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Jerry Cain, Judson College
August 25, 2004
(This address was inspired by David S. Dockery, Union University:
Evangelical by Conviction, Fall Convocation Address, August 29, 2003.
A special thanks to Dr. Dockery for helping to order my thoughts.)
The mission statement of Judson College begins with a simple statement
of who we are. It can be found in nearly every classroom and faculty office
and even on the inside front of the hymnal placed in the rack in front
of you today in Herrick Chapel.
One of the strengths of Judson College is its lack of identity crises.
Judson knows who she is. As many of our peer institutions go through the
motions of determining if they are an independent college, or a church
related college, or a secular college with Christians on the board and
in places of leadership, Judson states it from the very beginning of its
mission statement, its primary document, “Judson is an evangelical
Christian college….” This clear understanding of its identity
is one of the strengths that has propelled Judson for the first time into
the top tier of 324 baccalaureate general institutions in the Midwest
as reported this month by U.S. News and World Report.
Woefully the world does not understand our language nor can she adequately
describe what the word evangelical is all about. Media persons err regularly
by not knowing the difference between fundamentalism and evangelicalism
thus frequently misrepresenting the truth when reporting the news. I am
in sympathy with that problem for we have a hard time knowing the difference
between a Benedictine Catholic College and a Jesuit Catholic College and
a Franciscan Catholic College and all the other varieties of schools sponsored
by our Catholic friends. We know there are colleges related to the Missouri
Synod Lutherans, the Lutheran Church of America, the Evangelical Lutheran
Church and numerous other groups in the Lutheran Brotherhood but we outsiders
have a hard time distinguishing the difference. I understand the problem
in defining evangelicalism and would thus like to address that problem
this morning.
Twenty-eight years ago the U. S. celebrated its 200th birthday and Jimmy
Carter was elected president of the United States. That was 1976 the year
dubbed by major news magazines as, “The Year of the Evangelical.”
That’s what we are. Judson is an evangelical Christian college.
Chicago historian Martin Marty says that missing evangelicalism in America
is like looking at a map of the U.S. and missing the Rocky Mountains.
Contrary to the denominationally expressed evangelicalism of 150 years
ago, modern evangelicals cross all denominational boundaries and carry
a higher level of personal commitment to evangelical principles than traditional
denominational names. Evangelicals are made up of pietistic Lutherans,
Confessional Anglicans, Born-again Catholics, Trinitarian Pentecostals,
social justice Baptists and all flavors of Bible Churches, Community Churches,
Independent churches, non-denominational churches, interdenominational
churches and even Willow Creek Churches.
Evangelicals have roots in four movements. In the Reformation of the
16th Century, the term evangelical was introduced by followers of Martin
Luther to describe their churches which taught that salvation by grace
came through faith and that the Bible was the Christian’s supreme
authority in all matters of life. Evangelicals still affirm those two
tenets—salvation is by grace through faith and the Bible is our
authority for life.
Puritanism and Pietism of the 17th Century emphasized the need for personal
confession, heart-felt, life transforming personal faith. (This movement
in Great Britain is known as Puritanism while the similar movement on
the continent is referred to as Pietism.) Their emphasis on conversion
and experiential faith downplayed the role of creeds, rationalism, liturgy
and sacrament. You will find elements of Puritanism and pietism still
in play at Judson College. Notice how we do music and how often we stress
the personal spiritual disciplines in this chapel setting this year.
The third movement in this symphony would be the Revival movements of
the 18th and 19th centuries. The story of Anglican missionary John Wesley
who was sent to America to convert the Indians and bring religion to Savannah,
Georgia, might help identify this segment of evangelicalism. His personal
fear while crossing the stormy Atlantic was in contrast to the faith and
fervor of the Moravians on board the same ship who sang and prayed their
way through the storms. Once in Georgia, Wesley made it a point to seek
out the leader of the Moravians, whose name was Spangenberg. David Dockery
reports their conversation this way:
“Do you know yourself?” Spangenberg asked Wesley. “Have
you the witness within yourself? Does the Spirit of God bear witness
with your spirit that you are a child of God?” Wesley was startled
at such directness and scarcely knew what to say. His Moravian interrogator
noticed his hesitancy and pressed home the question, “Do you know
Jesus Christ?”
Wesley hedged, “I know He is the Savior of the world.”
A good response from a good catechism.
“True, responded Spangenberg, “but do you know He has
saved you?”
At a loss, Wesley stammered, “I hope He as died to save me.”
But Spangenberg insisted, “Do you know yourself?”
Such evangelistic encounters brought on the amazing ministries of John
Wesley, Charles Wesley, Gilbert Tennent, Theodore Frelinghuysen, George
Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards.
You will find remnants of revivalism at Judson. I continue to ask each
new faculty member, “Tell me about your relationship with Jesus
and how that is lived out in the church.” This question is one of
the first hurdles to becoming a part of this academic community. Each
member of this noble faculty sitting on this platform must be able to
articulate a personal relationship with Jesus the Christ.
The fourth element of modern evangelicalism is its response to post-fundamentalism
of the 20th century. The rapid changes of the 19th century, especially
after the Civil War, caused by the industrial revolution, the rise of
Darwinianism, the discovery of biblical criticism, Freudianism, Marxism,
pragmatism and the urbanization of the western world caused the pendulum
to swing to the right. Evangelicalism, nearly synonymous with Protestantism
in the early 19th century, began to stress separation, dispensationalism
and patriotism. It became fundamentalism--anti-intellectual, anti-Catholic,
shrill, suspicious, and angry. The hammer fell on fundamentalism at the
1925 Scopes Monkey Trail and with the repeal of prohibition.
But by 1950 evangelicalism was making a recovery with the formation of
the National Association of Evangelicals in 1942, Fuller Seminary in 1947,
the 1949 Billy Graham crusade in Los Angeles heralded by the Hearst newspaper
empire, the growth of Southern Baptistdom in the land of Dixie and the
appearance of several strong theological leaders—Harold Ockenga,
Carl F. H. Henry, Harold Lindsell and others.
