As churches and individual Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth, Goshen College is again offering an online spiritual resource at www.goshen.edu/devotions to help believers make time and space in their hearts and minds to welcome Advent and celebrate Christmas.

Beginning Nov. 26 (the Monday prior to the first Sunday in Advent) and culminating on Christmas Day, Goshen College students, faculty and staff will provide weekday reflections based on the Sunday’s upcoming lectionary Scripture passages, available online at www.goshen.edu/devotions, by daily e-mail or via an RSS feed. Many writers will reflect on the Advent theme: “Flood of Mercy,” taken from Mennonite Church USA worship resources.

Organizers intend the devotions to provide a moment of pause and peace, sharing the thoughts of individual believers to enhance the personal reflections of readers. The short reflections could be used as a centering tool at the start of a day or a way to wind down in the evening. Either way, the writings and Scripture passages can help Christians concentrate specifically on the meaning and mystery of the Advent season.

Since 2001, Goshen College annually offers online devotions to celebrate Advent and Lent, special seasons of the church calendar. The popularity of the devotions continues to grow each year and there are now more than 9,300 online subscribers, representing many different denominational backgrounds and countries.

Parables includes (standing from left to right):  Seth Yoder,  Hillary Harder,  Jake Smucker,  Rhianna Cockrell,  Gloria Showalter, and (sitting from left to right):  Micah Detweiler,  Ruth Wiens and Stephan Baumgartner.

The Goshen College worship team, Parables, will use music, personal stories and original drama to worship in congregations and other venues over the next year.

The program for 2012-13 is developed by the eight student members, with direction and leadership from Professor of Music Deb Brubaker and Minister of Worship Gwen Gustafson-Zook, from dramas, personal faith stories and music from across the globe, and reflects ideas on the theme “Wherever You Are: Creating Sacred Space.”

“The theme is about embracing diversity in its many forms and looking for ways to acknowledge that when we meet others different from ourselves, we can work to find points of connection,” said Brubaker.

Parables includes: Stefan Baumgartner, a sophomore sociology and music major from Goshen; Rhianna Cockrell, a sophomore music and theater major from Rileyville, Va.; Micah Detweiler, a sophomore music education major from Kokomo, Ind.; Hillary Harder, a sophomore music and Spanish double major from Wichita, Kan.; Gloria Showalter, a sophomore peace, justice and conflict studies major from Waynesboro, Pa.; Jake Smucker, a sophomore music major from Woodward, Pa.; Ruth Wiens, a senior biochemistry major from Newton, Kan.; and Seth Yoder, a sophomore music and informatics double major from Quakertown, Pa.

2012-13 schedule for Parables:
Sept. 30 – 9:30 a.m., Assembly Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind.
Oct. 6 – 9 a.m., Goshen College Alumni Breakfast
Oct. 14 – 9:30 a.m., Kern Road Mennonite Church, Mishawaka, Ind.
Oct. 20 – 7 p.m., Paoli Mennonite Church, Paoli, Ind. (note change of time)
Oct. 21 – 9:30 a.m., First Mennonite Church, Indianapolis, Ind.
Oct. 21 – 7 p.m., Howard-Miami Mennonite Church, Kokomo, Ind.
Oct. 24 – 9:20 a.m., Bethany Christian High School Chapel
Oct. 28 – 9:30 a.m., Benton Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind.
Jan. 18-20 – Camp Friedenswald Jr. High Winter Retreat

Performance dates are still being confirmed and more will be added throughout the year. For more information about Parables and scheduling the group, contact Gwen Gustafson-Zook at (574) 535-7780 or e-mail gwengz@goshen.edu.

Jeffrey Moore

Moore is from Ashland, Ohio, majoring in Bible and religion and communications. He regularly takes part in Bible studies on campus, and this summer he is participating in the Ministry Inquiry Program this summer by shadowing the lead pastor at Oak Grove Mennonite Church in Smithville, Ohio.

At the FTE conference, Moore was pleased to interact with people from various theological backgrounds. “I formed relationships with a diverse group of people who will be valuable friends and colleagues down the road as I explore my ministerial options,” he said.

