the event to Brown’s hockey rink to accommodate 1,500 or so ticketholders.

Months later, Miller again faced off against Morris, this time in Tampa, where the local school board had just decided to teach creation science alongside evolution.

Today, Miller travels extensively as a speaker, commentator, and expert witness on the subject of evolution, in addition to handling his Brown professorial and research duties. As well, Miller is the author of a major introductory college and high school biology textbook. Other works in-

33

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

COLU M B I A | On Campus

Love and Fidelity and Valentine’s Day

COLUMBIA AN SCOMBE SO CIET Y PROMOTE S AUTHENTIC ROMAN CE

By Luke Foster, Columbia ’14

R

omantic fidelity is barely spoken of at Columbia, a campus where hundreds of young women line up on Friday nights to descend into dark

christian union

::

the magazine

Leading up to Valentine’s Day, posters from the Love and Fidelity Network encouraged students to look for lasting love.

34

and claustrophobic fraternity house basements. Sexual assault is rampant, drawing publicity and hand-wringing from administrators and student government leaders. Love is sometimes the topic of wistful, “what if ” conversations, but more often the word is used in scare quotes on Facebook.

For the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, the Love and Fidelity Network launched a nationwide campaign, “Make Yours a Story, Not a Tweet,”

to promote authentic romance. Love and Fidelity, headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, works to promote sexual integrity, marriage, and the family at more than 25 campuses across the United States and Mexico.

The campaign, featuring posters and social media initiatives, challenged students to look for lasting love, rather than treating others as a distraction or vehicles for sexual pleasure.

Columbia’s chapter of the Love and Fidelity Network is still embryonic, but did participate in the Valentine’s Day campaign. Named the Columbia Anscombe Society in honor of the brilliant mid-twentieth-century philosopher G.E.M. Anscombe, the organization aims to stir up conversation and challenge Columbia to recover a belief in love. In addition to flyering campus buildings with its message, Columbia Anscombe was able to put on a pair of events.

Christian Union’s leadership development ministry at Columbia co-hosted Dr. Alexander Pruss with Columbia Anscombe Society on February 8 as the Baylor University professor traced the philosophical underpinnings of Christian sexual ethics. He argued that only an understanding of sexual love as the complete, lifelong union of a man and a woman oriented towards procreation could fulfill the purpose of human sexuality. The lecture, peppered with humorous anecdotes as well as challenging syllogisms, was attended by over 50 people.

Later that week, Anscombe asked

the campus community if the pursuit of romance at Columbia was a matter of “Finding Love in a Hopeless Place,” drawing on the title of Rihanna’s hit song. The Veritas Forum and the Student Wellness Project, a mental health group, co-hosted the February 11th event. Over 20 students came to take part in a discussion over cookies and milk, expressing a shared longing for Columbia to be a place where meaningful relationships flourished. With the pressure of Valentine’s Day in the air, some said that traditions of dating, like dinner and a movie, were outdated and stifled personal creativity. But other students expressed affection for the old norms that assumed shared standards for romance. The frank and open discussion at least represented a step towards the authenticity that Anscombe hopes to promote.

The young men and women of the Anscombe Society have a tough task ahead of them. They come from Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and secular backgrounds, sharing a longing for Columbia to recognize the dignity of human sexuality and its proper expression in family life. They’re in the process of seeking recognition from Columbia’s administration as an official student organization. And they hope that on Valentine’s Days to come, dinner dates and decency will replace hook-ups as the norm on campus. | cu

COLU M B I A | On Campus

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus

C O L U M B I A L E C T U R E AT T R A C T S C H R I S T I A N S , N O N - C H R I S T I A N S

By Luke Foster, Columbia ’14

PHOTO CREDIT: Seulgey Suh

Nabeel Qureshi spoke at Columbia to discuss his new book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus.

Dr. Qureshi, who titled his talk after his new book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, challenged students to pursue truth above beauty, and to be willing to submit to the most compelling view of the world, no matter the cost. He asserted that the Gospel accounts are historically reliable and

But an abstract argument that we ought to believe a proposition rarely compels anyone. So Dr. Qureshi focused on his own conversion story.

Raised in an Islamic context, he was a devout Muslim when he arrived at Eastern Virginia Medical School.

There he met intelligent and articulate

christianunion.org

Christians and began to research their claims about Jesus in order to refute them. But the more he looked into the historical backing for Christianity’s claims, the more he was intrigued.

He then examined Islam’s historical roots and found its portrayal of the

::

thus raise the problem of Jesus’ identity for anyone who reads them. If Jesus really did claim to be the Son of God, and He really did die on a cross, and He really did rise from the dead, then we have to accept His claim.

2014

Dr. Qureshi challenged students to pursue truth above beauty, and to be willing to submit to the most compelling view of the world, no matter the cost.

spring

Thursday nights at Columbia University tend to be quiet. Few students have classes on Fridays, so almost everyone prepares for the weekend and tries to recover from the hectic week. The Christian ministries on campus use Thursday evenings as times to worship and reflect.

But Thursday, February 20 was a little different. For a week, posters and Facebook posts had been proclaiming an exciting event for that evening.

Compass Christian Koinonia and Apologetics Café co-hosted a lecture with Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, a Ravi Zacharias International Ministries speaker. Several campus organizations helped publicize the event. Approximately 150 people of all faiths and no faith crowded into a small auditorium to engage with the ideas of Dr. Qureshi.

35

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

Prophet Muhammad and its assertion of the Qu’ran as God’s revelation unconvincing. The weight of the evidence led him to the radical step of becoming a Christian.

Chelsea Lo, a senior at Barnard College and president of Compass Christian Koinonia (www.columbia. edu/cu/cck/), reflected enthusiastically on the event’s success. “After Dr. Qureshi finished speaking, several Muslim audience members questioned him about his story,” she said.

“The exchange was thoughtful and respectful, with a real sense of trust.”

For Lo, hosting “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus” was an act of service

to Columbia’s student body: “Having an opportunity for intellectual, but also emotional engagement with a respected scholar is something we thought that people would be interested in.” She sees a “thirst” for spiritual truth in Columbians that isn’t always adequately met.

Lo’s involvement with Compass Christian Koinonia (CCK) has helped her process her own doubts and empathize with skeptics. “CCK is one of the smaller ministries on campus, with about a dozen people,” she said.

“We dig deeply into God’s Word and welcome anyone who is asking ques-

tions.” At points, almost half of CCK’s membership has been composed of spiritual seekers.

The enthusiasm for February’s event with Dr. Qureshi reflects the ability of ministries like CCK to meet specific needs at Columbia. It is also part of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries’ growing work on Ivy League campuses: Dr. Zacharias himself spoke at Princeton, Penn, and Dartmouth this academic year, and the ministry is working with the Augustine Collective to resource journals of Christian thought at these universities. | cu

....................................................................................... c o l u m b ia ne w s - in - b r ie f

christian union

::

the magazine

Retreat Theme: ‘The Cost of Following Jesus’

36

Korea Campus Crusade for Christ held its annual spring retreat in February at the Ramah Naioth Retreat Center in Vernon, New Jersey.

Pastor Brian Cho of Chodae Presbyterian Church in Norwood, New Jersey was the featured speaker for the retreat, which featured the theme, “The Cost of Following Jesus.” Rev. Cho’s messages focused on pursuing Jesus Christ as one’s ultimate treasure. The event also included discussions designed to help seeking students learn more about Jesus. New members were also invited to attend weekly small group Bible studies.

Columbia Gospel Choir Performs at Spring Concert The Columbia University Gospel Choir and Band capped off a busy season that included a spring concert on April 26 in Lerner Hall and an appearance on April 13 at the Greater File Chapel Baptist Church in Manhattan.

Earlier, the group (columbia.

edu/cu/gospel) appeared with Pizmon (pizmon.org), Columbia’s Jewish a cappella group, for a musical study break to explore the relationship between music and religion from Christian and Jewish perspectives.

The choir, which formed in 1994, holds two annual concerts and ministers at schools, ceremonies, churches, and businesses throughout the academic year.

If you long to know the mind of God, you must learn to use your own.

spring

2014 :: christianunion.org

If you’re looking for truth that can transform your life and change the world, devote yourself to diligent, disciplined study of God’s Word. Because a faith that’s truly mature requires a mind that’s well-informed.

37 ®

ATLANTA | CHARLOTTE | HOusTON | JACKsON | MEMpHis | ORLANDO | WAsHiNGTON DC | GLObAL

www.rts.edu

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

COR N E LL | On Campus

Go Light Your World A N N U A L M I S S I O N S E V E N T I S A C ATA LY S T F O R R E F L E C T I O N , A C T I O N

By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer

A

conference at Cornell this semester put the spotlight on missions work around the world, and shifted focus from personal pursuits to the Kingdom of God. LIGHT, an annual event coordinated by Campus on a Hill, is designed to educate students about a breadth of missional needs, from long-term to short-term, and exhort them to live life as a mission on a daily basis.

christian union

::

the magazine

Rob Cheeley, founder of Bless China International, was the featured speaker at LIGHT 2014.

38

One of the keynote speakers was physician and missionary Rob Cheeley, who spoke about his work with Bless China International. Cheeley, who founded the organization, spoke to the roughly 100 students in attendance about God’s faithfulness in China and the realities of what doing God’s work in foreign lands can be like.

