Church Relations Sweet Spot
When I meet with Lynchburg College’s new Ambassadors or CLs, I start by asking them if they think this is a Christian college. It’s a bit of a trick question. LC was founded as—and remains related to—the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The College was founded as “Virginia Christian College” by the Hopwoods and a group of Disciples of Christ ministers and businessmen. Having said that, we are not an institution that is concerned with converting souls for Christ or even teaching a strictly Christian message. I believe that Lynchburg College has found the “sweet spot” between treasuring our religious values and giving voice to both academic freedom and the freedom to pursue one’s faith (or non-faith) journey as it unfolds.
I am currently in Orlando for the Christian Church General Assembly, our biennial denominational gathering where we gather alums, prospective students, parents, and friends of the College at our exhibit hall booth. We gather to catch up, share and reminisce a bit as well. President and Mrs. Garren, Gene Frantz, VP for Planned Giving, Tom Cassidy, Director of Advancement Special Events and Initiatives, and I also host a luncheon to share the story of Lynchburg College and show some photos of the new construction. Dara Logan, Associate Director of Admissions and Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment, is meeting with perspective students. Sunday evening at the gathering of 400 Disciples youth for a Talent Show, Ken and Sheila danced the Hornet Hop. Yes he was the only president on the stage.
I’ve been looking forward to the Assembly’s workshop by Disney on Modern Culture as well as catching up with my Chaplain colleagues from the other 16 Disciples schools. Disciples have founded quite a few colleges and universities for our small size, of which Texas Christian University (TCU) is the most well-known for its football team, the Horned Frogs!
Why does Lynchburg College continue its church affiliation? The Board of Trustees actually reaffirmed a new covenant with the church in 2011. We get some funds from the Disciples Mission Fund annually, but not enough to influence policy. We get some Disciples students, but not enough to influence our enrollment significantly. I believe that it is the Disciples commitment to Higher Education, Ecumenism and Openness that helps shape what Lynchburg College lives out.
Because the Disciples church does not have a highly ecclesiastical structure and lay people are responsible for their own discernment and interpretation of scripture, we must have an educated laity trained for the tasks. Disciples value education because we value personal responsibility for one’s own belief (church historians call this frontier religion). Disciples value ecumenism and interfaith work because we do not believe within a vacuum. A person of faith must interact with others and be able to talk about one’s own belief, and learn from others as well. And this is the hard part: if we value the commitments of self-interpretation and dialogue, then we must be open to welcoming others for those commitments to be valuable. The Disciples have always been less about converting others than welcoming them. Certainly there are Disciples that would disagree with me – and that is why we gather for General Assemblies so we can alternate strong-willed discussion with worship.
Please remember the 5000 Disciples in our midst this week. The discussions do get a bit heated. Some of us will get stranded in airports, some sunburned at Disney or Sea World, but we will also get to hear “Sweet Honey and the Rock” in concert and listen to some of our denomination’s best preachers. Pray for Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, our General Minister and President, who received an honorary doctorate from Lynchburg College two years ago. Pray for Dr. Garren as he represents the Disciples college and university presidents at the business session. And please pray for me as I work through all of the details of the event.
Blessings, Stephanie