Emily Hedrick

Hedrick is from Telford, Pa., majoring in music and Bible and religion. She has served as a student ministry leader and chapel planning assistant, and this summer she is working on a farm in London, Ohio.

Bob Yoder, Goshen College’s campus pastor, nominated both students for the fellowship, which is funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. Goshen College students have been chosen for this program several years in a row, and according to Yoder, having two award recipients in one year is uncommon for most schools.

According to its website, FTE was created in 1954 when leading educators, clergy and philanthropists joined together “out of the common concern that the quality of those entering the ministry had declined and that highly talented students were too often choosing other careers.”

Each year, FTE awards about 150 new fellowships to students to fund their exploration of preparation for pastoral ministry.

FTE Undergraduate Fellows are selected by a national committee of theological educators and church leaders. Students must be nominated by a professor, school administrator, pastor or campus minister; hold a minimum 3.0 grade point average; have an interest in pastoral ministry and demonstrate leadership in a church or school community. For more information about the fellowship, visit www.fteleaders.org.

—By Anna T. Ruth

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College Assistant Director of Public Relations Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

The opportunities for MIP participants are vast. Students can be involved in such activities as worship planning, worship leading, teaching in Bible and Sunday schools, leading music, pastoral visiting, community service and preaching.

The Ministry Inquiry Program is a joint effort of Mennonite Church USA and the five Mennonite colleges in the United States. The 24-year-old program enables students from Mennonite colleges to test their calling and gifts for ministry by serving as pastoral interns for a three-month term.

The summer 2012 Goshen College MIP participants are:

Ben Breckbill, a junior music and Bible and religion double major from Lincoln, Neb., is working at Silverwood Mennonite Church in Goshen, Ind. Breckbill, son of David and Anita Breckbill, is a 2009 graduate of Lincoln Northeast High School.

Liz Core, a junior communication major from Pella, Iowa, is working at The Early Church in Harrisonburg, Va. Core, daughter of Mark Core, is a 2010 graduate of Pella Community High School.

Martin Hofkamp, a sophomore peace, justice, and conflict studies major from Peabody, Kan., is working at New Hope Fellowship in Alexandria, Va. Hofkamp, son of Becky Nickel, is a 2010 graduate of Peabody-Burns High School.

Emily Kraybill, a junior social work major from Lancaster, Pa., is working at Mennonite Church USA in Elkhart, Ind. Kraybill, daughter of Leon and Audrey Kraybill, is a 2009 graduate of Lancaster Mennonite High School.

Annika Miller, a junior elementary education major from Broadway, Va., is working at First Mennonite Church in Denver, Colo. Miller, daughter of Merrill and Cindy Miller, is a 2009 graduate of Southmoreland Senior High School, Scottdale, Pa.

Jeff Moore, a junior Bible and religion major from Ashland, Ohio, is working at Oak Grove Mennonite Church in Smithville, Ohio. Moore, son of William and LaJane Moore, is a 2009 graduate of Mapleton High School.

Renae Weaver, a sophomore American Sign Language major from Denver, Pa., is working at College Mennonite Church in Goshen, Ind. Weaver, daughter of Roger and Jolene Weaver, is a 2010 graduate of Ephrata Senior High School.

Justin Yoder, a junior music and interdisciplinary major from Perkasie, Pa., is working at Hyattsville Mennonite Church in Hyattsville, Md. Yoder, son of Jerry and Beth Yoder, is a 2009 graduate of Christopher Dock Mennonite High School.

At the end of the summer, each student will receive a scholarship of $2,000 toward tuition costs for the next academic year, along with a $500 stipend from the host congregation.

– By Anna T. Ruth

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College Assistant Director of Public Relations Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values — passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership — prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

Goshen College’s Camping Inquiry Program (CIP) allows students to spend three months in service with a church-related camp/retreat center. The goal of CIP is to facilitate student engagement with a camping or retreat center and on-site mentor in a meaningful assignment, giving them the opportunity to test whether they might pursue involvement in outdoor ministry after graduation.

