Diversity

Principled Pluralism

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 16:27:07 +0000

Alec Hill, President of ��ñ��

Principled Pluralism

A distorted and dangerous definition of pluralism is emerging in the academy. In a front-page article last June, entitled “Colleges and Evangelicals Collide on Bias Policy,” the New York Times reported several instances where new university non-discrimination policies – designed to foster diversity - are actually making campuses less inclusive.

At issue on campuses such as Bowdoin, Tufts, Vanderbilt and the California State University system is the right of faith-based student groups to use doctrinal criteria to select leaders. Accused of “religious discrimination,” these groups are at increasing risk of being derecognized on campus.

Aspen Institute Report

A year ago, the Aspen Institute addressed such concerns in a report entitled “Principled Pluralism.” Co-chaired by Madeleine Albright and David Gergen, the 25 member “Inclusive America Project” panel included university and seminary presidents, media thought-leaders, professors and social service providers. It was my great privilege to serve with senior religious leaders from various faith communities - Jewish, Moslem, Sikh, Humanist and Christian.

Together, we adopted the phrase “principled pluralism” to articulate two big ideas. First, we embraced the right of diverse religious traditions to self-define and to disagree – even adamantly - on matters of theology. Second, we affirmed a deep commitment to pursue the common good together in higher education, youth services, media and government. The first point distinguished us from those who seek to blur or mitigate religious doctrines; the second from those who seek to foster ill-will amongst faith communities.

The report specifically recommended that “institutions of higher learning should make the study of religious diversity a priority, and create campus environments that promote honest respectful exploration among students of the variety of religious beliefs.” I was particularly impressed by Harvard Professor Robert Putnam’s conclusion that religious diversity can (counter-intuitive as it may seem) actually be a source of social cohesion.

Universities as Hosts of Principled Pluralism

Principled pluralism encourages the academy to be a place where conflicting narratives and ideologies vie with each other freely and openly. As a former dean, I recognize that this involves a measure of messiness and discomfort for all involved. Every time a less-than-popular voice is silenced, students are denied an opportunity to engage the real world around them. Part of entering the adult world is the ability to process differing world views.

It is therefore of great concern that faith-based student groups are finding it increasingly difficult to find a seat at the table on some campuses. Their choices are being limited to: (a) allowing students who know nothing about their faith to lead their groups as a price for recognition, (b) compromising their integrity by signing off on university policy while secretly intending to choose leaders who abide by the tenants of their faith, or (c) refusing to sign the agreement and lose recognition.

As expressions of devout faith become less palatable at some institutions, will these student groups be allowed to freely associate, self-select leaders and share their beliefs with others? Or will campuses become - in the words of former Yale Law School dean, Anthony Kronman - increasingly “intellectually and spiritually frozen?”

The emerging false pluralism stifles religious expression, labels leadership selection based upon orthodoxy and orthopraxy as “religious discrimination,” redefines freedom of association as “exclusionary,” and condemns the sharing of one’s faith with non-adherents as “proselytizing.”

When pluralism is wrongly defined, nonsensical policies result. In the California State System, for example, sororities and fraternities are explicitly exempted from gender discrimination in selecting leaders, while faith based groups are not granted a similar religious exemption. (Of course, the underlying story behind such treatment – as told in a recent Atlantic article - is the political and economic power of Greek alumni).

My point is not to slam sororities and fraternities. To the contrary, I concur that they should be allowed to have female and male leaders, respectively. Likewise, Phi Beta Kappa should have smart leaders. The Young Democrats should have politically progressive leaders. And, in this same spirit, faith based groups should have religious leaders. It is telling that the conservative National Review and the liberal Mother Jones concur on this point.

University administrators bear great responsibility to ensure that principled pluralism thrives in their environs. The degree to which they provide – or fail to provide – truly open public forums will determine how our culture engages such issues in the future. How they define pluralism today will establish a cultural template for a whole generation.

A slightly different version of this article was published by the Huffington Post

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pluralism

First Amendment

Diversity

Faith in the Campus Conversation

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Fri, 23 May 2014 19:21:19 +0000

News

Gordon Govier

Faith in the Campus Conversation

Universities exist to find what is true, to encourage vibrant discourse, and to nurture students. ��ñ�� Christian Fellowship, with its 70-year history of campus ministry, welcomes the opportunity to be involved with all of the increasingly diverse communities on campus. But diversity has also become a political football that complicates the work of campus ministry, particularly when nondiscrimination policies conflict with religious freedom principles.

