GroshLink

I find John Stackhouse's reference to campus ministry as paracongregational church, i.e., the church differently deployed, of great interest. He has a blog post on this topic at The Parachurch: A Parasite? In personal coorespondence I shared with him that I've begun referring to my work with IVCF's Graduate and Faculty Ministry as para-academic and considering IVCF's structure involving the leadership of students and faculty it's some of both paracongregational church and para-academic. He concurred. So let's keep this thread going w/notes from his presentation at Engaging the University: Student Mission and the Christian Mind.

John began with a list of ways in which University ministry has valued the mind:
1. the University has not been abandoned as apostates -- a place fit for ministry
2. provides the opportunity for credible speakers -- although not always followed up to well in North America
3. the encouragement of lyrics in song through Hymns/Hymns II
4. encouragement of good reading through IVP)

and has not . . .

1. Many activities in student ministry don't value the intellect
2. Many leaders w/only an undergraduate degree in an irrelevant field are unprepared for ideological engagement, i.e., we should require a religious degree
3. Why are so few intellectuals invited to speak?
4. Why does there need to be a Veritas Forum? i.e., in what way have campus ministry broken down necessitating such an organization.
5. IVCF/IFES Boards with low presence of people from the University
Therefore we find arrogant ameuterism and the frequent conflict between scholarship and the communication of the Christian faith to students as the IFES/IVCF spiritual kindergarten wars with the University citizens.

John found it proper to fear a conceited, diverted intellect and a relativistic, snycretic liberalism (which led to the downfall of some of IVCF predecessors), BUT he cautioned that we must also fear mysticism, moralism, oversimplification, and fundamentalistic dogmatism. So as we articulate and reflect upon IFES' perceptions of the University, is IFES' understanding of its work, adequate for mission in the 21st century? Stackhouse's answer would appear to be no as IFES has

1. failed to analyze its culture in which it operates, i.e., the University
2. a low involvement of those who know the University the best, i.e., faculty and administration. He used the example of work at a hospital without physicians, a lawcourt without lawyers, and the ideological hot zones on campus (e.g., women's studies, black studies, philosophy).

What was Stackhouse's theological sketch of our mission/vocation? The Mission of God is not merely to save souls (or human beings), but to save the whole world in anticipation of the new heavens and the new earth described in Revelation 21. Having created a good world, God desires to bring it back whole again. Humanity's permanent calling, as related in Genesis 1-2, is to fill, multiply, and subdue the earth and we will continue to do such in the future as we reign with Christ.

Stackhouse laid out 2 commandments

1. the creation mandate: to cultivate the earth as the image of God (i.e., to fill the earth and subdue it, to be godlike to earth by taking a good but not perfect world and as a gardener of the garden cultivate the raw materials thereby bringing forth shalom/flourishing through a benevolent, symbiotic reign over earth from eternity). God has not withdrawn the commandment now but has has added
2. the great commandments: to love God above all and love your neighbor as yourself

By contrast, the emergency Christian calling of evangelism does not address what most people do most of the time. Yes, something bad happened, the world is not in a peaceful state. God's response has been Israel, Christ, and now the Church. Jesus Christ gave
1. the new commandment to love each other as he loved human beings with an open door, i.e., Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, privileged and non-privileged, etc. Our pure light will be so strong that all people will know we are his disciples and will want to be a part.
2. the great commission to make Christ-centered disciples, note for IFES: a reorientation of the University around what should be its true center, i.e, Jesus Christ.

Therefore we are not to supplant our permanent calling. Our work in the world is not like painting the deck chairs on the Titanic going down. It is much more complicated as it is filled with multiple trajectories and histories, e.g., issues for the black, poor, handicapped, and women turn of the 20th century in Canada versus white, financially secure, able, males. The church is a new humanity filled with witnesses/examples of the new humanity which are not narrowed down to text based understandings of following Christ, but bring and live out the life to come now. Christians in the University have 2 identities: by day a mild-mannered professor, by night an evangelist, but only the Holy Spirit can convert you/others and only by the Holy Spirit within us can superhuman making change and bringing of Shalom occur.

Upon this foundation, Stackhouse argued that we are to train another generation to make the best of the the University in bringing shalom and flourishing to the world.  The locus of the Church's attention should be upon our permanent vocation.  Student mission is paracongregation, i.e., the church differently deployed to address concerns particular to the university.  Some priorities include explaining the history, structure, and direction of the University as understood by its various stakeholders. 

In addition, we are to move away from the hierarchy of callings (missions, pastor, service professions, business, law . . .) and accept the privilege/special responsibility in the University arenas of social, athletic, multicultural, ideological, expressive, artistic, recreational, religious . . . and intellectual.  We are to set priorities and establish disciplines in order to respond to the various challenges and opportunities we face, e.g., pluralism, antagonism, loving your neighbor. 

Resources and opportunities for mission include service to other students (and the University), campus wide apologetic events, ecumenism and the teaching of it, and celebration of unity/diversity.  In campus ministry, there is no need for the duplication of the church's role in basic discipleship, with the possible exception of some international ministry.  Evangelism should connect converts with local churches.  The special work of campus ministry should be led by staff with special training in how to develop leadership teams which understand the university.

Peter Schuurman, Educational Missions Specialist for the Christian Reformed Home Missions in Canada, responded to Stackhouse's presentation by confessing the transition to office work in campus ministry leads to more interest in numbers in which theology and relationships can be lost.  With regard to staff education, he asked whether an IFES group can do it all.  Where do you get good staff and how do you pay them [note:  you'll remember that I raise my support and educational advancement is only possible through additional support sponsored by major donors . . . thank-you to several local congregations who have made this possible!].  W/regard to the focused nature of paracongregational, he asked how one prevents such an organization from becoming elitist, what does it mean to be mature, how do we address the traps of higher education (tech reductionism, publish/perish, credentialing).

In reponse, Stackhouse repeated that we can't do it all.  We must put out a challenge to donor constituencies like we've seen in law, medicine, business, etc.  It's not elitism to ask what it takes to do this job (e.g., nuclear engineering, cooking, or campus ministry) in the economy of God.

[It's taken me awhile to work through Stackhouse's presentation.  I find much resonance with the material and will have additional comments to the introduction in the future.  Also see his recent A Bigger--and Smaller--View of Mission]

04/04 Update: John's edited version of Engaging the University can be found here, a conversation occurring at Jesus Creed post Education, Discipleship, and the Future 3