The 2012 Goshen College CIP participants are:

Mia Engle, a first-year American Sign Language major from Decatur, Ind., is working at Camp Friedenswald in Cassopolis, Mich. Engle, daughter of Gregory and Nedra Engle, is a 2011 graduate of Adams Central High School.

Tasha Friesen, a sophomore Spanish major from Goshen, Ind., is working at Camp Friedenswald in Cassopolis, Mich. Friesen, daughter of Paul and Bonnie Friesen, is a 2010 graduate of Northridge High School.

Matt Helmuth, a junior Bible and religion major from Elkhart, Ind., is working at Wilderness Wind in Ely, Minn. Helmuth, son of Eric Helmuth and Angela Gingerich, is a 2009 graduate of Kettle Moriane High School, Wales, Wis.

Benson Hostetter, a first-year music major from Harrisonburg, Va., is working at Highland Retreat in Bergton, Va. Hostetter, son of Eric and Janet Hostetter, is a 2011 graduate of Eastern Mennonite High School.

Eva Lapp, a first-year peace, justice and conflict studies major from Goshen, Ind., is working at Camp Squeah in Hope, British Columbia. Lapp, daughter of John and Sandra Lapp, is a 2011 graduate of Bethany Christian High School.

Kimberly Lindgren, a junior nursing major from La Porte, Ind., is working at Amigo Centre in Sturgis, Mich. Lindgren, daughter of David and Susan Lindgren, is a 2009 graduate of La Porte High School.

Brian O’Leary, a junior Bible and religion major from Seattle, Wash., is working at Drift Creek Camp in Lincoln City, Ore. O’Leary, son of Michael and Robbin O’Leary, is a 2009 graduate of Ballard High School.

Marta Troyer, a sophomore elementary education major from Harrisonburg, Va., is working at Highland Retreat in Bergton, Va. Troyer, daughter of Max and Janet Troyer, is a 2010 graduate of Broadway High School.

Now in its 11th year, CIP is a collaborative effort by Goshen College, students’ home congregations and the host camps. With the help of endowments, CIP enables students to participate in a leadership internship and receive a $1,500 scholarship toward their return to college in the fall and students typically receive a summer staff wage.

CIP grew from a donor couple’s life-long interest in camping. Larry and Janet Newswanger, former residents of Goshen and friends of Goshen College, envisioned a camping internship program that would parallel existing programs in congregational ministry and church-sponsored voluntary service.

– By Anna T. Ruth

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College Assistant Director of Public Relations Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values — passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership — prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

Beginning Feb. 22 (Ash Wednesday) and culminating on April 8 (Easter), Goshen College students, faculty and staff will provide weekday reflections based on lectionary Scripture passages, available online, by daily e-mail or via RSS feed. To access the devotions or sign up to receive them daily in your inbox, go to:www.goshen.edu/devotions.

Organizers said the devotions will reflect honestly on the Scriptures and offer words of assurances of faith. The spiritual offerings will include poetry, personal stories, reflections and prayers, all intended to more closely examine the call to change and follow Christ.

The popularity of the devotions continues to grow each year and there are now more than 9,000 online subscribers. Since 2001, Goshen College annually celebrates special seasons of the church calendar, particularly Advent and Lent, with online devotions.

Editors: For more information about this release or to arrange an interview, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,:” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report‘s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

GOSHEN, Ind. – As churches and individual Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth, Goshen College is again offering an online spiritual resource to help believers make time and space in their hearts and minds to welcome Advent and celebrate Christmas.

Beginning Nov. 21 (the Monday prior to the first Sunday in Advent) and culminating on Christmas Day, Goshen College students, faculty and staff will provide weekday reflections based on the Sunday’s upcoming lectionary Scripture passages, available online at blog.goshen.edu/devotions, by daily e-mail or via an RSS feed. Many writers will reflect on the Advent theme: “Awesome Deeds We Do Not Expect,” taken from Mennonite Church USA worship resources.

Organizers intend the devotions to provide a moment of pause and peace, sharing the thoughts of individual believers to enhance the personal reflections of readers. The short reflections could be used as a centering tool at the start of a day or a way to wind down in the evening. Either way, the writings and Scripture passages can help Christians concentrate specifically on the meaning and mystery of the Advent season.