Last year ��ñ�� President Alec Hill was a member of a task force that assembled a white paper called Principled Pluralism for the Aspen Institute. The white paper’s aim was to “increase respect for diverse religious identities in the public sphere, foster positive interfaith interactions, and form productive partnerships among people of different faiths in the service of the common good.”

In a panel discussion at Calvin College, cosponsored by ��ñ�� and the Aspen Institute, Alec said, “We have 900 chapters in ��ñ�� and we're facing a lot of issues on campus relating to the secular/religious divide, less so the religious/religious divide. For me this issue of finding people who have common values and spirit, of different faiths but who see the issues we're struggling with, would be helpful. ”

Agreeable Disagreements

Alec recalled that after 9/11 the ��ñ�� chapter at Wayne State University reached out to the beleaguered Muslim students on campus to befriend them. The Boston Globe reported on how much both sides valued the regular meetings. "Yeah we meet every month, we talk about what we believe, we try to convert each other, and we're friends," quipped one of the interviewees.

“That’s principled pluralism,” Alec said. “You may not agree, but you accept each other. You love each other, and you have that kind of dialogue and conversation, fully holding on to what you believe, fully articulating that."

Alec noted that the meaning of tolerance has changed. It used to mean respect between those who disagreed with each other. Today it means those who disagree need to change their beliefs until they reach the lowest common denominator, and convictions have become valueless.

“On campus tolerance is actually thrown in our face and it becomes anti-tolerance toward people who hold strong religious convictions,” Alec said. “It's a paradox and irony, a Nineteen Eighty Four use of the word.”

Helping Students

Joining Alec in the panel discussion on pluralism was Calvin College President Michael Le Roy, who agreed on the importance of respecting differences. "It's a mark of maturity when somebody can have their convictions and engage someone who is different, not compromising those convictions but listening and then responding in kindness and gentleness," he said. "These are the skills that we need to help students to develop."

The Rev. Julius Medenblik, president of Calvin Theological Seminary and the other member of the panel, noted that the participation of the Christian church in society was not always consistent down through history, but at many times the church has provided much-needed compassionate service and at other times bold leadership at critical times. “If we do not stand up [for what we believe in], what happens to our culture?” he asked.

The Genius of America

The distaste for discrimination and the desire for freedom are strong themes in American history and have been protected by the First Amendment to our Constitution. But that landscape seems to be changing and the change is perhaps most evident on U.S. college campuses right now.

“In the name of anti-discrimination, in the name of pluralism, in the name of tolerance, the opposite is happening," Alec said. "It seems to me it's the genius of America that we were many and yet one, and we allowed space for those differences. I fear that's under attack."

By advocating for principled pluralism, in partnership with the Aspen Institute and other organizations, ��ñ�� is working to make sure U.S. college and university campuses maintain the ideals of their (often Christian) founders.

For further information:

Listen to the panel discussion Time: 1:26:30

Principled Pluralism White Paper

On April 29, 2014, another panel discussion in this series was held at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, Illinois. On this panel, Alec Hill was joined by Dr. Philip Rykind, president of Wheaton College, and Dr. S. Alan Ray, president of Elmhurst College. A video of the panel discussion can be viewed here.

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Reaching the Nation's Largest Campus

webteam@intervarsity.org — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:00 +0000

News

Gordon Govier

Reaching the Nation's Largest Campus

Ohio State University (OSU) abounds in diversity. It’s the largest university campus in the country. And figuring out how to engage diversity among 55,000 students has been a challenge for ��ñ��’s team leader on campus, Ram Sridharan.

Four years ago Ram joined ��ñ�� as a full-time employee. For nine years before that he was an ��ñ�� volunteer while at the same time pursuing graduate studies and working as associate director of career services on the OSU campus. As a volunteer he’d nurtured a Bible study for commuter students that became a chapter and when he joined staff full-time he turned his attention to the undergrad fellowship.

Multiethnic Alternatives
Five years ago OSU’s undergrad fellowship was predominantly composed of Asian students. Because ��ñ�� values multiethnicity and desires to reach the whole campus with the gospel, Ram set out to study whether the fellowship might operate more successfully as an intentional multiethnic chapter, several ethnic specific chapters, or a combination of the two.

