Student Preaches to Administrators, President

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:16:20 +0000

Rachel Kuhn- ��ñ�� staff worker, Shasta College, Redding CA

Student Preaches to Administrators, President

In support of freedom of speech, Shasta College recently installed a permanent podium at Freedom Rock, for any student who wants to practice their right of freedom of speech. When one of our ��ñ�� student leaders heard about a contest to submit a slogan to be affixed to the new Freedom Rock, he responded to this opportunity to be a witness on campus.

This student, Kyle Wayman, explains his urgency by saying,

“To me, the power of words is a key part of freedom of speech. In keeping speech free, we are accepting the responsibility to use that freedom well. My slogans were inspired by what the Bible says about our words.”

In the end, Kyle won the contest and now his words are permanently imprinted on a bronze plaque affixed to Freedom Rock. They read: “We must keep our words free, so in return they may free us.” Click here to see Kyle’s speech on YouTube. To read the full transcript of Kyle’s speech, see below.

On Tuesday, May 17^th, Kyle was also given the privilege of being the first speaker behind the new Freedom Rock podium. Kyle tactfully and unabashedly proclaimed Biblical truth before a small gathering of students and administrators, including our Shasta College President, who had all come to the ceremony despite the pouring rain.

Kyle is the kind of missional leader ��ñ�� is trying to raise up at Shasta College and 550 other campuses. He believes that God wants to restore the campus and he understands that he is called to be part of this renewal. As Kyle proclaimed God’s truth at Freedom Rock amidst the pouring rain, I was reminded of God’s promise in Isaiah 55:10-11:

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

May the words that our students speak at Freedom Rock, in Bible studies, and in the classroom at Shasta College continue to renew the campus and call many hearts back to God!

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Kyle’s speech:

“You have heard it said, ‘If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.’ Why is this? Because our words are important: as the book of Proverbs puts it, ‘The tongue has the power of life and death’. Sticks and stones can break our bones, but words…can hurt us deeply.

People have an inherent moral code; almost all people will agree on at least a few things that are clearly wrong to do. We can make laws and rules regulating those actions, so that if they do happen we can deal with the situation and with the people involved. But there’s a lot of grey area; there are actions that some have a problem with, while others do not – and we cannot legislate attitudes.

Attitudes are the source of our spoken words: the teacher Jesus said that “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” Because we cannot all agree on what is and isn’t okay to say in a public setting, we must either allow no one to say anything other than an absolutely unquestionable fact, or we must allow any and all to speak their opinions, their thoughts, their feelings, and their beliefs.

You have heard it said, ‘Freedom isn’t free’ – in other words, it comes at a price. Freedom of speech means that we have all granted each other the power to speak life or to speak death, over each other and into each other’s lives; over our world and into our society.

As we accept this power, we must also take upon ourselves the responsibility to use this freedom, this power of life and death, for the greater good. Again you have heard it said, ‘The truth will set you free.’ Let us speak truth, let us speak life, let us speak love and honor and worth, and let us by our words set one another free.”

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Shasta College

Kyle Wayman

Freedom Rock

Serious About Spring Break

AD-16225 — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:53:44 +0000

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Gordon Govier

Serious About Spring Break

For many ��ñ�� students, Spring Break means heading off to a week-long urban ministry experience in cities such as St. Louis, New Orleans, Providence, Chicago, and Oakland.

This week for instance, 18 student leaders from Shasta College and Simpson University in Redding, California, are in Oakland for an urban plunge. Their campus staff member, Rachel Kuhn, explained:

Students spend a week in an urban center learning about God’s heart for the urban poor and oppressed, racial reconciliation, justice, and Christian community. Our week in Oakland will combine service, Bible study, simulations, and teachings by servants to the disadvantaged. As students learn to follow Jesus in loving ‘the least of these,’ some may become local activists on their campuses, others might change their major, and still others may decide to pursue a life of promoting Justice for the Kingdom of God.

The University of Rhode Island newspaper published an article on New England ��ñ�� students’ trip to New Orleans.

As Christians, we believe that our faith does not allow for us to be complacent,’ said Rhode Island College senior Adam Croft. ‘We believe we are called to action to serve and come face-to-face with the brokenness of the world.

Croft said at the end of each day, the team will have a discussion time to talk about how the day went, what they did and how it affected each of them. This time will also allow students to converse about what they think the Christian faith has to say about each project and also about challenges they might face.

In the daily discussions ��ñ�� staff and students offer other team members a glimpse of the gospel that they may not have seen before, as they investigate what the Bible says about justice, compassion, hospitality, and other themes. Afterwards one student wrote a follow-up report,calling it one of the best weeks of her life.

The Tufts Daily also reported on ��ñ�� students heading to New Orleans.

[��ñ�� campus staff member Alexandra] Nesbeda, who first traveled to New Orleans as an undergraduate in 2006, applauded ��ñ��'s commitment to continuing the rebuilding efforts even after Hurricane Katrina ceased to be breaking news. She estimated that it would take an additional five to 10 years for the city to fully recover.

What I like about this trip is our commitment to go back every year,’ she said. ‘We haven't forgotten New Orleans. We want to finish what we started.

Not all college students are partying during spring break. Many have jobs and other responsibilities. And some are making life-changing discoveries about the Kingdom of God through ��ñ��’s urban plunges.

Mission Network News also carried a story on ��ñ��'s spring break urban plunges.

_{Photo: Marquette University students at Providence, Rhode Island, urban plunge.}

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