The popularity of the devotions continues to grow each year and there are now almost 9,000 online subscribers, representing many different denominational backgrounds and countries. And when “Advent devotions” is searched on Google, Goshen College devotions are first on the list. Since 2001, Goshen College annually offers online devotions to celebrate Advent and Lent, special seasons of the church calendar.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College Acting News Bureau Coordinator Alysha Bergey Landis at (574) 535-7762 or alyshabl@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in BarronÕs Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

• TRANSCRIPT: Speech delivered by President Brenneman at the Fall 2010 Opening Convocation
• AUDIO PODCAST: President Brenneman’s speech
• PHOTOS: Fall 2010 Opening Convocation and Applause Tunnel

GOSHEN, Ind. – Goshen College President James E. Brenneman opened the new school year by calling on members of the campus community to become a Christ-centered college defined by faithfulness, openness, reconciliation and unity.”If Christ-centeredness is first a modest and open conversation about Jesus Christ, to be Christ-centered must also be a threshold for reconciliation, not a wall of separation,” Brenneman said. “If the Apostle Paul is correct … that Christ is the great reconciler who breaks down walls of separation, then one of the most important criteria for assessing the authenticity of Christ-centered claims, is whether or not Christ has, indeed, broken down the walls of separation, the walls of segregation, walls between people who differ from each other, whether because of gender, social, racial, denominational or cultural factors of one kind or another.”

The degree to which one can claim to be “transformed by Christ,” Brenneman said, can easily be measured by assessing whether there are fewer barriers today between people who are different from each other in the community, in churches or at Goshen College.

“Can such a generous, contagious, inclusive ‘Christ-centeredness’ prevail on this campus? Can Christ really break down the walls that separate Mennonite from non-Mennonite students, staff and faculty?” Brenneman said.

“Can Christ break down the walls that separate us by racial, ethnic and cultural prejudices? Can Christ break down walls of separation between people from different social classes, philosophical and religious persuasions as well? I believe so. I have seen it happen here and elsewhere.”

Brenneman, speaking Wednesday, Sept. 1 at the first all-campus convocation of the 2010-2011 academic year, offered an inspiring and hopeful message during his address titled “Christ, the Core.” His 25-minute message, which contained a mixture of theology, scholarship and humor, was delivered to more than 800 people in the Church-Chapel.

Brenneman, a 1977 graduate of Goshen College who is starting his fifth year as president, opened by recounting his summer adventures and offering a warm welcome. He led the audience in cheering for new and returning students as well as faculty and staff members. He also expressed gratitude for the campus community and discussed the college’s five core values: Christ-centeredness, passionate learning, servant leadership, global citizenship and compassionate peacemaking.

The president’s main message focused on what it means to be a Christ-centered college. After offering introductory remarks, Brenneman paused while Associate Professor of Music Beverly Lapp played on the piano a medley of hymns about Jesus Christ accompanied by a slide show that featured a wide range of artistic depictions of Jesus — from the sacred to the silly.

Brenneman explained that there are as many different artistic representations of Jesus as there are people with imaginations, but it’s important not to turn Christ into a “ventriloquist’s dummy sitting on our laps, saying and doing Jesus-y things according to our whims and wishes.” The Bible can help provide some guidance as to the true nature of Jesus Christ, but even sacred texts have their limitations because of the differing accounts in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John.

“From these same four Gospels and other biblical texts, other historians and readers have declared that Jesus was a Galilean peasant, or a middle-class artisan or an apocalyptic prophet, a radical political revolutionary, the ultimate pacifist, the end-time judge and warrior, the wise-sage, the son of God, the son of man, Immanuel, Redeemer, Good Shepherd, Lord, Savior, the new Adam, the King of the Jews, Prince of Peace, God in the flesh, and Christ the divine,Ó Brenneman said. ÒFor over 300 years, the church argued over the various Scriptural claims about Jesus with a relative consensus now articulated in several ancient creeds — though even then, differences remain.”