Decision time culminated in a week of Bible study and prayer with chapter leaders at ��ñ��’s Cedar Campus on Lake Huron. “We decided to become multiethnic in our expression with multiple small groups,” he said. “We gave it a two-year run.”

It didn’t work as well as he’d hoped. Even though evangelistic outreach was bringing 80-100 conversions each year, chapter attendance seemed stuck on 80. Ram perceived that cultural comfort was inhibiting the growth of the chapter.

Ram returned to Cedar Campus in the summer of 2008 with 30 chapter leaders for another week of discernment. “We spent a lot of time in prayer and having hard conversations about where we’re going, and what God is calling us to do,” he said. “We decided to incubate three small groups as chapters. We now have an Asian American chapter, a Black Campus Ministries chapter and a multiethnic chapter. Each now averages over 30 students.”

The three chapter leaders worked together to write a seven-page covenant. “We have an outline of how we will live together, what we will do separately, and how we’ll resolve conflict together,” he said. The chapter leaders continue to meet together on a regular, weekly basis. The chapters meet and worship together once every quarter and work together on larger campus-wide projects.

Third-culture Communicator
Ram describes himself as a third-culture kid. He grew up in Tanzania and Kenya, where his father worked in international finance. He became a Christian during high school at a Hindu boarding school in his home country of India, through the witness of a fellow student.

Being a south Asian with a multi-cultural background helps Ram communicate well with each of the different ethnic chapters. He was invited to be one of the speakers at Black Campus Ministry’s national conference in Atlanta last December.

Ram is also a trained mediator, and he offers his mediation services to small claims court in Columbus, Ohio. He likes to work in conflict resolution and takes his lead from the patriarch Abraham, who was active in resolving conflicts in his later years.

Keen Insight in Multiethnicity
Marc Papai, Ram’s supervisor, says Ram is gifted as an evangelist and a Bible teacher. Marc frequently receives requests to have Ram make speaking appearances elsewhere in the country. “He has innovated again and again at OSU to promote ethnic identity training and racial reconciliation,” Marc said. “He has served me by regularly helping me to think through ethnicity issues that we face in our division. He has keen insight into the Scriptures around this issue.”

Engaging a campus as large as Ohio State is a daunting task, but Ram says ��ñ�� is making it work. “We were one of the few student groups to respond on the oval after the Virginia Tech shooting,” he said. “The university still remembers us as a result of that.”

He says that ��ñ�� also is remembered for flooding the campus with 2,500 students wearing orange T-shirts during an AIDS awareness outreach with World Vision.

“The students did a great job on that. Professors were stopping classes and devoting attention to the AIDS issue because they saw the sea of orange shirts everywhere. Every person became an activist. We’re still known as the organization that organized that event.”

Ram sees a season of growth underway at OSU. Campus ministry has been fruitful. Planning is now underway for a cooperative, campus-wide evangelism outreach focusing on social justice. It is called The Price of Life Invitational and will take place on the OSU campus next spring.

___

You can make a direct financial donation to support ��ñ��’s work at Ohio State University by following this link.

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Campus Ministry

��ñ�� Reaches Out to the Entire Campus

webteam@intervarsity.org — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:00:00 +0000

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��ñ�� Reaches Out to the Entire Campus

You don’t need to board a plane to travel around the world. These days you can acquaint yourself with a variety of cultures and ethnicities without even subscribing to the Travel channel. Just visit a college or university campus.

Today’s campuses are ideological marketplaces, cultural festivals, ethnic crossroads. And ��ñ�� is on campus, reaching out to students and faculty of every ethnicity, culture, and worldview.

God Loves Everyone
Why are we on campus? It’s simple, really. God loves everyone; we desire to do likewise. God has called us for over sixty-seven years to the mission field of the American college and university.

We work to see students and faculty transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, campuses spiritually renewed by the presence of our witnessing communities, and students developed into servant leaders by their discipleship to Christ and fellowship within the church.

We plant and build witnessing communities on campuses to share the biblical gospel and demonstrate God’s love to everyone, regardless of their racial or cultural background. “It was through ��ñ�� that I learned about the love of God and the joys of Christian fellowship,” said D. Bush, graduate from UCLA in 1971. “I’m so grateful to have had your Christian presence on my campus.”