“I was really impressed when

[Cheeley] said that the government in China arrests him frequently,” said Giovanna Cavagnaro ’17, one of the organizers. “But he’s always 100 percent honest with them about what he is doing. He said he believes that’s why he has found so much favor with them.”

Cavagnaro was also struck by Cheeley’s stories of evangelism. For example, a mother who visited Bless China’s medical center with her sick child accepted Christ while she was there. Her demeanor changed so much that when she returned to her village, neighbors could see the transformation. A church was subsequently planted in that village.

The focus on missions, said Cavagnaro, was something that inspired Cornell students.

“Bringing a message about missions reminded us about how it’s not all about us and how we can use the resources God gave us to bless others in whatever we do, wherever we go.

It reminds us of the bigger picture,” she said.

Cavagnaro admitted that it’s easy to become self-centered as a college student due to the demands and worries around jobs, internships, resumes, and money.

“It ends up being all about our well-being, especially in an Ivy League university,” she said.

The message of self-sacrifice is not always an easy one for ambitious young adults to hear—but for believers who are passionate about the Great Commission, the message can be

reassuring.

“In a way, it brings a lot of comfort and encouragement when someone comes in and talks about missions work, because it reminds us that the point of our life isn’t to be financially successful, but to make a difference in the world by testifying to God’s great love,” Cavagnaro said.

The freshman noted that the event was met with a “great response,” sparking an interest in serving people around the globe. While LIGHT does not advertise specific missionary opportunities, students interested in Cheeley’s ministry were able to speak with him, and the various campus ministries at Cornell were able to advertise missions trip opportunities.

Cavagnaro is passionate about missions. At the end of 2013, while visiting her home country of Brazil, she helped raise money for Christmas gifts for underprivileged children. She had hoped to provide gifts for 20 children, but, citing God’s provision, she said she was able to give presents to 380 needy children. She is currently exploring the possibility of a missions trip to Brazil next spring.

“I believe it comes back to taking up our cross,” she said. “Following Jesus requires sacrifice, and we need to have our ears tuned to what the Holy Spirit has to say about where He wants to lead us.” | cu

COR N E LL | On Campus

Answering the Call VA N D E R B I LT D I V I N I T Y S C H O O L P R O F E S S O R E X H O R T S C O R N E L L C O M M U N I T Y T O F I G H T H U M A N T R A F F I C K I N G | By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

G

Then, in 2004, on a trip to Sri Trinity, meaning relationships are central to His blueprints and opera- Lanka, the realities of the sex-trafficking industry hit shockingly home. tions.

After checking into a “Life is all about relarespectable hotel, Lim tionships,” he said. “Hureceived a call from man trafficking needs to the concierge’s desk. be seen as a rupture of The employee, hesirelationships.” tantly but systemati“Christian theology is cally, probed whether about lifting up the other Lim wanted a beer, person, from being an then whiskey and fiobject of conquest to an At a lecture hosted by nally wine before object of love and ser- the Institute of Biblical turning his next set of vice.”

Studies, Paul Lim (Yale unfruitful queries to Christ is the embod- ’90) said the love of Lim’s sexual desires. iment of justice, so believ- God should motivate The concierge ers are called to fight on believers to fight human asked Lim if he wished behalf of afflicted individ- trafficking. for the services of a uals and usher restoration woman. Undaunted by the guest’s of their beauty and shalom.

“They are individuals created in firm decline, the man then pressed the image of God,” Lim said. “They Lim as to whether he, instead, fancied the services of a young girl, possibly need our helping hand.”

More than a decade ago, Lim was a boy, or even two boys.

“I was literally shivering. At a very touched by the issues surrounding human trafficking while delivering a respectable hotel, a concierge was series of theological lectures across the asking me to be engaged in human

Indeed, the U.S. State Department ranks human trafficking as one of

2014

the world’s greatest human-rights challenges. In terms of illegal trade,

spring

::

it falls just behind drug trafficking. globe. While in sectors of Asia, Africa, and even Europe, Lim heard myriad disturbing reports from staffers with non-governmental organizations about the widespread, expanding problems of forced labor and sexual servitude.

trafficking,” Lim told Cornell students.

Enraged, Lim went to the hotel lobby to confront the concierge and to highlight the Gospel purposes behind his journey to the island country in the Indian Ocean.

christianunion.org

od is in the business of restoration, and He delights in offering beauty and dignity to the exploited.

As such, the love of the all-powerful Creator should motivate believers to serve as His ambassadors in the global war on human trafficking.

That was the message from Paul Lim when the Yale University alumnus of 1990 and scholar spoke at Cornell University.

On February 7, Lim, a professor of Christian history at Vanderbilt University’s Divinity School, appeared in Kennedy Hall at the invitation of Chesterton House (chestertonhouse. org) as part of this year’s Institute of Biblical Studies. Bethel Grove Baptist Church and New Life Presbyterian Church co-sponsored a weekend of lectures by Lim for the institute along with Chesterton, a private center for Christian studies in the Cornell community. A Christian Union grant helped underwrite the event.

“God’s heart is here, aching and calling those who would go,” Lim said.

In short, God is a champion of justice and peace, and human trafficking represents a serious violation of the nature of relationships He designed for mankind.

Likewise, rather than merely being a trendy cause, rescuing individuals caught in sexual and other slavery reflects the spiritual heart behind the principles of human conduct prescribed throughout the Old and New Testaments. God exists as a Holy

39

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

The concierge’s matter-of-fact response changed Lim’s life and opened his eyes to the prolific, but desensitized, nature of sexual tourism.

“People who look like you, with U.S. passports, what else do you think they will do when they come to my country? I simply assumed you were after the same thing,” the concierge replied.

Stunned, the concierge’s answer gave Lim a glimpse into a mindset desensitized to the immorality of sexual trafficking.

Upon reflection, Lim noted overt objectification causes pleasure seekers to see little difference between consuming a beer and buying the sexual services of a youth. “A scotch is no different from a young boy. Both are

commercial items on offer, objects for your own benefit,” Lim said.

But, in God’s eyes, abused individuals – unlike misused goods – retain their value, and His opposition to such immorality is firm.

As such, Lim encouraged Cornell students to labor with campus and regional groups dedicated to combating modern slavery and prostitution.

Likewise, he urged them to help oppose sexual violence on campus.

Indeed, the U.S. State Department ranks human trafficking as one of the world’s greatest human-rights challenges. In terms of illegal trade, it falls just behind drug trafficking.

About 27 million people are slaves, including 12.3 million in sexual servitude and forced labor, according to

the United Nations.

Sexual tourism is especially vibrant in developing countries, where the average service costs about $15 versus the going rate of $100 per service in the United States and major Western nations.

While confronting global trafficking may seem like an impossible task, Lim told Cornell students to think big.

“The world is shrinking. It is much more accessible for you to do good things as well as terrifying things,” Lim said. “Globalization has brought in many possibilities and perils.”

Inspiration from the triune God points to His heart in restoring the lives of broken individuals and relationships. “Use your talents and treasures to serve,” Lim said. | cu

.....................................................................................

christian union

::

the magazine

c o r ne l l ne w s - in - b r ie f

40

FCA Students Serve With Urban Promise

Richard Stearns Speaks at Cornell

Students with Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Cornell (http://cornellfca.blogspot.com) spent Spring Break participating in Urban Promise in Wilmington, Delaware. For the third straight year, the students worked with underprivileged children, helping them with school work and sharing the Gospel with them.

The mission of Urban Promise is to “equip children and young adults through Christ with the skills necessary for academic achievement, life management, personal growth, and servant leadership.”

A Christian Union grant helped underwrite the trip.

World Vision USA President Richard Stearns (Cornell ’73 and Wharton ’75) spoke at Cornell on February 27 about “World View, the Meaning of Life, and the End of Poverty.” The event was sponsored by Campus on a Hill (campusonahill. org) and co-sponsored by the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.

In March, Stearns and World

Vision were criticized by various Christian leaders and donors for their new policy, which allowed employees to be involved in a “same-sex marriage.” After considering the possible ramifications of such a radical policy, the World Vision Board reversed its decision.

D A R T M OU T H | On Campus

The Neuroscience of Spirit Life M U S I N G S O N D R . C U R T T H O M P S O N ’ S A N AT O M Y O F T H E S O U L

E

roscience and Spiritual Practices That Can Transform Your Life and Relationships, psychiatrist Curt Thompson argues that neuroscience and Christian spirituality can and should be brought to bear on one another. Throughout the book, Thompson uses the interdisciplinary field of interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB) as the scaffolding upon which he builds his case, tipping his hat to Dr. Daniel Siegel, who launched the field with his influential book, The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are. One of the key principles of IPNB is that there are continuous, recipro-

nuanced dance between brain and behavior, for he maintains that once people do understand it, they can begin to change how they approach their relationships with God and other people. Thompson illustrates this in the context of close relationships with others where people share their life narratives: “When a person tells her story and is truly heard and understood, both she and the listener undergo actual changes in their brain circuitry. They feel a greater sense of emotional and relational connection, decreased anxiety, and greater awareness of and compassion for others’ suffering.” That is, the fact that our

Thompson asserts that long held and respected Christian disciplines, such as prayer and confession, are the very means of transformation; these practices actually renew and re-fashion our brains, quite literally, by the re-wiring of neural networks.

