Church-related colleges and universities offer significant advantages to students, according to William E. Hull, research professor at Samford University and minister-in-residence at Mountain Brook Baptist Church in Birmingham.
Hull spoke to faculty members at Judson College’s Faculty Institute Aug. 26.
“There are between 500 and 600 Christian colleges in America, and about 50 affiliated with Southern Baptists,” Hull said. “These schools are able to deal with the foundational questions of our culture, such as the meaning of existence and the nature of self-fulfillment and success.”
Hull noted that many American schools had loosened their denominational ties in recent years, and some have left their Christian moorings behind. “I don’t think a professor should work at a college if he or she isn’t comfortable with its religious purpose,” he said. “Identify theft is a new crime in America, and there shouldn’t be identify theft in our schools, either. Rather, we should try to find unity in our diversity and try to hold our family together in spite of disagreements we might have.”
Hull insisted that Christian schools are able to deal with what he called the “God question.” Sometimes students are disillusioned through their experiences, especially if they’ve seen gossip, conflict and brokenness in their churches, he said. “Young people tend to equate God with the human failure they’ve seen, and they reject God. We have freedom to teach them that God is greater than the smallness and pettiness of life. And those students who feel far away from God need to know that these feelings are actually their hunger for God. The message of the Bible is that God is always seeking wayward humankind.”
Hull asked teachers to model Christian conduct in the classroom, suggesting questions teaches ought to ask themselves: “What am I projecting when I teach? Am I willing to learn from my students? Am I willing to admit my failures to them? Am I willing to love and pray for my students?”
“Sometimes we need to love our students beyond their deservings,” he said with a laugh.
Hull challenged the Judson faculty to boldly live and teach the principles of the Scripture. “The vision of reality Jesus brought 2000 years ago is able yet to transform our world. It’s a great job you have- do it well.”
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