Diversity is God’s Idea
God creatively covers the earth with a diversity of natural wonders. Diversity is God’s idea. So within the biblical bounds of truth and morals, we honor diversity among people, encouraging all people to see themselves as created in God’s image and meant for his love.

Ethnic diversity is common on today’s college campus. At Fresno State University in California, class rosters reveal increasing ethnic diversity. During an ��ñ�� Large Group Meeting at Fresno, students may learn a worship song in Malay or Swahili or English. Or hear a Bosnian student tell of how he invited his mother to know Jesus Christ. Or see a Sudanese student’s joy from feeling loved by God and by her newfound ��ñ�� community.

While most of our campus witnessing communities are ethnically and culturally diverse, we’ve also established on some campuses ethnic-specific communities for Asian, Black, and Hispanic students. We also minister with particular communities of students, such as fraternities and sororities, international students, nursing students, and graduate students.

Unity is God’s Plan
These different witnessing communities share in the unity of ��ñ��’s national fellowship and in the unity of the church. ��ñ�� understands that Christ is the head of the church and that each local church, Christian organization and individual believer is a part of Christ’s body. We teach our students and faculty that together we are part of the universal church, and as such we are called to participate in local churches as an expression of our unity.

��ñ�� witnessing communities reach out to the entire campus as we model the church of Christ reaching out to all people throughout the world.

Looking Toward Future Ministry
Today’s campuses are growing more diverse. ��ñ�� is responding to the need of this campus mission field by planting and building more witnessing communities on campus across the country. Today we have over 850 chapters on 562 campuses. Our current five-year plan calls for planting 100 new chapters.

��ñ�� offers undergraduate students a Christian perspective on the world through multiethnic and ethnic-specific witnessing communities. ��ñ�� staff also minister with international students, nursing students, graduate students, and faculty.

Today’s diverse college campus reflects the diversity of this world. ��ñ�� is dedicated to reaching the entire campus with the gospel.

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Diversity

Campus Ministry

Multiethnic Ministry

The Dialogue is Changing

webteam@intervarsity.org — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 05:00:00 +0000

News

Gordon Govier

The Dialogue is Changing

Racial and ethnic diversity is increasing on campus. A March 10, 2008, article in the i>Washington Post projects that minority populations on U.S. college and university campuses will grow from 30 percent three years ago to 37 percent by 2015.

��ñ�� has multiethnic chapters and ethnic specific chapters on many campuses. Currently 29 percent of our active students define themselves as minority or multiethnic. Ethnic reconciliation and justice are long held core values. But ��ñ��’s campus staff members are noticing that student attitudes on race are also changing.

Joshua Settles, ��ñ��’s area director in Tennessee, remembers that students were more engaged in efforts to work for racial reconciliation in the past. “Now there’s not as much conversation explicitly about racial reconciliation,” he says. “Around campus, more students are interacting cross-racially, but for the most part folks hang out with their own kind of people. The division among students is just as large as it was before.”

“College students today aren’t asking the same questions about race, or even using the same paradigms about race as their parents are,” says Paula Fuller, ��ñ��’s vice president and Director of Multiethnic Ministries. “This generation has essentially been raised with diversity training and cross-cultural awareness. So to some degree there’s no sense that race is still a problem.”

It’s not that students are totally oblivious to racial issues. But for many students it’s one issue among many. “Students tend to be more excited about combining the issues of race, justice, and evangelism,” she says.

In some respects a growing comfort level with increased diversity is a positive change. However, it seems to have led to complacency rather than an increased resolve to address racial disparities. “Students are losing the language they need to have this type of conversation,” says Joshua Settles. He sees the conversations about race issues being more superficial today, lacking the depth that they used to have.

“What happens is that if we don’t address these issues, students are thinking this is not a problem,” says Orlando Crespo, director of La Fe, ��ñ��’s Latino ministry. “Yet it keeps sprouting up. You know it’s there. And students are at a loss on how to address it.”

Orlando believes it’s important to give students permission to engage racial issues and also to give them the terms to engage in the dialogue, in a way that affirms their own culture and ethnicity, even if they’re from a European background. He said a Latino culture night that included salsa lessons and ethnic food was a good starting point for dialogue at Rutgers University several years ago.