Given the variety of descriptions of Jesus Christ in Scripture alone, Brenneman said that the meaning of the phrase “Christ-centered,” needs to be generous, expansive, inclusive and diverse.

“To be Christ-centered is an open invitation to a conversation about Jesus Christ. If God allowed such diverse points of view in Holy Scripture as to who the real Jesus Christ was, apparently unity of perspective on this question was not the highest priority for God,” he said. “I, for one, find this Scriptural norm, to be absolutely delightful. Scripture models for us a diversity of opinion about who Christ was. Scripture models for us a truly intercultural, intertextual, dialogical, conversation about what it means to be ‘Christ-centered.’”

Brenneman said it’s important not to “tribalize Jesus” to conform to cultural values or to read Scripture selectively in accordance with one’s cultural heritage. Doing so can lead to “the Mennonite Jesus, the Catholic Jesus, the Ethiopic Jesus, the Eastern Orthodox Jesus, the Baptist Jesus, the Pentecostal Jesus, the Episcopal, Presbyterian or Lutheran Jesus, or the ‘evangelical’ Jesus or the charismatic or nondenominational Jesus.”

Still, Goshen College students do learn what it means to attend a Christ-centered college — influenced by other core values — in the context of a liberal arts education and exposure to people of other creeds, denominations, races, cultures and opinions, Brenneman said.

“Whatever particularities we claim to have that separate us from each other, it seems to me, that being transformed by Christ will play itself out in a quite generous orthodoxy that lowers the walls of separation to thresholds of reconciliation to step across,” he said.

To test that commitment, Brenneman invited Goshen’s students who come from non-Christian faith traditions to share their perspectives on Jesus Christ — and his followers.

“I wonder, for example, whether you see those of us who claim to be Christ-followers truly living the Christ-like life, as you perceive it to be?” he said. “I’m convinced that those of us who claim to be Christian, if we simply listened, really listened to those of you here from other than Christian faith or non-Christian faith traditions and made a list of your perspectives on what a ‘Christ-centered’ person or college might look like, we might be quite surprised. And then, if we tried to live the Christ-like life described on that list, I am willing to bet that we would be so transformed — so very close to the Christ portrayed in Holy Scripture — that a spiritual awakening, a transformation, might, indeed, spread across this campus and the whole Christian church. Will you help hold us accountable to our claims?”

Brenneman concluded by challenging audience members to become “transformed by Christ” – the Campus Ministries theme for the school year – and be open to reinventing their lives.

“Transformation reshapes caterpillars into butterflies. It converts hell into heaven, changes what is meant for evil into good, turns sinners into saints, and breaks down ancient tribal, cultural, racial, social, and religious walls of separation to mere thresholds of distinction. Transformation requires a rewrite of our stories into a whole new story, little by little, peace by peace,” he said. “I invite you to join me and countless other Goshen College sisters and brothers across time and space to write an exciting new chapter in the transforming story of Goshen College.”

After Brenneman’s remarks, Assistant Professor of Music Scott Hochstetler led the audience in singing the Alma Mater. After a tentative start, first-year students joined other students, faculty and staff in filling the Church-Chapel with song.

Afterward, and in what has become a nine-year tradition, the Goshen College “Tunnel of Welcome” or “Applause Avenue” formed outside the church, in two lines that eventually converged. Faculty, staff and students walked past their peers to sustained applause, and then joined and extended the lines for seniors, juniors, sophomores and first-year students to pass by. The applause of welcome continued until the Church-Chapel emptied and the line stretched into Schrock Plaza.

–Written by Richard R. Aguirre

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

I. Introduction

As you know by now, here at GC we speak about five historic core values around which we try to orient our teaching and learning experiences: Christ-centered, Compassionate Peacemakers, Global Citizens, Passionate Learners and Servant Leaders.  You can read a short synopsis of each core value with a biblical reference on the Goshen College web site Home Page by clicking the tab “About GC,” then the “Core Values” tab on the right hand side.