:: christianunion.org

neural machinery is so sensitive and responsive to experience allows it to support empathy and emotional processing, arguably in real time.

Throughout the book, and with IPNB as the guiding theoretical framework, Thompson keeps two traceable thematic arcs in view. The first is the idea of entrainment of brain networks in the course of human development.

Specifically, as a person goes through the chaotic mill of life, replete with emotionally charged events and joyous and painful memories, his or her neural networks respond to and are con-

2014

cal relationships between our experiences and our brain development.

This idea renders the perennial nature versus nurture debate inconsequential, since it is not a matter of genetic and environmental factors influencing the brain unidirectionally. Rather, there is such fluidity with which brain activity influences behavior, which then modulates brain function, which then affects future behavior, that it becomes nearly impossible to establish a neat chain of cause and effect.

In the book, Thompson is careful to make sure readers understand this

spring

ditor’s note: The following article originally appeared in the Dartmouth Apologia, a Journal of Christian Thought (www.DartmouthApologia.org). The author, Richard Lopez, is a graduate student in the Department of Physiological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth.

Open any newspaper or scroll through a blog roll and you will encounter a story highlighting (and probably sensationalizing) the latest neuroscience study, accompanied by a headline that reads, “Scientists find love in the brain!” or “Stock traders don’t feel fear—brain studies show.”

Notwithstanding these exaggerated claims, non-invasive neuroimaging methods have duly allowed brain scientists to observe the mind in action and to uncover the neural bases of various phenomena, such as how we perceive and form impressions of others, or how we experience and regulate our emotions.

To date, those within the neuroscience community have had relatively little engagement with scholars in disciplines that appear to be completely at odds with the basic tenets and assumptions of neuroscience. An example of this lack of cross talk has occurred between neuroscience and Christian theology. Indeed, there have been few serious efforts to see how our increasing knowledge about the structure and functions of the brain can speak to the Christian worldview or deepen our understanding of how the Christian faith is applied and lived.

In his book, Anatomy of the Soul: Surprising Connections Between Neu-

41

christian union

::

the magazine

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

42

stantly conditioned by all these experiences. In the case of trauma or abuse, a person may show pronounced sensitivity to anything associated with the traumatic event and may even re-experience a flood of anxiety or fear—all due to a preset pattern of neuronal activity. This phenomenon is also common in drug addiction and other compulsive behaviors in which altered brain circuitry associated with motivation and reward increases the likelihood to take drugs or engage in a harmful behavior, despite a person’s knowledge of the negative consequences.

The disturbing implication here is that one’s behavior can become automatized due to the ease with which neural networks change and re-organize.

Dr. Thompson points out that as neural networks become conditioned, cognitive processing breaks down (dis-integrates) and becomes biased in favor of the firing patterns of these networks. He claims that God is aware of this fact: “God knows that unless... our neural networks are integrated... we will remain in the narrow, constricting, well-hewn grooves of the networks we have formed over our lifetimes.”

According to Thompson, this also applies to our sense of self and self-knowledge. Something from without is needed to affect a change: “The way we understand and make sense of our story is reflected in the wiring of our brain. This networking (via Hebb’s axiom: neurons that fire together wire together) tends to reinforce our story’s hardwiring…and will continue to do so unless substantially acted upon by another outside relationship.” The most important outside relationship,

Thompson contends, is with God Himself. And if someone allows him or herself to be known and loved by God, then supernatural transformation of the mind and its attendant brain networks becomes possible—culminating in a rich and integrated mental life pleasing to God. This elicits a strikingly similar sentiment to that in St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Given what we now know about the inextricable links between brain function and our mental lives, this renewal must necessarily entail changes in patterns of brain activity and possibly even brain structure.

In many ways, the second major arc of Anatomy of the Soul proceeds from the first. Still maintaining that brain networks are plastic and amenable to change, Thompson asserts that long-held and respected Christian disciplines, such as prayer and confession, are the very means of transformation; these practices actually renew and re-fashion our brains, quite literally, by the re-wiring of neural networks. According to Thompson, confessional living is one of the most difficult but most powerful engines of transformation and sanctification, for ourselves and others: God does not expect...[us]... to be perfect. He does, however, long for us to be perceptive. He does not expect that we will never make mistakes, but He cares that we are attuned to the mistakes we inevitably will make...God is interested in integration, in connection. And telling the truth—both verbally and non-verbally—about our mistakes actually enhances the integration of the mind of the one

we have hurt—and our own minds as well.

If we follow Thompson’s logic here, the implication is weighty. When one intentionally practices the discipline of confession with candor and vulnerability, it opens the door to the most dramatic kind of transformation of mind. The mind of the listener is changed alongside the mind of the speaker. You might call this intra-mind integration. And then, a more lovely and mysterious integration occurs between the two minds, an inter-mind integration. Indeed, recent brain research has revealed that in the socalled interpersonal space between minds, there is brain-to-brain coupling such that activity in one person’s brain is re-represented and instantiated in another person’s brain.

Anatomy of the Soul offers a novel and provocative case for incorporating findings from modern brain science, namely IPNB, into Christian thought and practice. Throughout the book, Dr. Thompson seamlessly weaves his own counseling experiences with clients with accounts of empirical investigations of the mind and brain, while holding prominently some key ideas that will spark fruitful discussions both in the Christian and psychiatry communities. One such idea worth pondering is that God cares deeply about our embodied existence. That care entails recognition that the central nervous system is an incredibly important part of creation that, while oftentimes subject to the dis-integrating, automatizing effects of sin, can also demonstrate the power of God’s redeeming work to radically transform and integrate our minds—in the service of deeper, enriched relationships with God and others. | cu

D A R T M OU T H | On Campus

The ‘I’ in Internet Addiction D A R T M O U T H P R O F E S S O R A D M I T S L E S S M AY B E M O R E W H E N I T C O M E S T O W E B S U R F I N G | By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer

W

Julia Roper, Dartmouth ’16, said an infatuation with social media can cause students to lose focus.

this generation can be seduced by the call of the Web of knowledge, then what of the young people who have no experience of rotary phones, waiting for letters in the mail, or removing

a week on social networking—a number of hours which the researchers equate to a part-time job. Even more startling is that some students spend as much as 50 hours per week on social media pursuits, and that doesn’t include talking on the phone, watching TV, etc.

Therefore, it’s not surprising that the researchers concluded that “excessive usage of electronic products could undermine [student’s] academics while in college.”

While Dartmouth students Jay Schulte ’15 and Julia Roper ’16, active members of the Christian community on campus, seem to keep their digital use in check, they do admit that YouTube, Netflix, Facebook, and the Internet make it easy to waste time.

Despite being a student athlete, Schulte concedes that it’s easy to lose time discovering tidbits of information.

“Everyone does it,” Schulte said.

“There is all this information out there you don’t do anything with. It’s a time

waster finding out worthless random information.”

Roper also sees this digital dynamic playing out at Dartmouth as well.

“People want to stay busy. Even when waiting in line for food, they pull out their phones. They’re just not being in the moment,” she said.

christianunion.org

newsprint from their fingertips?

According to a study by Gordon College faculty members Bryan Auday and Sybil Coleman, entitled Pulling off the Mask: The Impact of Social Networking Activities on Evangelical Christian College Students, those young people spend more than 18.6 hours

—Julia Roper, Dartmouth ’16

::

media pursuits...”

2014

“Some students spend as much as 50 hours per week on social

spring

hile the far-reaching bandwidth of electronic media offers a plethora of instant data and connectivity, one Dartmouth professor recently went public with her challenge to find meaning in the volume of information so readily available.

In a recent blog on The Huffington Post, “The ‘I’ in Internet Addiction,” Professor Rebecca Biron writes about a fixation that causes her to “seek out new bits of news every few hours.”

“My habit takes the form of information gathering, as if such gathering were the same thing as drawing the connections that make data meaningful. I nurse a vague intuition that doing this daily will eventually help me apprehend the big picture of our epoch,” she wrote.

As an academic, it would make sense that Biron would seek the latest information to enhance her ability to share trends with her students, but ultimately she seems to struggle with putting the information she gathers into any sort of meaningful cohesion.

“I say I’m searching for a method, but I also find it comforting to stay in the mode of massive collecting with no analysis… My Internet addiction exposes a belief that somehow, from the mass of words and images, an answer will emerge on its own,” she writes.

Biron also noted a 2013 trends report by KPCB (Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers) that concluded the average mobile phone user checks their phone 150 times a day.

And if those teaching students of

43

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

For students not as discerning as Schulte and Roper, that time waster can lead to a dearth of spiritual growth, according to Auday and Cole-

of how our day should be spent and how much time should be devoted to self-satisfying activities or entertainment.”

“People want to stay busy. Even when waiting in line for food, they pull out their phones. They’re just not being in the moment.” man: “This might indicate that some Christian students have not developed a theology of time which would amount to a biblical understanding

– Julia Roper, Dartmouth ’16 The answer lies in using social media responsibly—in making mindful and discerning choices about what to spend time on; gathering and in-

terpreting information with wisdom and purpose; and interacting with others in meaningful ways.