Sabrina Chan, an area director in central Texas and a seven year veteran of ministry at the University of Texas, says that many second generation Asian American students have been encouraged by their parents to apply themselves and blend in with other students. So they are not used to addressing racial differences.

��ñ�� staff are always looking for teachable moments to encourage the discussion of racial issues. “When we made space to talk about it, there were a lot of stories people had about their experiences growing up Asian-American or about their inter-ethnic experiences,” she says. “Then students realized that they had a lot to talk about.”

“The need to keep addressing the issue of racial reconciliation continues,” says Paul Sorrentino, who has directed Amherst College’s multiethnic ��ñ�� fellowship for 14 years. “The greatest divide in our culture, the greatest inequities in our culture still tend to be around race,” he says. “People don’t outwardly exhibit racist tendencies as much as in the past, but neither are they actively fighting against the ways people are disadvantaged.”

Issues such as race, justice, and evangelism are typically addressed in ��ñ��’s urban projects. Urban projects director Randy White agrees the civil rights language of the previous generation doesn’t resonate as well with today’s college students. So he doesn’t use the term racial reconciliation any more. Instead he favors the concept of racial solidarity.

“It’s not enough for me to say I have a black friend or a Latino friend, or an Asian friend, or a native American friend,” he says. “If I’m not ultimately committed to shaping the forces that are shaping my friend’s life unfairly or unjustly, than what kind of a friend am I? How much do I stand with my friend who is being treated differently because of their race?”

Orlando Crespo believes urban projects are one of the best tools that ��ñ�� has because students covenant together to face up to hard realities. “Reconciliation is hard, talking about issues of race is hard,” he says. “But in the context of community there’s love, there’s forgiveness, which is the Christian way.”

��ñ��’s ministry focus is on the campus because colleges and universities are the fulcrum for changing society. We believe that racial and ethnic dialogue should not only be addressed on campus for its inherent justice issues, but also because when we share deeply held beliefs we have the opportunity to share our transforming faith in Jesus Christ.

��ñ�� Video:
Erick Klouse, an ��ñ�� staff member in downstate Illinois gave this testimony at staff conference 2008, about a talk he gave at the University of Illinois.

___

You can make a direct financial donation to support ��ñ��’s multiethnic ministry by following this link.

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Lessons at the Well

webteam@intervarsity.org — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 05:00:00 +0000

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Lessons at the Well

A Credible Witness: Reflections on Power, Evangelism and Race by Brenda Salter McNeil

“The good news brings us to God,” writes Brenda Salter McNeil, in her new book, “and it also brings life and healing to a broken, dying and divided world. Anything less is not the gospel.”

In A Credible Witness, McNeil presents an adaptation and elaboration of her popular sermon “My Friend Sam.” Sam is the Samaritan woman at the well and, in McNeil’s vision, her interaction with Jesus is a sterling image of gospel reconciliation.

Using the narrative of John 4, McNeil explains why our evangelism can’t just introduce people to Jesus and hope they hit it off. It has to be a force that can overcome barriers of gender, race and social status. These themes should be central to evangelism today, she argues, not the secure-a-better-afterlife themes of yesterday.

You can order A Credible Witness or get more information at www.ivpress.com. Brenda Salter McNeil’s dynamic address at ��ñ��’s Urbana 06 Student Missions Convention can be viewed at www.urbana.org.

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��ñ�� alumni – Dr. Mildred Clarke

webteam@intervarsity.org — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 06:00:00 +0000

News

Gordon Govier

��ñ�� alumni – Dr. Mildred Clarke

New York City’s Brooklyn College (BC) ��ñ�� chapter has received Honorable Mention recognition for Outstanding Club/Organization by the BC Division of Student Life and the Office of Student Development. Dr. Mildred Clarke, the chapter adviser, also received Honorable Mention for Adviser of the Year.

“Dr. Clarke has modeled leadership, faithfulness, courage, and compassion for many years in this chapter,” said New York City area director Jason Gaboury, himself a former campus staff member at Brooklyn College. “I can appreciate perhaps more than most the transformation God has worked in this chapter through the ministry of Dr. Clarke. As a volunteer she has done what full-time staff were not able to do.”