Beginning this year, I have established a Core Values Institute that will help ensure that these values are more than clever words for describing ourselves. Check out the program details by clicking on “About GC,” then, “Core Values,” then “Core Values Institute.”  The Core Values Institute will help embed these core values into the fabric of our institutional life so that every student, faculty, staff and Board member is given the opportunity to discover his or her part in the unfolding creation that is the GC story. As a college community, one way we will engage these core values methodically and deliberately will be to give focused attention to one of the five core values each year for a whole year. This year we begin with the core value of “Christ-centeredness.”

Our Campus Ministries team is tackling this core value by focusing our attention on the theme of being “Transformed by Christ.” Today, however, I would like to begin a two-part presentation (Part 2 in the Fall) addressing the question, “What does it mean to be a “Christ-centered” college?”

II. A Christ Centered College

“What does it mean to be Christ-centered?” As teachers, staff, administrators, and students, we need to consider our response to what this particular core-value means for Goshen College as an institution and for each of us personally. As a way of engaging this question, let’s pause for a couple of minutes to encounter Christ visually, as imagined by different artists and others across the centuries. [Slide presentation of a whole variety of images of Christ from the pious to the kitch.]

Clearly, there are almost as many different images of Jesus as there are people with imaginations. What, then, is to keep us from simply creating a Jesus that we find compatible with our own individual tastes? What keeps us from turning Jesus into our “particular Jesus,” who is merely a ventriloquist’s dummy sitting on our laps, saying and doing Jesus-y things according to our whims and wishes? What keeps us from what Charles Hackett of Candler School of Theology calls “sinfully appropriating [Jesus] in the service of our cultural values”?

One helpful guide is Scripture, of course. But even then, when we open up the pages of Scripture, we soon discover that even there we find different portraits of Jesus. To begin with, even the title “Christ” is already one major step removed from the very real person, whose Mom and Dad named him Jesus (of Nazareth).

In Mark’s gospel, Jesus is portrayed by St. Mark as a miracle worker, full of mystery, not fully aware of his own calling at first (“Messianic secret”). Matthew’s gospel portrays Jesus as a rabbi, a teacher, particularly focused on his Jewishness, written for a primarily Jewish audience, complete with many references from the Older Testament (Jewish Scripture) that prophesy of a coming Jewish Messiah. For Luke, Jesus wines and dines with lowlifes/sinners. Jesus is poor, but fun to be around. He’s a first century party-animal of sorts, or as someone reading Luke described Jesus, “a wine swilling vagrant” (Borg), clearly an outsider, an itinerant preacher who plans his traveling ministry around eating here or there. St. John’s gospel, however, goes to the other extreme emphasizing Jesus’ divine nature. Jesus is the “Word of God, who was with God and was God” from the beginning, now “made flesh,” or as Professor Jo-Ann Brant in her award winning book on the gospel of John describes Jesus, a human actor in a divine drama. Jesus, the ultimate Savior of the whole cosmos.

From these same four gospels and other biblical texts, other historians and readers have declared that Jesus was a Galilean peasant, or a middle-class artisan or an apocalyptic prophet, a radical political revolutionary, the ultimate pacifist, the end-time judge and warrior, the wise-sage, the son of God, the son of man, Immanuel, Redeemer, Good Shepherd, Lord, Savior, the new Adam, the King of the Jews, Prince of Peace, God in the flesh, Christ the divine.

For over 300 years, the church argued over the various Scriptural claims about Jesus with a relative consensus now articulated in several ancient creeds — though even then, differences remain. Add up the different descriptions of Jesus in the Bible, the ancient creedal claims of who Jesus is, alongside our own varied and personal experiences of Christ and the responses to our question “What does it mean to be Christ-centered?” spin almost out of control.

One can easily understand the worried frustration of Irish poet William Butler Yeats at the unraveling over 20 centuries of what might have been the promise of centeredness that began in a cradle in Bethlehem. He writes:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed . . .
Surely, some revelation is at hand
Surely, the Second Coming is at hand. . .

The Second Coming may be at hand, but until then, with Scripture as our guide, let us consider the question, “What does it mean to be a Christ-centered college?”

