A Crisis Of Faith: Pursuing Christ At A Christian School

“College is either a graveyard or a greenhouse for your faith.”

That statement, made frequently by our very own president, Dr. Dub, hits the nail pretty much on the head. To make the shift away from what most incoming Union students are used to — life under their parents’ wings, which included chauffeured car rides to church two times a week — to life alone at college should not be taken lightly.

At a Baptist school like Union, it is inevitable that many, many students grew up in households like the one described above. It is also inevitable that those parents are often terrified of their children leaving the safety of that structure, wringing their hands as their babies begin to make choices for themselves.

That’s why Union, a school so Christlike in name and in action, is considered “safe.” Students are receiving a Christian education and chapel two times a week. Union will essentially fill the role that the parents had before, holding the hand of the child through their walk, and the students will have no other choice but to continue to engage with the Word.

But isn’t choice the very essence of even being a Christian?

Don’t get me wrong, being at a Christian school is a wonderful, life-giving experience. The godly community and the biblical foundations Union cultivates is integral in building one’s own faith. But too often, I think, at Christian schools, we encounter a perilous pitfall. It lies in wait for us, a trap just small enough to overlook if you’re not careful to watch for it. At the bottom? Apathy.

It was a few weeks ago I was walking into chapel, the band’s music ringing out as I squeezed myself into an already very full row of chairs. Had my friend not saved me a seat, I would have ended up standing against the back walls like the other latecomers. But just a handful of days later, the walls (and chairs) were much emptier. People were meeting their chapel requirements and choosing to spend their 10 a.m. hours somewhere else, which is fine. Full disclosure: I’ve been doing the same. But it made me wonder: Does the promotion of Christianity in a school inadvertently discourage students from actively growing in their faith?

Let me explain. Promoting Christian ideals through methods such as chapel and biblical teaching can be a very good thing. But I think many Union students begin going through the motions. Swiping in and out of chapel is enough, they think. I can skip Wednesday night because I went to chapel this morning — yes, I did my homework during the sermon and scrolled Instagram while they sang, but I showed up! I checked the box! That’s enough Jesus for today, right?

We have the rare, uber-important opportunity to experience Christ in everyday life at our university. That’s amazing. But we cannot let requirements lure us into the lie that is “I don’t need to be intentional about my faith.” Trust me. Intentionality is so important in all areas of life but especially so when it comes to our walk with Christ.

“I think it’s easy to become kind of stagnant in your faith just because, like, you see opportunities here; you’re going to chapel or you’re going to church, and it can be easy to say that’s sufficient,” Gracie Yarrow, a junior nursing major said. “But it is so important to step outside of that.”

Yarrow has been involved in Young Life and Young Lives for the past two years, organizations that allow college students to grow in discipleship as they mentor others in their community. For Yarrow, those include high school students as well as teen moms.

“It’s one of the most rewarding things ever, even though it’s scary,” said Yarrow with a laugh. “It’s just the coolest feeling getting to see the rewards of showing them God’s love.”

Rather than being content to go to what is required and decide that is enough — filling up your “God quotient,” if you will — we have to be willing to take responsibility for our faith. For where is the growth in comfort? To truly mature and become as Christ-centered as this university desires us to be, we cannot just cap off our effort at “enough.”

“Going to church, going to chapel,” said Yarrow. “Maybe that’s enough, but that’s not all of it. And Jesus deserves all of it. So I don’t think it’s about doing enough but about doing what he did and laying ourselves down for him. Giving your all.”

Taking the initiative to go beyond the comfortable and really make your faith your own can look different person by person. It can mean serving at a local church, or mentoring in a faith-based club like Young Life, or simply taking advantage of extra opportunities such as home groups or Wednesday night services. There’s not one cut-and-dry formula to growing one’s faith. It essentially boils down to one simple question:

Are you content with the bare minimum, or are you actively seeking out ways to grow your faith?

Knowing where the importance lies is crucial, too — the “what” is far more inconsequential than the “will.” If we are willing to chase after Christ the way he has chased after us, we will grow. No matter how we choose to pursue him. It is the apathy, the ritual that becomes repetitive until we grow numb to it, that is our biggest enemy. We cannot become complacent in our walk — we must take action or else we have already ended up in that pit. We cannot have our hands held forever.

“I think taking responsibility of your faith means really digging deeper — past the rules, past going to church, past the surface level — and into what your relationship with God actually looks like,” Yarrow said. “Because the outside can seem super good. You can put on a show for other people. Like you go to church, and you do all these right things, but on the inside, are you and God actually connected? Do you have a true relationship with him?”

Those are questions only you can answer. Union provides amazing foundations — this college is truly a greenhouse for your faith. But a greenhouse can only nurture what is inside of it. If we let apathy and indifference take hold, it doesn’t matter how great the greenhouse is; no growth can occur in a garden neglected by its caretaker.

“It is so important to be involved,” Yarrow said. “In school, in the opportunities they give us at Union, because those are the things that are going to form your foundation. But we’re called to go and make disciples. And how are you going to do that if you’re just staying in your little bubble and not getting uncomfortable? Even if it’s scary, it’s nothing that Jesus hasn’t done before. And he’s gonna equip you for it.”

Photo by Rebekah Marcotte