Dr. Clarke credited the chapter members for effectively engaging the campus, not an easy task at a commuter school with a high percentage of Jewish students. “The outreach can be pretty tough, in terms of responsiveness; not only the students but also the faculty,” she said. “For the school to recognize that we make a difference as a Christian organization, is a tribute to the chapter members.”

Dr. Clarke retired from her obstetrics/gynecology practice in 2001, after delivering over 5,000 babies. She first connected with ��ñ�� as a student at Hunter College fifty years ago and renewed the connection over the years, chairing the missions committee of Calvary Baptist church as the church supported ��ñ�� staff members. So it seemed like a good fit when then New York City area director Kevin Oro-Hahn invited her to be the chapter adviser for the struggling Brooklyn College chapter.

“When I first went there six years ago the chapter did not have a good relationship with the administrative structure,” Dr. Clarke said. “The students have developed a relationship with the administration, which now appreciates that they are on campus.

At a recent meeting the chairman of the African Studies department publicly said that he was happy that ��ñ�� was on campus, to give the kind of balance that was necessary for student life.

The student leaders of the chapter are thankful to have an adviser that is so deeply involved with the chapter. “She has committed herself to being at every chapter meeting on campus, which takes place every Tuesday and Thursday during club hours,” said Keeshia Jean. “She opens up her home to the executive team once a week for leadership training and personal development. Dr. Clarke has cared for us like her very own grandchildren.”

Acknowledging her status as “a senior person,” Dr. Clarke relishes the intergenerational contact that she has with the students. After a career of dealing with mothers and infants, she is enjoying the opportunity to work with post adolescents.

“We have to learn who each other really is to accommodate each other,” she said. “They really have very little insight into what somebody from my generation is all about: the culture that we have, the values that we have, the purposefulness that we have.”

Dr. Clarke may not use the trendiest communication practices, but she knows how to communicate. “I love Dr. Clarke because, although she demands much from me, her love is real,” said Julene Wilson, a 2005 Brooklyn College graduate. “Above all, she continues to point me towards Christ. If I had not met Dr. Clarke, I would be an insecure, immature Christian, who is merely satisfied with being good and quoting Bible verses.”

Diane Rhoden, another Brooklyn College student, said that Dr. Clarke has been a superb role model for her as she works to become a physician. “Words cannot describe how much she has opened my eyes about the world we live in,” she said. “She is a real leader, and she listens to people. She really listens, and she still thinks way ahead of her time.”

Once a month the students set up an issue-oriented book table in the lobby of a lecture hall, or outdoors if the weather is accommodating. They’ve focused on topics like Darfur, the Iraq war and elections.

“It’s outreach to the college culture to show them that Christianity is a relevant and meaningful way of life,” Dr. Clarke said. “They try to show that being a Christian is just not reading scripture and having Bible study. It’s relationship, and it’s relevant to everyday problems of life.”

Dr. Clarke has participated in medical missions trips to several regions of the globe and continues to use her medical skills during retirement. Every summer she travels to the Mississippi delta region to work on a medical team that treats residents of the area.

Regional director Greg Jao calls Dr. Clarke “a wonderful example, serving with ��ñ�� in what could be her retirement years.” ��ñ��’s regional office in New York City recently established an award to recognize alumni who live the values of ��ñ��’s mission statement. It is named for its first recipient, the Dr. Mildred Clarke Distinguished Alumni Award.

___

You can make a direct financial donation to support ��ñ��’s work in New York City by following this link.

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Campus Ministry

Black Campus Ministries

��ñ�� alumni

Gathering at The Well

webteam@intervarsity.org — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 06:00:00 +0000

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Gathering at The Well

In Scripture, women gathered daily at the well to draw the water that they and their families needed to survive and thrive. Even today in many countries in the world, the well is a gathering place for women and a source of life.

��ñ��’s Women in the Academy & Professions has borrowed this image in the title of its newly launched website and electronic newsletter The Well. In this virtual gathering place, graduate and professional women receive wisdom, care, challenge, and inspiration as they seek to follow Christ in the academic and work world.

As we have listened to the stories of women in graduate school training and in the academic and professional world, loneliness and the need for peers and mentors are frequent concerns. We hear of busy lives spent studying, working, and care-giving, often leading to isolation from interactions which could renew purpose and refresh souls. It is our prayer that time spent at The Well will provide women with opportunities to connect with others in similar circumstances and introduce stories and insights of women creatively living for God’s Kingdom purposes.