III. An Invitation to Conversation

Most simply put, given the variety of descriptions of Jesus Christ in Scripture alone, I would first of all argue that whatever else we mean by the phrase “Christ-centered,” its meaning, its semantic domain, must be quite generous, expansive, inclusive, and diverse.  To be Christ-centered is an open invitation to a conversation about Jesus Christ. If God allowed such diverse points of view in Holy Scripture as to who the real Jesus Christ was, apparently unity of perspective on this question was not the highest priority for God. I, for one, find this Scriptural norm, to be absolutely delightful. Scripture models for us a diversity of opinion about who Christ was. Scripture models for us a truly intercultural, intertextual, dialogical, conversation about what it means to be “Christ-centered.”

The down side of this Scriptural flexibility means that we tend to tribalize Jesus according to our own cultural values. Or we tend to read Scripture selectively in accordance with our cultural heritage. So we end up with the Mennonite Jesus, the Catholic Jesus, the Ethiopic Jesus, the Eastern Orthodox Jesus, the Baptist Jesus, the Pentecostal Jesus, the Episcopal, Presbyterian or Lutheran Jesus, or the “evangelical” Jesus or charismatic or nondenominational Jesus. And, we tend to believe that our particular tribal version is the right one or, at the very least, closer to the truth than the alternatives. Standing on the outside looking in on Christianity, an immediate visceral response to all these tribes of Christianity, these denominations or non-denominations, each claiming to be “Christ-centered,” a person might wonder whether “the center” truly holds or not. So, at the very least, whatever else we mean here at Goshen College about being a “Christ-centered” place, our first claim must be a modest one.

This does not mean that over the course of your time at Goshen College, we won’t share with you what a GC perspective is or what we mean by the description, “Christ-centeredness.”  We will. I am doing that in part today and will further develop this theme, including its relevance for understanding the liberal arts disciplines, in a second talk this fall. One short-hand version is simply to say, that from a Goshen College perspective, the other four core values provide some nuance, some clarity to the meaning of being a “Christ-centered” campus community.

In addition, in a few weeks we will hear from Professor of History, John D. Roth, on what a “naked Anabaptist” or “naked Mennonite” looks like from an historical point of view. I wonder if he’ll bring visual aids to that one. I hope he brings a fig leaf or two along as well. As mentioned, throughout the year, beginning with this Friday’s chapel, Campus Minister, Tamara Shantz will invite us to reflect on what it means to be “transformed by Christ,” something I hope everyone of us will consider strongly while here at GC.

I am not too worried, then, that you will not hear the particularity of the Goshen College perspective on what it means to be a “Christ-centered” institution. Indeed, if anything, our temptation might be to claim a bit too much and so tribalize Christ to our own liking or comfort zone as to become a caricature of true Christ-likeness. I hope that does not happen. Having more perspectives in the conversation may help us become more fully Christ-centered. That is my hope.

IV. A Threshold of Reconciliation

So if Christ-centeredness is first a modest and open conversation about Jesus Christ, to be Christ-centered must also be a threshold for reconciliation, not a wall of separation. If the Apostle Paul is correct in his second letter to the Corinthian church (2 Corin. 5: 11-6:2) that Christ is the great Reconciler who breaks down walls of separation, then one of the most important criteria for assessing the authenticity of Christ-centered claims, is whether or not Christ has, indeed, broken down the walls of separation, the walls of segregation, walls between people who differ from each other, whether because of gender, social, racial, denominational or cultural factors of one kind or another. Such a claim can be quite easily measured by asking the simple question: Are there fewer barriers, walls, obstacles between people who differ from each other by race, creed, culture, gender, denomination, or opinion, today in our churches, in our college and in our community, than there were yesterday? How we answer that question determines, in my opinion, to what degree one can claim to be transformed by Christ.

Whatever particularities we claim to have that separate us from each other, it seems to me, that being transformed by Christ will play itself out in a quite generous orthodoxy that lowers the walls of separation to thresholds of reconciliation to step across.