As Biron concluded in her reflection on finding meaning in hordes of information, “Scanning and collecting is not reading; it’s a kind of paralysis…

I know that my own creative acts are required if I am to draw meaning from the rush of particulars. Whatever ‘big picture’ might emerge will have to come from me and the ways I read, not from the screen. That’s how I matter.” | cu

....................................................................................... d a r tm o u th ne w s - in - b r ie f

Sorority Sisters Seek to Clean up Greek Life

students “acknowledged that sororities stand for little more than the glorification of alcohol.”

christian union

::

the magazine

Library Displays Artifacts from Moor’s Charity School

44

According to an article in the Valley News, five Dartmouth undergraduates abstained from the recruitment process for new sororities in an effort to encourage reform of Greek life at Dartmouth.

The students emailed a public statement to the campus community explaining that while many students are not attracted to the day-to-day activities of Greek life, its influence on the campus culture makes other activities less compelling.

According to the newspaper’s account, the statement by the

Artifacts from the Moor’s Charity School in Lebanon, Connecticut − a forerunner to Dartmouth College − were on display at the Rauner Special Collections Library at Dartmouth, in honor of founder Eleazar Wheelock.

A blog about the school, posted by the Rauner Library, told of the hardships the first Indian students faced in pursuit of their education at the Moor’s Charity School. A passport of the period was among the items on display at the library.

The school, founded by Wheelock to provide education to native Americans who wanted to become missionaries, was later relocated to New Hampshire and re-founded as Dartmouth College.

Alabaster Group Attends Exalt 2014 Students with Alabaster Group (www.alabastergroup.com), a ministry at Dartmouth College, traveled to Edison, New Jersey this winter to attend the EXALT 2014 Conference, which featured powerful worship, prayer, and teaching from speakers Heidi Baker and Stacy Campbell. A grant from Christian Union helped underwrite the cost of the conference for Dartmouth students.

H A RVA RD | On Campus

Early Christianity Course Is a Worldwide Phenomenon DIVINIT Y SCHOOL PROFESSOR: PEOPLE ARE CURIOUS ABOUT THE B I B L E A N D A N C I E N T H I S T O R Y | By Theodore R. Delwiche and Michael V. Rothberg

E

2014 :: christianunion.org

ceive from the public.

“I thought there was potential for a few thousand people,” Schwaller said.

Sergiy O. Nesterko, a HarvardX research fellow, said that the course’s success was doubly impressive, given that humanities courses usually attract fewer registrants on the platform than science or technical courses.

Harvard has offered a handful of humanities courses on the platform since it co-founded edX with MIT in May 2012.

“The subject of the Over 28,000 people took the online course, course contributed to the “Early Christianity: The Letters of Paul.” level of popularity of the course,” said Nesterko, adding later, “It’s a very wide reach, but I Both Schwaller and Nasrallah said wouldn’t say it is atypical for any Har- that the course has attracted students vardX courses. These courses generally from religious and non-religious backattract registrants from many different grounds. countries from around the world.”

“We know the ways in which the The course makes use not only of religious subjects we study can really discussion platforms through Har- spark a passionate debate,” Nasrallah vardX, but also uses Facebook to said. promote debate between all class parWhile Schwaller and Nasrallah are ticipants. Nasrallah also encourages not sure whether they will offer more students to use the Web site Poetry courses through HarvardX in the fuGenius to annotate texts of Paul’s ture, both agree that creating an onletters. line course has improved their Unlike some other HarvardX teaching skills. courses, there is no residential equiv“[The course] helps me think more alent of “The Letters of Paul” this broadly about different ways to teach,” semester. said Schwaller. | cu

spring

ditor’s note: The following article was reprinted with permission from The Harvard Crimson (www. thecrimson.com).

More than 28,000 students from 183 countries enrolled in “Early Christianity: The Letters of Paul,” Harvard Divinity School’s first foray into edX, which launched January 6.

The number of online participants is more than 220 times the size of the school’s 2013 graduating class.

The course, christened “BibleX” by the media and taught by Divinity School Professor Laura S. Nasrallah, examines the political and religious context of Paul’s letters and the lasting impact that the letters have had on modern religious debate.

“Early Christianity: The Letters of Paul” consists of video lectures, annotation assignments, online discussions, and other short videos that help students gain a glimpse into the historical world Paul occupied and the controversies, both ancient and new, that surround his letters.

“One of my goals was to really engage in this new, online learning,” said Nasrallah, an expert on the New Testament and early Christianity. “I think a lot of people are really curious about the Bible and ancient history,” she added.

Tyler M. Schwaller, a Ph.D. candidate at the Divinity School who helps staff the course, said that he did not initially expect the amount of attention that the course would re-

45

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

H A RVA RD | On Campus

A History of Left Turns C O U R S E R E F L E C T S O N H A R VA R D ’ S R E L I G I O U S H I S T O R Y

By Brian Zhang, Harvard ’15

christian union

::

the magazine

I

46

n the spring semester, Harvard students taking Religion 1513: Harvard’s History and Religious Evolution have a chance to study their university’s religious roots in the classroom.

With 60 undergrads and four Harvard Divinity School students enrolled, the class is the most popular in the religion department.

Dr. Stephen Shoemaker, the course’s instructor, summarized the legacy of Harvard as “a history of left turns.” While it is today regarded as a secular university, Harvard was founded in 1636 as a seminary for training Puritan ministers in the New England area.

The intervening centuries, Shoemaker explained, saw a gradual trans i t i o n t ow a rd s m o re l i b e r a l theological ideas. A crucial transition came in 1805, when Henry Ware, Sr. was narrowly voted in as the first Unitarian professor of theology at Harvard. In the 80 subsequent years, every religion professor hired by Harvard was also Unitarian.

According to Shoemaker, “every time there was an opportunity to take a left turn, Harvard took it.”

Shoemaker, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School (’94) and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (’05), has been involved in the course since 2002 when he co-taught with the late Reverend Peter Gomes, the former Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in Harvard’s Memorial Church. Shoemaker was working on a doctorate under Gomes, and took over the course after Gomes

Susan Overall, Harvard ’14, is one of the students taking Religion 1513 in the spring semester.

passed away in 2011. He attributes its popularity to the novelty of imagining Harvard’s past.

“Students are interested in the idea … that it was a very different place,” Shoemaker said.

Susan Overall ’14, a Christian, is among the students taking the course.

“I took this course because when I decided to take my faith more seriously as a sophomore, I had been told that Harvard was always a very secular place. Ministry leaders on campus used to tell me about the history of Harvard and how it started off as a seminary and a place that glorified God,” she said.

Zachary Young ’14, also a believer, said he most resonates with the early periods of Harvard’s history covered in the course.

“We discussed in depth some passages from Cotton Mather and the question of ‘should Harvard teach classics?’” Young said. “I found myself in agreement with what he was saying … [which] was that it certainly shouldn’t be an emphasis, because it did not help people worship Christ.”

From a historical perspective, Shoemaker said it is surprising not that Harvard ended up as a liberal university, but that it made that switch so quickly. Numerous changes, such as the transition to Unitarianism, were viewed as an opportunity for Harvard to preserve religion and maintain its cultural relevance in a modern age.

“Harvard was, for a variety of contextual and other factors, always on the cutting edge of where things eventually ended up going,” Shoemaker explained. “We’re looking at one institution, but in the story of that institution…you can extract a larger significance for what is happening in the nation writ large.”

As an educator at Harvard, Shoemaker has adopted a number of strategies for creating a safe and welcoming class environment for discussions. He said that he frequently sees two groups of students who are hesitant to take a religion class: those with little religious background who fear they lack prerequisite knowledge, and those who hold a strong faith commitment and fear their be-

liefs may be under attack.

By teaching religion through a historical lens, Shoemaker is able to ease the tension on both sides. The focus of the class becomes in understanding the beliefs of previous generations rather than having to argue for a particular position.

At the same time, a thorough understanding of religion informs and enlivens the study of Harvard’s history.

“If we really want to understand what happened here and why it happened, to teach a course that is not focused on religious components for

the first several centuries would miss a big part of the story of what the place was,” Shoemaker said. “Religion was a vital, if not the key factor, to the institutional identity of the university and its sense of institutional purpose.” | cu

....................................................................................... ha r v a r d ne w s - in - b r ie f

Alumnus Receives Award from Christianity Today A book by Gary Anderson (Harvard Ph.D. ’85), Charity: The Place of the Poor in the Biblical Tradition, received an Award of Merit at the 2014 Christianity Today Book Awards. In his book, Anderson, a theology professor at Notre Dame, examines the role of charity towards the poor by Jews and Christians, versus their Greek and Roman counterparts, and explores the concept of the poor as “living altars.”

Scholar Refutes Historian’s Claim That Jesus Had a Wife

Prof: Secular Fundamentalism Has Robbed Communities

2014 :: christianunion.org

Harvard Kennedy School Professor Marshall Ganz criticized secular fundamentalism at a discussion hosted by the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard. Ganz (Harvard ’91, MPA ’93, Ph.D. 2000), was a panelist at “Faith-Based Community Organizing: How Working with the Religious Other Can Save the World.”

“Religious faith can play a greater role in community organizing,” Ganz told the Harvard Gazette. “Too often, the default position has been to take faith out of the conversation.

We can’t have any God talk.

People will be offended. Secular fundamentalism has robbed many movements of their ability for moral expression.”

spring

A Yale Divinity School scholar recently co-authored an editorial for CNN.com, outlining evidence discrediting the authenticity of a papyrus fragment that suggested Jesus had a wife.

