Issue No. 5 March-May 2007
Choosing Kenyon was a struggle for me. I had so foolishly assumed that as a Christian I would best grow with God at a Christian school. And since Kenyon was far from this, my decision to attend was in part rebellion against God and His Christian schools and in part a plea that God would follow me even to these dark depths. Of course, when I rationalized my decision to attend Kenyon, I neglected to remember that everything is God’s—not just things that are Christian in name. I forgot that I was God’s, that he would never leave me.
Coming into Kenyon, I thought I had a decent idea of what a Christian was and should be, bound by rigid rules with little room for opinions. But this year, I’ve cultivated a love of differences, noticing how Christian churches, like Christians, don’t often differ in belief but in emphasis. Throughout the year, students have met as a big group to read God’s Word once each month. Ephesians has taught us to break down the barriers between Jews and Gentiles, between different sectors of Christianity.
I am also reading Lauren Winner’s book Mudhouse Sabbath, from which I’ve learned how Jewish practices can enrich Christianity. Additionally, I’ve spoken often with my Amish professor. He has taught me so much about how he came to choose the life he leads and has explained the reasoning behind many of his practices. For instance, the Amish don’t use phones not out of a fear of the evils of technology but to avoid the temptation to gossip. Becoming educated about that which is foreign to me has cultivated greater acceptance and understanding in me, deepening my own faith.
We are all part of one body and must move together. By recognizing and valuing different churches and seeing the God that is big enough to hold them all, I’m beginning to find my own footing in Christianity, apart from my parents, apart from my assumptions. I’m finding God for myself, submitting my adoration in bits cut and pasted together.
The preceding was an essay written by a student who attends the weekly Sophomore Bible Study as well as the above mentioned Big Group Bible Study. She’s also a student leader for Saturday Night Fellowship, and she’s one of a few students with whom I’m doing a group book study of Mudhouse Sabbath before the end of the year.
I praise God for the opportunity to minister to students like Lucia and for the joy I have in witnessing them see just how big God is. Please celebrate with me that these Kenyon students are developing a Biblically-based view of the world, rooted in their life changing relationship with Jesus Christ.
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