Can such a generous, contagious, inclusive “Christ-centeredness” prevail on this campus? Can Christ really break down the walls that separate Mennonite from non-Mennonite students, staff and faculty? Harder still, perhaps, can Christ break down walls that separate Democratic-leaning students, staff or faculty from Republican-leaning students, staff or faculty? Harder still, perhaps, though it may be a toss up, can Christ break down the walls that separate us by racial, ethnic and cultural prejudices? Can Christ break down walls of separation between people from different social classes, philosophical and religious persuasions as well?  I believe so. I have seen it happen here and elsewhere.

But I’d still like to put us to the test on just one of those categories.  If you are a person from another faith tradition, other than Christianity, we are so glad you are here. I would love to hear from you on how you see “Christ” from outside the historic Christian faith.  If I were to guess, I imagine your perspective might even challenge our own easy-belief in Jesus or what it means to claim to be “Christ-centered.” I wonder, for example, whether you see those of us who claim to be Christ-followers truly living the Christ-like life, as you perceive it to be? I’m convinced that those of us who claim to be Christian, if we simply listened, really listened to those of you here from other than Christian faith or non-Christian faith traditions and made a list of your perspectives on what a “Christ-centered” person or college might look like, we might be quite surprised. And then, if we tried to live the Christ-like life described on that list, I am willing to bet that we would be so transformed — so very close (or close enough) to the Christ portrayed in Holy Scripture — that a spiritual awakening, a transformation, might, indeed, spread across this campus and the whole Christian church. Will you help hold us accountable to our claims?

V. Transformed by Christ

Being transformed by Christ can be a wrenching feat for anyone. To be transformed by Christ may require that we reinvent life as we know it. Transformation reshapes caterpillars into butterflies. It converts hell into heaven, changes what is meant for evil into good, turns sinners into saints, and breaks down ancient tribal, cultural, racial, social, and religious walls of separation to mere thresholds of distinction. Transformation requires a rewrite of our stories into a whole new story, little by little, peace by peace. I invite you to join me and countless other Goshen College sisters and brothers across time and space to write an exciting new chapter in the transforming story of Goshen College.

GOSHEN, Ind. — Ten Goshen (Ind.) College students will serve as delegates for the upcoming Delegate Assembly at the Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009, June 30 to July 5 in Columbus, Ohio. To help make this happen, Goshen College is providing partial financial support for the students.Campus minister Bob Yoder said he wants to encourage students to get involved in the life of the church and this was one way Goshen College could help. All 10 students are active in campus ministries or have already served in one of three of Goshen College’s inquiry programs in congregations, camps and other faith-based service settings.

“These are students who have put considerable time and energy into exploring their place in our world and in the church,” he said.

Five of the students will serve as official delegates from their home congregation or conference. The other half will fully participate in delegate sessions except they will not be able to vote. Ron Byler, associate executive director of Mennonite Church USA, said church leaders are enthusiastic about this program and commend Goshen College for helping to involve a new generation of leaders in the life of the church.

Yoder said serving as delegates will help these students nurture seeds of vocational service and ministry that have already been planted.

Byler met with Yoder and the 10 students for an orientation session in mid April. In addition to the delegate sessions, the students will plan to participate in the young adult delegate program (YODA), which offers opportunities for conversation and mentoring with church leaders and other delegates as well as additional orientation.

Goshen College sponsored a similar experience for students at the San José 2007 assembly. “It’s a way for us to support young leaders and we heard it was a wonderful experience for those who participated,” said Yoder.

The 10 students include Maria Byler, Benton Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind.; Emily Graber, Methacton Mennonite Church, Norristown, Pa.; Nathan Grieser, North Goshen (Ind.) Mennonite Church; Caitlin Helmuth, Harrisonburg (Va.) Mennonite Church; Betsy Houser, Sunnyslope Mennonite Church, Phoenix, Ariz.; Morgan Kraybill, Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, Va.; Amy Showalter, Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, Va.; Libby Smith, First Mennonite Church, Iowa City, Ia.; Jennifer Speight, Friendship Mennonite Church, Bedford Heights, Ohio; and Greg Yoder, Perkasie (Pa.) Mennonite Church.

By Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership staff

CONTACT: Marathana Prothro, Identity Director, Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership. MarathanaP@MennoniteUSA.org, 722 Main St., Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5155, Ext. 248. Photo available.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report‘s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.