Worldview is Personal
Our worldview determines how we live. If the underlying structure of the world is designed, purposeful, and knowable, and if the direction of the world ends in the glory of the Creator, then life here, centered on this deep belief, should be wholly different from a life centered on the belief that the structure is purposeless and the direction arbitrary. Assuming this, Christ-centered higher education should be demonstrably different from non-Christ-centered higher education. The certainty of this difference ought to infuse each person involved in the endeavor, from the janitor to the president, from the freshman to the distinguished professor.
Hungering for Alignment
As a university staffer for nearly thirteen years, I admit this is not always the case. I cannot speak for others, but speaking only for myself, I continue to have a deep, and too often unsated, hunger for an experience of the glory of Christ. Additionally, it is with some shame that I confess my actions are too often driven by unaligned deep beliefs and this despite two seminary degrees and decades of Christian life. I do not blame this on the university, but on myself. There are likely others like me on the staff and faculty. Personal and communal responsibility must join hands in the effort to nurture a life-permeating desire for Christ and his glory.
Partnering in Formation
Last Sunday, I did the second of three spiritual formation retreats for the doctoral program. I designed this retreat as a meditative nap, front-loading with an extended meditation on Psalm 139 and concluding with a meditative reading and reflective journaling. I do not claim this practice as a panacea, but for now it is what I shall do to infuse my soul with a longing for Christ’s glory that guides my work as university staff and my vocation as a developing Christian scholar.
Resources
Ramsey, Arthur Michael. The Glory of God and the Transfiguration of Christ. Wipf & Stock Publishers (June 2009). 92 pages. (Glory section only)
Wolters, A. M., Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing (1985, 2005). 143 pages.