In an article for the April 29 entry to CNN.com’s belief blog, Joel Baden (Yale ’99, Harvard Ph.D. ’07) systematically listed arguments for and against the validity of the controversial text.

In 2012, Harvard Divinity School historian Karen King, Brown Ph.D. ’84, announced her research into a fragment containing an explicit reference to Jesus being married.

Baden wrote the CNN opinion piece with Candida R. Moss, an English academic and professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Notre Dame. With their rebuttals, Baden and Moss noted other papyri in the group containing the “wife” fragment, including a likely forgery.

“Both the material and the script looked authentically ancient

at first glance, and though the notion of Jesus having a wife was remarkable, these ‘lost’ Christian writings, such as the Gnostic Gospels, are full of unorthodoxies,” wrote Baden and Moss.

47

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

P E N N | On Campus

Music, Suffering, and Transcendence

V E R I TA S F O R U M AT P E N N F E AT U R E S A R A N G E O F A R T I S T S

By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer

G

ifted musicians, writers, and poets came together for a Veritas Forum at the University of Pennsylvania: “(Re) Sounding Truth: An Evening of Music, Poetry, and Conversation on Suffering and Transcendence.”

christian union

::

the magazine

Pianist Mia Chung (Harvard ’86, Yale MBA ’88) was a guest speaker at the Veritas Forum at Penn.

48

The Veritas Forum, held on January 29, featured pianist Mia Chung, Harvard ’86 and Yale ’88; poet Herman Beavers, Yale Ph.D. ’90; drummer and music researcher Jim Sykes; and The Excelano Project, the university’s spoken word ensemble. The event was co-sponsored by several Penn ministries and organizations.

In a discussion entitled “Exploring True Life,” Sykes, a first-year teaching assistant at Penn, spoke about studying in Sri Lanka and how it led him to rethink what music is and the relationship it has to society and oneself.

“Music was the gift for the people I was studying. It was a sort of offering in a religious context,” said Sykes.

Music, he said, is not so much the expression of the artist or composer; rather, it ought to be seen as a gift, as something which connects people to one another.

Sykes also discussed how music is meaningful to the people who lived in war-torn Sri Lanka. Although essentially trapped within their homes, they managed to escape the war and chaos through the music they composed and shared with others via the Internet. In effect, they were able to transcend their suffering and remain free in spirit.

For Chung, who began playing piano at age 7, music was experiential through the study and appreciation of the works of the great classical composers. She helped the audience experience music as a transcendent element by playing the piano as she discussed the meaning behind the works of Beethoven.

Chung spoke of Beethoven as the one composer who best captured physical suffering and emotional angst. Beethoven’s greatest challenge, said Chung, was deafness, which started when he was 28 and at the height of his success.

“The very faculty he needed most to fulfill his potential was in jeopardy,” she said.

Chung also discussed the symbolism within music that represents the sacred; and she spoke personally about her faith as a Christian and how it

impacts her life as a musician. “(After coming to Christ), I realized I experienced far greater joy knowing that I—being created in the image of God with the ability to create and do something wonderful— would be providing glory to my Maker,” she said. “Music was a reflection of God’s greatness. That was more empowering and joy-filled than pursuit of excellence and applause.”

Beavers, who recently published the book Dreaming the Business of Hurt, is the graduate and undergraduate chair of the Department of Africana Studies at Penn. During the Veritas Forum, he discussed how he dealt with hurt and grief through his poetry, noting that in many ways the suffering and prose are intertwined.

“Suffering is poetry’s soundtrack,” Beavers said. “It’s how we find our way in the darkness.”

According to Beavers, the question of suffering is contiguous with the idea of finding hope. He shared that the times when he felt the most downtrodden were also the moments he experienced the epiphany of what it is to live.

“I turned the corner as a writer when I realized that you have to have pain to be a writer. You have to be willing to walk up close to that pain,” Beavers said. “As a believer in God and having accepted Christ as my Savior, on some level, the pain is liberating. Not in a definitive sense, but in the sense that you can make it to the next day.”

Beavers’ words were particularly

meaningful to John Baranik, Penn ’16.

“It is no secret that there has been deep hurt on campus this semester, and Professor Beavers’ line, ‘sometimes there is only tenderness,’ has stuck with me for weeks,” said Baranik.

Beavers’ remarks about choosing poetry over a more lucrative career also resonated with the student.

“In the heavy ‘pre-professional’ atmosphere at Penn, I often struggle to fit in,” said Baranik. “And the words of encouragement from a senior faculty member about pursuing his pas-

sions were inspiring.”

And that inspiration was felt by other attendees as well.

As Chung pointed out, “I believe the arts are just signs of the grand and even greater force of God— little glimpses of what His glory is about.” | cu

.......................................................................................

P E N N | On Campus

Is Truth Real?

R AV I Z A C H A R I A S L E C T U R E I N S P I R E S D I S C U S S I O N AT P E N N

By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer

During the question and answer visit to the University of Penn- sweetness of Christ came out of him.”

Zacharias spoke of freedom of session, Zacharias addressed a query sylvania by renowned apologist Ravi Zacharias was met with con- choice and of the ability to love oth- about love and homosexuality by emphasizing that the key to loving those troversy on campus. However, his ers, despite differing views.

“I never go anywhere to change with opposing views is truly respectmessage, delivered with genuine love, allayed tensions and led to subsequent anybody’s mind,” he said. “The ulti- ing others.

“To talk of tolerance is to talk of discussions between Christians, seek- mate change in heart and mind can only come from God. My goal really requiring mutual respect,” said Zachers, and atheists.

Zacharias’ presentation, “Is Truth is that we can walk away respecting arias. And that respect is not always Real,” was intellectually and philo- each other for the views that we hold, given to those who affirm marriage sophically rich, incorporating secu- and learning to live peaceably, even and do not affirm homosexuality, he noted. larism, naturalism, world religions, with our disagreements.” and writers such as Kant, Descartes, and others.

Despite an op-ed piece in The Daily Pennsylvanian, which condemned Zacharias for his biblical views on sexuality, creation, and other issues, the apologist communicated with a soft-spoken poise and acknowledged the theological and philosophical differences held by many on campus.

“You could really see Ravi’s heart,” said Aaron Campbell, Penn ’97, a local pastor who invited Zacharias. “The more Apologist Ravi Zacharias was met with opposition when he spoke at Penn this spring. antagonism, the more the

A

spring

2014 :: christianunion.org

49

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

During his presentation, Zacharias also touched on religion and politics, stating that “the politicization of religion is the death of both. You do not politicize religion.”

He framed part of his discussion around the stunning example of faith, politics, and truth in John 18, where Jesus states, “They who are on the side of truth listen to me.” Pilate responds, “What is truth?”

“Then, in staggering display,” Zacharias said, “Pilate walked away without waiting for an answer.” Zacharias surmised that Pilate was fed up with the politicking of the age, and did not really want an answer.

Zacharias framed part of his discussion around the stunning example of faith, politics, and truth in John 18, where Jesus states, “They who are on the side

christian union

::

the magazine

of truth listen to me.”

50

The question and answer session was scheduled to go 30 minutes, but the apologist fielded audience queries for more than an hour.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Campbell. “You could see this man’s heart going into the hours of the night. He took the time to love on each soul that came to the microphone.”

As a result, Campbell hosted a sixweek follow-up discussion series on the lecture to engage further the students who were challenged by Zacharias.

Among the students attending the follow-up meetings was an outspoken atheist who had protested Zacharias’ appearance at the university. The student found the discussions helpful in

answering some long-held questions.

Others explored their questions regarding God and faith. Additionally, meetings between Campbell, a core group of Christian students, and the campus atheist organization also proved to be beneficial.

Campbell, who chronicled his own struggle with faith and identity in the book Eyes That Seen Plenty, invited Zacharias because of his own burden for the university.

“When I went to Penn, I was the classic example of the person who had everything together and everything messed up at the same time. I know there are others walking in that vice grip of the mind and heart. My burden is for that student,” said Campbell, the pastor of Antioch Calvary Chapel in Philadelphia.

A key to reaching out to students, says Campbell, is engaging them through the intellectual discussions to which they are accustomed. Christians ought to be known for their thoughtfilled faith and not just through preconceived stereotypes, he contends.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we [Christians] were known among the Ivies for putting on intellectual discussions for campuses,” he said. “If we don’t, then our silence only gives room for stereotypes and caricatures of Christianity to continue to grow.”

Through thought leaders like Zacharias and others, Campbell hopes that real truth will ultimately prevail and inspire students to seek Christ.

“That’s our job as salt; to act as a preservative of truth against corruption,” he said.| cu

p enn ne w s - in - b r ie f

Fellowship and The Ring Students involved with the University of Pennsylvania’s Newman Ministry spent a stimulating evening discussing the theology in J.R.R. Tolkien’s famed The Lord of the Rings.

On February 20, the students explored the symbolism in Tolkien’s literature after their weekly dinner at the Newman Center. The devout Roman Catholic writer is best remembered for his classic high fantasy works.

The evening provided a break for students involved in the ministry’s myriad activities, including small-group sharing sessions and outreaches to the Philadelphia Veterans Comfort House.

A Life Thirst Experience Penn Alumna Laura Kaczor performed at the Life Thirst Experience at Berean Bible Church in Pottstown, Pennsylvania in January. Kaczor, Penn ’ 06, has a passion for reaching youth through worship. She founded LifeThirst Ministries to help raise up a generation of revivalists through a radical move of the Holy Spirit.