Although The Well is designed for women, many of the issues addressed are also faced by men. We hope men will participate in the site both as Good Brothers and as those who receive encouragement and counsel.

Encourage the women you work with—graduate students, faculty, professionals, and undergraduates who are thinking about academic or professional careers — to come to The Well and find regular features that include:

In Focus: Thoughtful, in-depth articles

Reflections: Personal refections on following Christ

Living Water: Resources from God’s Word

Dear Mentor: Questions addressed by our mentors

Good Brothers: Stories and words of encouragement from men

Voices: Interviews with women gathered at The Well

We hope you and women in your ministry will join us there soon and sign up to receive our regular electronic newsletters, which will inform you of new pieces published at The Well.

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Diversity

Racial Reconciliation through Christ

webteam@intervarsity.org — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 06:00:00 +0000

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Racial Reconciliation through Christ

“We want to live free to love…so we’re going to talk about race- and racism- and pain- and drama- and sin- and forgiveness-and redemption- and hope. Are you ready?” ��ñ�� student leaders at Occidental College—Los Angeles asked over 100 audience members. So began RacEthnicitYou, an evening of student testimonies culminating in an invitation to consider how Jesus would respond to problems of racism, racial injustice, and broken relationships.

Students initiated dialogue around the topics of racism and diversity on campus, including the Christian perspective on these issues. Students extended grace to one another by sharing and listening to one another’s ethnic journeys. Participants addressed the audience about how God is bringing reconciliation into their lives through the grace, love, and transformation of the Christian community on campus.

“I don’t think that tolerance, political correctness, and awareness are good enough,” Harah, a student, said. “These things will not change people’s hearts, heal real pain, or truly reconcile divided people. Jesus offers us so much more. Jesus gives us freedom to be ourselves without the fear of being judged. Jesus gives us the hope that things and people can actually change.”

The powerful student testimonies throughout the evening painted an enticing picture of what Christian community could look like, and what students at Occidental College want to see on their campus. “I chose Occidental College because of its diversity,” shared Elen Thompson. “As I got closer to the Christian community on campus, I felt completely different because I am the only black student, but had fun with them. This community cared for me and loved me. In this community I have a second family. I feel like I’m at home.”

All the students’ experiences revolved around Jesus’ power to heal, transform, and reconcile. A Buddhist woman responded after the event, “Your faith really affects your life. My religion only affects a tiny bit of my life, but you Christians—your whole life is changed because of Jesus!” At least a dozen students wanted to talk with those who had shared on stage that evening, and many more signed up to participate in a GIG, (Group Investigating God), a Bible study for non-Christians, to learn what Jesus has to say about race.

Students grew as leaders in evangelism, community-building, and racial reconciliation on campus through preparing for RacEthnicitYou and inviting students to participate in the evening. The event involved the entire campus, both younger and older students, and the wider community. Participants in one of the freshman Bible studies on campus prepared all the food for the evening. “People wanted to know more, and they really appreciated that we actually got up and shared such vulnerable stories,” one of the ��ñ�� student leaders said.

Occidental is not alone in dealing with Racial Reconciliation. Diversity issues are common to all campuses throughout the United States. ��ñ�� seeks to demonstrate unity in Christ as students and staff proclaim the gospel on their campuses.

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Diversity

Witnessing

Diversity

Principled Pluralism

Principled Pluralism

Aspen Institute Report

Universities as Hosts of Principled Pluralism

Faith in the Campus Conversation

Faith in the Campus Conversation

Agreeable Disagreements

Helping Students

The Genius of America

Reaching the Nation's Largest Campus

Reaching the Nation's Largest Campus

��ñ���� Reaches Out to the Entire Campus

��ñ���� Reaches Out to the Entire Campus

The Dialogue is Changing

The Dialogue is Changing

Lessons at the Well

Lessons at the Well

��ñ���� alumni – Dr. Mildred Clarke

��ñ���� alumni – Dr. Mildred Clarke

Gathering at The Well

Gathering at The Well

Racial Reconciliation through Christ

Racial Reconciliation through Christ

��ñ�� Reaches Out to the Entire Campus

��ñ�� Reaches Out to the Entire Campus

��ñ�� alumni – Dr. Mildred Clarke

��ñ�� alumni – Dr. Mildred Clarke