The roots of this new evangelicalism, not identified with denominationalism,
are firmly planted all over the world but have specific tap roots in Colorado
Springs, Orlando and in the Wheaton, Illinois, region of DuPage County.
In the simplest terms an evangelical is someone who likes Billy Graham.
A liberal is someone who thinks Billy Graham is a fundamentalist. A fundamentalist
is someone who thinks Bill Graham is apostate.
If Judson is an evangelical Christian college what kind of college is
she? My definition today comes from The Uneasy Conscience of Modern
Fundamentalism (1947) written by Carl F. H. Henry. He posits three
points which define evangelicalism and thus three points which define
Judson College.
First, Judson College is not anti-intellectual. As a part of the post-fundamental
evangelical movement Judson affirms the importance of the life of the
mind. We must learn to think and we must learn to think christianly. There
is a place for rigorous academics.
- Knowing we have been called to love God with all our heart and soul
and mind and strength, we understand that the academic venture is a
part of fulfilling the great commandment. Matthew 22:37.
- As we seek the mind of Christ we seek to think like Him for in so
doing we know that “as a man thinketh in his heart so is he.”
Proverbs 23:7.
- We pray at Judson to be transformed by the renewing of our minds
that we might prove what is that good and perfect and acceptable will
of God. Romans 12:2.
- Just as much as prayer and praise, study is a way we show ourselves
approved by God, a godly pursuit demanded by our evangelical identity.
II Timothy 2:15.
- Evangelicals contend that truth counts and we will begin this semester
a rigorous, life-long search for truth knowing that in pursing truth
we are pursing the one who claimed to be “the way, the truth and
the life.” John 14:6.
- We will pursue that truth into the textbook and into the library
and into the studio and into the writing center and into the laboratory,
and into the dorm room and the classroom and into all of life.
Secondly, Judson College and modern evangelicalism must not be lost in
single-minded pursuit of the other world. Our interest in heaven must
not make us of no earthly good. In other words the college must be culturally
engaged. Yes, we are evangelicals and we believe in a heaven and a hell
and a life after this existence. We will invite you to be culturally engaged
during this year at Judson College. We will stress the development of
a Christian worldview, active service and global engagement. We will understand
and challenge materialism, meism, instant gratification, selfishness,
greed, poverty, crime, violence and all the forces which foster such evil
in the world. In contrast to the rumor I heard this summer, our new Masters
in Education program is geared specifically to send prepared teachers
into the toughest segment of our society, the public school classroom.
We will have Saturdays of Service, neighborhood Bible clubs, mission trips,
internships and other opportunities to engage the world rather than shrink
from it.
Thirdly, Judson College, true to our evangelical identity, will be cooperative
in educational and mission efforts. The modern evangelical is not a Lone
Ranger but rather emphasizes cooperation in mission and shared vision
while stressing purity, holiness and faithful Christian living. At its
best Judson will be characterized by an irenic and hopeful spirit. The
major break through in the ministry of Billy Graham was the day he publicly
invited others to join with him in crusades asking only for a personal
and dedicated allegiance to Jesus Christ rather than a litany of beliefs
about esoteric issues. Thus we join with our black and white brothers
and sisters, our rich and poor neighbors and friends, the powerful and
the powerless, the saved and the seeker, the sanctified and the short-changed,
the men and the women, the princes and the paupers to march with us as
we move ahead in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control.
Judson is an evangelical Christian college--not just any college. Judson
College is ranked in the top-tier of comprehensive colleges in the mid-west
by U.S. News and World Report.
- She is not an old, long established college. She is an evangelical
Christian College, one of the youngest in that top tier. But Judson
is in the top tier.
- She is not a wealthy, well-endowed college. She is an evangelical
Christian college, one of the most Spartan, least-endowed in that top
tier. But Judson is in the top tier.
- Like Jesus, Judson has no great reputation known around the world
like most in the top tier. She is an evangelical Christian college,
one of the upstarts in the game of higher education. But Judson is in
the top tier.
Why? Because Judson knows who she is. Because God has called an amazing
faculty to teach at this top tier school and the world is now noticing
it. Because bright students (this incoming class has the highest ACT score
ever) have noticed something unique in Elgin, Illinois, and have accepted
the challenge of not being mediocre and have chosen to take the high road
in quality education.
My advice to students which is given annually to this assembled gathering
in Convocation would be as follows:
- Make friends with peers who are from a different section of the country,
from a different economic background, from a different part of the world.
- Register to vote. And then vote.
- Sit with a professor in the dining hall. They want to know you.
- Study abroad for at least one semester. You can afford it.
- Give one summer to ministry. You cannot afford not to.
- Write a thank you to those who helped you by providing scholarship
money. They want to hear from you.
- Paint your toenails.
- Memorize the Sermon on the Mount.
- Eat right and sleep well.
- Laugh often. Cry occasionally.
- Go out at least one night each week, to a ballgame or a concert or
a museum. Choose your movies with discretion.
- Call home weekly.
- Journal daily.
With this Opening Convocation, a new chapter in the journey begins. We
link arms as faculty, staff, students, trustees, donors, alums, friends
and we march into the future boldly. The words of Adoniram Judson, the
namesake of this college, remain as true today as ever, “For the
future is as bright as the promises of God.” Christus Lux Mundi.
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