The January event, entitled “Proving the Bible Is Real and the Infallible Word of God,” featured guest speaker Bob Cornuke, an archaeologist.

A national Christian singer/ songwriter, Kaczor has had four Top 25 Billboard Chart radio singles, including “Alive in You.”

PR I N C E T O N | On Campus

A Pilgrimage for Princeton Students C AT H O L I C M I N I S T R Y E N D U R E S A R D U O U S J O U R N E Y D U R I N G S P R I N G B R E A K | By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

A

2014 :: christianunion.org

prayed my entire life,” said Daniel blisters and exhaustion, to say nothing Arias ’15. of other difficulties,” said Zach Hor“This trip was the first time that ton ’15. “With much prayer and reI simply spoke to God like I would a liance on God’s grace, we were able friend or counselor. I simply told Him to surmount the difficulties and grow about my worries and my joys with- closer as a result.” out trying to put on Not surprisingly, a filter. It got much the students also were more personal than touched by the sense I’d ever known.” of community they While some moddeveloped on the ern pilgrims are atCamino, or Way of tracted to the Camino St. James. pilgrimage for its ath“Our time togethletic challenges, many er felt like what Acts focus on the spiritual shows living in comaspects of the arduous munity should look journey. like. Our days were “The trip offered simple. We got up For Daniel Rounds, the chance to deepen early, walked and talkmy faith and really Princeton ’17, the Aquinas ed and prayed all day Institute’s spring break trip put it in focus. I also and ate meals togethoffered him the opportunity saw a great opportuer, all at one big tato deepen his faith. nity to become closer ble,” said Arias, an with members of the economics major faith community on campus,” said from Atlanta.

Daniel Rounds ’17. “The trip built Lingering for hours along their upon the idea of a strong Catholic dinner table seemed “so joyful. It felt and Christian community on cam- like what we should be doing all the pus.” time.”

As they encountered steep terrain As well, the students carried writand other challenges, Princeton stu- ten prayer requests from their Princdents took time to care for the aching eton classmates, and they took time feet of fellow hikers. The Camino to pray for both parishioners from trails are known for their mixture of the Trenton Diocese, as well as Spanmountainous landscape, rolling hills ish congregations. The students also and countryside, all intermingled with gave money to distressed individuals cultural, historical, and architectural they encountered along their stretch landmarks. of the Camino.

“Many members of the trip found “I jumped at the opportunity as a it physically challenging, between the way to undergo my own spiritual trans-

spring

group of Princeton University students spent their spring break exploring some of the roots of their Catholic faith while trekking through one of Europe’s ancient spiritual thoroughfares.

Sixteen students and staff involved with the Aquinas Institute (PrincetonCatholic.org) hiked one path of El Camino de Santiago, a series of pilgrimage routes to the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, during a whirlwind trip in March.

Father David Swantek staged the trip to serve as an alternative spring break, namely one that presented students with both a means to offer prayers for Princeton colleagues and alumni and to partake in a pilgrimage reflecting Catholic traditions.

The undergraduates experienced a “connection to the wider church and how good it is to focus on your spiritual life,” said Swantek, an avid hiker. “When you walk the Camino, you’re called to a greater purpose.”

Given the time constraints of Princeton’s spring break, which ran March 15 to 23, the group chose the 73-mile route historically taken by pilgrims from the British Isles, rather than longer, traditional routes traversing more of the Spanish countryside.

During their travels, the students participated in daily Mass and a smorgasbord of other opportunities for spiritual enrichment.

“I learned how to pray in a way that I had never experienced before.

Having grown up in a mass-every-Sunday kind of family, I have

51

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

formation, as well as to carry the intentions [prayer requests] of those back at Princeton,” said Alex Quadrado ’16.

For more than 800 years, pilgrims have forged their way through a network of trails offering panoramic views of France and Spain after relics linked to St. James were discovered near the present city of Santiago de Compostela in Northwest Spain. Tradition holds the remains of St. James, one of Jesus’ apostles, are buried inside the city’s majestic, medieval cathedral,

where a Pilgrims’ Mass takes place daily at noon.

For Princeton students, the trip along the Camino served to strengthen their relationship with their Savior and appreciate His providence. They also appreciated being part of a larger community of believers.

“The purpose of spiritual pilgrimage is personal and distinct for every individual pilgrim,” said Alex Cuadrado ’16.

Horton echoed those comments.

“Pilgrimage is neither a hike nor a vacation. It is a journey with a pronounced spiritual dimension,” he said.

“I wanted to make this pilgrimage as a way of manifesting my desire to progress towards Christ in prayer and action with a community of believers.

Following the Way of St. James as had millions of pilgrims before us, we drew closer together towards Christ by prayer and fellowship as we walked and by partaking in Holy Mass each day.” | cu

.......................................................................................

PR I N C E T O N | On Campus

Humans at Princeton

S T U D E N T U S E S F A C E B O O K PA G E T O T E L L U N I Q U E S T O R I E S

By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer

christian union

::

the magazine

E

52

veryone has a story to tell.

With that basis as a motivation, a Princeton University student is capturing the art of photographic storytelling through a Facebook page she entitled Humans of Princeton.

Chanyoung Park ’17 shares compelling portraits of Princeton students and community members intertwined with quotes, philosophical nuggets, and vignettes from their life’s journey.

The site mirrors the celebrated Humans of New York project Brandon Stanton launched in 2010 to craft a photographic census of the nation’s diverse megalopolis.

“Truly, everyone has a story. The world is bigger than I am,” said Park, a South Korean transplant. “It’s just interesting to learn about people.”

So far, Humans of Princeton is a hit. It received 2,400 “likes” in its premier semester, including 1,000 on its first day of operation.

After discovering Humans of New

Chanyoung Park, Princeton ’17, is capturing the art of photographic storytelling through her Humans of Princeton Facebook page.

York while attending a boarding school in the New Jersey borough of Hightstown, New Jersey, Park toyed with the idea of starting a similar site to reflect the greater Princeton community. Upon matriculating, Park

was struck by the superficiality of some of her initial introductions and wanted a means to relate to her new campus and municipal neighbors on a deeper level, prompting her to launch Humans of Princeton via Face-

book in September.

Through man-on-the-street interviews, Park aims to establish an intimate connection with both students and townies, allowing them to share insightful and often inspirational snapshots from their personal histories. Park often is surprised when area passersby open up to express the vulnerabilities that define their soul’s sojourn.

I am very a devoted Christian,” she said. “When given a chance, I always try to be kind and show people I care.”

In October, she featured Mike Freyberger ’16 and his testimony about how he came to Christ. The account received 275-plus “likes,” the most of any entry on the site.

Another vignette featured an elderly woman who endured the Nazi-occupation of France as an ad-

“Everything I do really does stem from my faith. I am very a devoted Christian. “When given a chance, I always try to be kind and show people I care.”

Friends and admirers of William Scheide (Princeton ’36, Columbia MA ’40) gathered in Princeton University’s Chancellor Green to celebrate the 100th birthday of the musician, philanthropist, and bibliophile.

During the event in January, the university presented Scheide with a key to Nassau Hall, one of the highest honors for Princetonians.

In 2002, The New York Times heralded Scheide for placing copies of the first four printed editions of The Holy Bible—including the famed Gutenberg—in the Scheide Library at Princeton.

Housed in Firestone Library, the Scheide Library serves as a resource for scholars, historians, musicologists, and bibliophiles from around the world.

Manna, PEF Host Ski Retreat

:: christianunion.org

Students with Manna Christian Fellowship and Princeton Evangelical Fellowship recently ventured to the Poconos Mountains for their annual ski retreat over Princeton University’s winter intersession.

The group lodged at the Mont Lawn Camp and Retreat Center near Bushkill, Pennsylvania, from January 26 to 30.

Leaders from Manna (manna.mycpanel. princeton.edu) and PEF (pef.mycpanel. princeton.edu) directed activities centered on adventure, Bible messages, and worship. The students also helped prepare meals and coordinate other recreational outings.

As for skiing, the students had their choice of Shawnee or Camelback mountains.

2014

olescent. She commented she missed being youthful, but poignantly specified she did not desire to be so young as to fail to appreciate the vitality of life’s springtime.

“But, 50, that’s a pretty good, young age to be,” the woman told Park for Humans of Princeton.

As for Park’s professional aspirations, they currently center on international relations or politics.

However, she recently enjoyed a documentary filmmaking class she took at Princeton.

While the manpower behind Humans of Princeton largely has been a solo effort, Park recently began recruiting and testing a few undergraduates as assistants. When she is a senior, she plans to hand off the entire site to an aspiring frosh.

Ultimately, Park said the project has proven to be a touching, life-shaping experience.

“It’s a good-mood booster,” she said. “I get a new perspective. It tears me right up.” | cu

William Scheide ’36 Celebrates 100th Birthday

spring

“I always create that human interaction,” said Park. “It takes a certain kind of personality to approach strangers.”

Not surprisingly, some potential subjects are taken back when Park, equipped with a Canon EOS 70, approaches them outside Nassau Hall, on Palmer Square, or walkable distances beyond. Some are decidedly camera-shy.

As for Humans of New York, about one million people follow the dynamic blog offering glimpses into the lives of the city’s inhabitants via portraits alongside short stories.

Like the Humans of New York site, Park does not list names in most of her pictorial essays, with a few exceptions for Princeton colleagues whom she tags. “I want readers just to see them as people,” she said.

Though her Facebook site dedicated to Princetonians is secular, Park said it serves as an extension of her Christian commitment. “Everything I do really does stem from my faith.

− Chanyoung Park, Princeton ’17

p r in c et o n ne w s - in - b r ie f

53

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

YA L E | On Campus

Discerning Deep Questions L I F E W O R T H L I V I N G C O U R S E O F F E R E D AT YA L E | By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer motivations for such a life?” and “What happens when you can’t quite achieve that life?”

In an interview with Charles Halton of Marginalia Review, Volf discussed the university and its influence on determining life’s worth.

Often, Volf said, universities serve as techniMiroslav Volf, professor and systematic theologian at Yale. cal schools and research institutions, becoming tudents in one Yale course are experts on means but not on intelleclooking at the deeper meanings tual inquiry into what the human of life and questioning what truly ends are. Additionally, he said that in recent decades, there has been an inmakes a life of value.

The Life Worth Living course be- creasing gap between vocation and ing offered this spring is engaging life worth living.

Part of the discussion within the students in discussion around important questions regarding true satisfac- course is to explore the connectedness tion and meaning. Geared toward between vocation and a valued life, undergraduate students, the course is rather than gleaning the answers and taught by systematic theologian Miro- determining worth based upon the slav Volf and Yale Graduate School cues from culture.

“Reflection on life worth living in associate Ryan McAnnally-Linz. Life Worth Living pulls from various phil- public life is difficult because people osophical and religious traditions to think choices are private,” said Volf. inspire students toward “habits of “We need to be aware of the imporreflection.” These habits, according tance of the question of life worth to the instructors, will equip students living.”

Therefore, reflection upon such for life-long discernment.

The class studies six major religious matters is a critical element of the and intellectual traditions, including course; however, that reflection can Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Af- lead to stunning realizations.

For example, after studying each ter exploring what the founders of these major traditions teach, the stu- tradition, the instructors pose the dents reflect on simple questions, question, “How would your life have including: “What does it mean to lead to change if this tradition was right one’s life well?” “What does it mean about what makes life worth living?”

Volf recalled a non-Christian stufor life to go well?” “What are the

christian union

::

the magazine

S

54

dent who came face-to-face with the issue of redemption once he thought about how Christianity would change his life.

“It would require looking at himself, including his past and present deeds and attitudes, with clear sight, and issuing judgments of condemnation on some, probably many, of them—more than that: really turning away from them,” Volf wrote. “What pain that would cause!”

However, it is a pain that most Christians must face, and one that ultimately leads to a fulfilling life. Volf calls it a “key element of an appropriate response to God’s work in Jesus Christ.”

“In a culture that finds repentance unintelligible, impractical, or unnecessary, we are called to witness to its intelligibility, beauty, and importance.”

During the first two weeks of the course, the students also discussed money, power, and sex. Volf noted that two things were apparent: well-being is often thought of as fulfillment of desires; and addiction is rampant, including addiction to food, sex, power, and money.

“We think of well-being as fulfillment of desires, but the way we seek to fulfill desires is often the very thing that destroys us!” wrote Volf in an electronic update on the course. “The road so many of us think leads to salvation ends, in fact, in perdition.”

The challenge, he said, is in “healing” those desires and redirecting cravings “to the source of the Living Water.” | cu

YA L E | On Campus

Keeper of the Flame YA L E A L U M N U S R E T U R N S T O C A M P U S T O L E A D W O R S H I P, P R AY E R M O V E M E N T | By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer

A

recent alumnus has a desire to fan the flames of a prayer movement at Yale with inter-ministry meetings called burns.

I’noli Hall, Yale ’13, said he noticed an increased interest and activity in prayer and unity on campus last spring.

“I’m excited for this. I don’t want to miss it,” he said.

So Hall chose to work as a ministry intern with Gateway Christian Fellowship, a local church, so he could still be part of what he sees “percolating” on campus.

And to keep that fire going, Hall helps turn up the heat of worship with inter-ministry meetings called Burns.

These gatherings, which encourage unified prayer among the campus

from the various campus ministries pray for the campus and intercede for those who don’t know Christ. They also take the opportunity to pray over the broader issues that impact the campus such as depression, anxiety over school work, over-striving to earn God’s favor, and more.

“The students have a big heart for it,” said Hall. “The ministry leaders have been incredibly helpful, and almost all of them have played an important part.”

Hall has a particular heart for bringing the Christian ministries at Yale together for prayer and fellowship. As a student, he participated in events hosted by various ministries and was a member of InterVarsity (http://ycf.commons.yale.edu/).

“Prayer is our lifeline. You can’t have a relationship with God and never talk to Him and listen to Him. Without prayer, there is no

:: christianunion.org

Looking back, he says that exposure to various organizations helps him today as he works to build unity at Yale.

“God was preparing me,” said Hall. “That’s why I have such a heart for unity. I’ve gotten to know students in different communities. I see what the different ministries have to offer.”

“As a family, each fellowship has something unique to offer. It’s such

2014

ministries, are generally held once a month. They allow for participation by each ministry, including time for each one to lead devotions.

The burns run for roughly five hours and include praise and worship and interspersed prayer. And while corporate prayer is encouraged, some participants prefer to break into smaller groups.

During the prayer times, students

− I’noli Hall, Yale ’13

spring

relationship.”

a beautiful thing when those unique personalities can come together for a night of prayer and worship. It’s nice when the whole family comes to- I’noli Hall, Yale ’13 gether.”

For Hall, the unity of believers echoes Psalm 133, verse 1: “Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.”

“That’s what I see at Yale,” he said.

Hall has also found prayer and his relationship with God vital to his success at Yale, in ministry, and as he looks toward his future.

“Prayer is our lifeline,” he said.

“You can’t have a relationship with God and never talk to Him and listen to Him. Without prayer, there is no relationship.”

Hall spent part of the fall on a missions trip in Brazil. As he serves as an intern with Gateway Church, he seeks God’s guidance as he discerns where to serve in the future.

“I stay close to Jesus to balance it all,” said Hall. “I have a heart for seeing God’s kingdom advance in every area of society. I think the reason I’m doing seemingly different things is that I want to see God’s kingdom everywhere and I want to be a part of it.” | cu

55

the spiritual climate in the ivy league

y a l e ne w s - in - b r ie f

Study: Babies Born With Sense of Justice Yale’s Infant Cognition Center has concluded that infants are born with an innate sense of morality, according to a CNN report. The research team began studying children under two years of age to determine their understanding of good and bad behavior. The majority of children preferred Paul Bloom, professor of situations or stimuli that psychology at Yale indicated good behavior.

The CNN report also quoted Paul Bloom, a professor of psychology at Yale, as saying “these studies show that even before babies can speak or walk, they judge good and bad in the actions of others because they are born with a rudimentary sense of justice.”

Leadership Colloquium Examines Conflict Resolution The 2014 Spring Leadership Colloquium at Berkley Divinity School at Yale centered on conflict resolution. The Rev. Frank Dunn,

rector of St. Stephen and the Incarnation in Washington, D.C., served as the seminar leader.

The colloquium, a credited course at the Divinity School, serves as a venue for bringing church leaders together to share their experiences and concerns and to serve as a means of preparing church leaders for pastoral and religious leadership challenges.

Dunn, the co-founder of Families and Allies of Virginia’s Youth, guided participants through a 12-hour workshop in conflict management.

Cornell Reunion Saturday, June 7th, 4-5:30PM

christian union

::

the magazine

Chesterton House Open House

56

Daring to Discuss the Important and the Amusing

Join us for food, networking, and a tour of the house!

115 The Knoll

DISCOVER YOUR CALLING

spring

2014 ::

D E F E N D I N G

F R E E D O M

COLLEGIATE ACADEMY A prestigious one-week summer program that launches highly accomplished college upperclassmen and recent graduates on a path to future leadership in law, government, and public policy.

Strengthen your competence, credentials, and character for your future career – your calling.

The cost of airfare, lodging, and materials is fully covered for those selected to this program.

AllianceDefendingFreedom.org /Collegiate

christianunion.org

A L L I A N C E

57

in person

Worshipping ‘the Creator of it all’ Jeffrey Niehaus Writes Autobiography in Verse by catherine elvy, staff writer

christian union

::

the magazine

H

58

umans were made to enjoy the exquisite natural treasures of God’s creation. However, even the most splendid of exotic vistas does not offer ultimate fulfillment.

That was the message from Jeffrey Niehaus when the scholar and theologian recently paused to comment on the moving autobiography he penned recapturing his formative years. A major portion of Preludes: An Autobiography in Verse explores Niehaus’ romantic adoration of the subtropical paradise of his youth and the soulish respite South Florida provided during seasons of turmoil as an emerging adult.

Niehaus’ near obsession with the coastal wonderland remained until the poetry aficionado encountered the Great Elohim, fashioner of nature’s vivid artistry.

“It’s all part of a longing for beauty. We are made for what’s beautiful and true,” said Niehaus, a Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary professor of Old Testament and dual Ivy League grad (Yale ’68, Harvard Ph.D. ’75).

“You can love it, but what it can do for you is limited. As I grew older, I sensed there was a need in me that wasn’t getting fulfilled by people and by nature. Only the Lord can fulfill that.”

In the epic-length, autobiographical poem released in 2013, Niehaus revisits how he came to faith in Christ while completing his doctorate in English literature at Harvard.

Despite notable successes during his undergraduate studies in English at Yale University and subsequent coursework at Harvard, the poetic genius felt miserable, even desperate.

“I came to the Lord toward the end of my Ph.D. period at Harvard,” said Nie-

haus. “It just all felt pointless.”

Niehaus, who had been contemplating a recent sermon that left him questioning his place in the universe, experienced a divine encounter in the midst of a sudden, gusty rainstorm that fell upon his parents’ home near West Palm Beach. Of the episode, he wrote: All of the glory that had broken on me Surrounded me and saw me through and through Although I had no idea how to name A power that engulfed me totally And turned my soul onto another road.

On a blustery evening at Harvard a year later, Niehaus committed his life to the “Maker of it all” following a date with his future wife at Boston’s famed DurginPark eatery.

Subsequently, Niehaus sensed a divine prompting to prepare for ministry, and he pursued a master of divinity at Gordon-Conwell. He completed the degree in 1979 and joined Gordon-Conwell’s faculty on the main campus in Hamilton, Massachusetts, in 1982.

Today, Niehaus is a prolific author whose published works include new releases reflecting his twin passions for theology and poetry, particularly the verses of William Wordsworth, a major English Romantic poet. Debuting in April are: Sonnets Subtropical and Existential as well as God the Poet: Exploring the Origin and Nature of Poetry.

The Ohio-born Niehaus also just put the finishing touches on the first volume of Biblical Theology Volume One: The Common Grace Covenants.

The Weaver Book Company is pub-

lishing the work, which is scheduled for release in late summer. Likewise, In his latest book, Biblical Theology Jeffrey Niehaus (Yale Volume Two: The ’68, Harvard Ph.D. Special Grace Cov- ’75) revisits how he enants is slated for came to faith in Christ publication in while at Harvard.

2016.

In addition, Niehaus is the author of God at Sinai as well as Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology. The father of two adult sons and husband of a Harvard-trained mathematician also has lectured in churches on spiritual warfare.

As for the origins of Preludes, Niehaus noted he first contemplated publishing an epic during his high school days in Atlanta, where he became enamored with an English teacher who dramatically recharted his career path. As a result, Niehaus, who previously embraced all things science, landed a scholarship to attend Yale.

Preludes reflects Niehaus’ simple but joyous childhood in the Ohio Valley, where he was largely fascinated by paleontology and astronomy, and the paradisal youth he enjoyed under the radiant Florida sun.

The book also captures Niehaus’ bouts of feeling spiritually rudderless while at Yale and how the ocean became his mental mistress during tropical getaways from Harvard.

“I got the idea of writing a long poem about a wanderer and his experiences,” said Niehaus, who penned a draft nearly a decade ago while on sabbatical. “It’s been a sort of calling. People don’t know how to read long narrative poems.” | cu

in person

The Pursuit of Happiness Writer, Attorney Find Faith in Roundabout Way by eileen scott, senior writer

O

spring

2014 :: christianunion.org

“It’s important to work and important brilliant, really, with degrees from Yale, ver a decade ago, an atheist bride to make money. But, it should not take Columbia and Stanford − to believe in and a non-practicing Baptist all your time. You need to be focused on something nonsensical. I also met many groom were married in a thefamily and faith,” said Joe. of his friends. They, too, are highly intelater. The bride wore a purple dress, and As an attorney, he is more interested in ligent and believed,” Jennifer told the Nathey recited their vows with just a brief helping people than in taking on high tional Catholic Register. mention of God for the sake of the Baptist.

Today, however, attorney Joe Fulwiler (Yale ’91, Columbia Law ’94) and wife Jennifer also had a hard time accepting that Joe and his Jennifer are both devout Catholics who Ivy League friends could really believe in God. are impacting culture with their faith and vocations. profile cases that lead to more billable hours That reality, coupled with the birth of Jennifer recently published the book, and notoriety. Additionally, he sought the her first child, ignited a thirst for truth that Something Other Than God: How I Passioncounsel of his local bishop regarding procould not be quelled. However, when she ately Sought Happiness and Accidentally viding divorce services. asked Joe why he believed, he couldn’t Found It. She also started a blog entitled As for young up-and-coming lawyers, articulate an answer.

Conversion Diary. Joe is an attorney with Fulwiler cautions, “You can’t serve two “I knew what I experienced, but I a firm in Texas and has built his practice masters. Young people, especially those in couldn’t answer it more than that,” he said. around his faith. the Ivy League, are very career focused,” For Joe, faith was a belief in Obviously, faith wasn’t alhe said, adding that there “is no prize out God and a desire to become ways a priority for the Fulwilthere to win.” part of a church because that’s ers.

Fulwiler said he would also encourage what married people do. Faith “I always said I was a Chrisyoung people to get married younger. still had not taken a transfortian,” said Joe, “but I was too “It’s hard to be chaste until you’re 30,” mative place in his heart. busy with what I perceived to he said. Additionally, he believes there So Jennifer took her quest be more important. My own would be an increase in holiness if people online, where she started a ambition pulled me away.” got married younger, as it would encourage blog called The Reluctant In an interview with the them to practice their faith more and help Atheist, posing questions to National Catholic Register, Jenprevent them from putting their priority atheists and people of faith. nifer explained that, although Jennifer Fulwiler, a on career and on themselves.

The more they explored, she considered herself a “truth To live so selflessly, Joe says, requires the more they resonated with seeker,” she sought answers in former atheist, chronicles her testimony in her humility and obedience, virtues he admits Catholic teaching. Specificalan arrogant way. he would have balked at when he was ly, the book By What Author“I now realize that pride is recently-released book, Something Other Than younger. These concepts, he says, are “ality: An Evangelical Discovers the most effective way to block God: How I passionately most insulting in modern culture.”

Catholic Tradition (by apoloout God so that one does not Sought Happiness and And with the release of Jennifer’s new gist Mark Shea) was a great see Him at all. Certainly, I did Accidentally Found It. book, their testimony will give modern influence on the couple. not,” she said. culture a story of faith and conversion, and Today, the Fulwilers, have Jennifer also had a hard show how unifying grace from God can six children. And they are seeking to live time accepting that Joe and his Ivy League join two lives to tell one love story. | cu out their faith as a married couple, parents, friends could really believe in God. and professionals.

“It gave me pause. Joe is too smart −

59

the magazine

:: christian union

60

pa rt ing shot

||

Yale University || Photograph by Phil Anema

Thank you!

Through your generous giving, Christian leaders are being developed to change culture.

015

arvard class of 2 h y ll e n n o C h s Cheri

Orleans, LA robiology Hometown: New molecular condary field in Neu se a ith w search assistant in re gy ; lo p) ho ou gr la el pp Major: Psyc n (a ca volunteer : Under Constructio gy; youth ministry Campus Activities lo ho yc ps al ic in cl arise in y, and in These conversations and cellular biolog you believe in God?’ e body

2014 :: christianunion.org

ChristianUnion.org/Giving Giving@ChristianUnion.org

spring

ow can ything th r brain control ever r, I’m often asked, ‘H to ou tra in s en on nc ur co ne ce y ien tin of tfully, but boldly.

“As a sc serving how billions at perspective respec ob th e ile ar wh sh I lab y. nc gy lo cie io neurob n that effi only God could desig f in God but does. I would argue, ll don’t embrace belie oscope is sti o wh e os th of t ined the respec urons in a micr thoughtfully, I’ve ga iences. Observing ne ’s creation, and sc e th in s ian ist By engaging people hr C d the perspective of d understanding God now better understan r me, science is about both studying an d fo im more. an amazing sight, an God and knowing H g in ek se — ely at tim portant in my —ul ve been incredibly im ha y ve ar cG M al Te urse teaching, g and pth of their Bible co de ry fellows Jane Tsan e ist th , in so m Al . on ld ni U fie y ian nt to earn a m Christ tion. Eventually, I wa e way I can influence ua th sit ng y di er an ev rst in de ke un -li to be a Christ growth in has taught me how given me tools to be on s ni ha U , ip ian rsh ist to hr en C m and their od has for me, hology. Whatever G PhD in clinical psyc every setting.”

Christian leader in

3

Trinity helped me in terms of

biblical depth and meeting others with a heart for spiritual dynamism as well as the life of the mind.

Matthew W. Bennett (MDiv, 2001) Christian Union Founder and President

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School prepares leaders at the master’s and doctoral level for FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN ACTION in a variety of vocations.

Preparation for a variety of ministry contexts, including urban settings, local church pastorate, campus ministry, and international development / missions work

Six fully-funded PhD scholarships across three programs in Educational Studies, Theological Studies, and Intercultural Studies

Visit teds.edu to watch students and faculty introduce our programs and to find your scholarships.

christian union

::

the magazine

Master’s-level programs for many vocations, including academic teaching & writing, licensed mental health counseling, and vocational ministry

4

Send us an email at gradadmissions@teds.edu or call (800) 345-8337.

TEDS is in Deerfield, Illinois, with extension sites in Akron, Chicago, Columbus, Indianapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and south Florida.