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Q & A
Q&A: Dialogue on higher education and faith Eric Van Meter and Andrew Thompson, Oct 13, 2009
Eric Van Meter
By Eric Van Meter and Andrew C. Thompson
Two of our regular contributors recently responded to some questions about higher education that we posed to them.
Eric Van Meter is the campus minister for the Wesley Foundation at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Ark.
Andrew C. Thompson is a doctoral student in Wesley Studies at Duke Divinity School, where he leads Covenant Discipleship groups for seminarians. He is pastor of Mt. Carmel UMC in Henderson, N.C. From 2001-2003, he served as the associate chaplain at Lambuth University in Jackson, Tenn.
What do you see as the goal of higher education from a faith-development standpoint? ERIC: I think the goals of American higher ed get thrown off course by the drive for success. Most of the university people I deal with see graduation as the goal. The degree is vital, but education is what really matters. It’s possible to get the diploma without the education.
Sometimes the church falls into that same trap. We choose a curriculum and start a class for college students, but miss the real opportunity to help them grow as disciples. Any effort to expand their minds with Bible study or theological training is doomed to failure unless it is firmly rooted in a faith community. They have to be able to apply what they learn immediately and to be encouraged with every step.
ANDREW: I went to a [United Methodist-related] college whose motto was, “Unto the Whole Person.” The idea is that it’s not just your head that needs to be shaped by education; it is your heart, your body, your character—basically everything that makes us human beings. If you focus only on shaping your intellect in college, you’ve missed out on the formational aspect of education. And I’d say the same goes in church: You need to know that being “firmly rooted in a faith community,” as Eric puts it, is something that forms every bit of who we are.
What role does today’s higher education play in the historical Wesleyan emphasis on education? ERIC: The early Methodists knew that education was vital for two reasons: to enable people to read and study Scripture, and to give them a chance to advance their socio-economic situation. That’s still true, even in a country like the United States, where there are a number of educational opportunities available for most people. I think it’s very important, however, for us to remember to invest in education in Africa and other parts of the world where education is much harder to reach. ANDREW: One of the things that strikes me about John Wesley and the early Methodists is their commitment to the education of the poor. When you look at what Wesley was trying to do at the Kingswood School near Bristol, for instance, it was to provide a Christian-centered education for the children of poor working families who otherwise would not have had access to formal education at all.
When you look at the founding of Methodist colleges in the United States in the 19th century, there is that same commitment to providing a quality, Christian-centered education for young men and women who wouldn’t have had the ability to go to college otherwise. And there was also a strong commitment to educating the children of Methodist preachers by making it affordable to attend school on a preacher’s salary.
When you look at United Methodist-related universities and colleges today, many of them are among the most prestigious research universities or liberal arts colleges in the country. They’ve done very well! But they’re not exactly designed to educate the poor—either in their tuition rates or their actual educational missions.
Community colleges and state universities are really the primary avenues for poor families to send their children to obtain a degree. And when you think about the original Methodist mission in higher ed, that’s somewhat sad. My question would be, “Is there a way to reclaim that original mission?” In the UMC, you see vestiges of it in our historically black colleges, and of course, in places like Africa University. Could we ever imagine founding new colleges to educate the poor here in the U.S.?
What opportunities for growth does the church offer to students? ERIC: Churches are like parents in some ways. A young adult can love the church but still need to break away from it for a time in order to find her own identity. That breaking away doesn’t have to mean rebellion against God. When the church invests in campus ministries, it creates a healthy space for its young adults to stretch their faith.
As for seminaries, I think most of them fall short on training young adults for ministry in the postmodern world. I’m glad that we offer such rigorous training for would-be pastors, but I think we train them for church management more than we do for creative ministry. I’d like to see seminary become shorter and less expensive, with more emphasis on trajectory than heritage.
ANDREW: I’ve got to part ways with Eric when it comes to the “heritage” part! I do think preparing future clergy for the postmodern world is key, but I also see a big part of that as imparting the historical identity of the church catholic and its rich theological tradition. I have to say I think Eric is right on with the issue of “expense,” though. With the skyrocketing costs of education, we’ve got to figure out a way to keep our future clergy out of burdensome debt.
When I think about how the church should relate to students—whether in college or seminary—I think of three words: “formation, formation, formation.” We are always going to bow down to something, whether it is Jesus Christ or some other god.
Moving away from home and into life as a college student is downright disruptive. All the structures of meaning and accountability are suddenly gone. So young men and women need a way to stay grounded and growing in their faith. That’s where campus ministry can be absolutely vital. It allows students to continue growing in grace as they pursue their educational and vocational goals. It can form them to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength, even as they are being formed academically in the classroom.
What opportunities for growth does higher ed offer the church? ERIC: Obviously, we have a very educated clergy population. This is a mixed blessing, I suppose: It produces people with a high degree of knowledge and specific set of skills, but also separates those people from their congregations in very clear ways. Still, educated leaders are a blessing, overall.
I think a more important opportunity involves young adult culture in general. Young adults don’t need to be educated in how to think postmodern thoughts or use technology well. These are natural languages to them.
Also, I think young adults in college or seminary settings know a lot more about community than many churches (although those in small communities seem to function in a similar way). They know how to care for one another, share limited resources, be hopeful toward the future and keep themselves open to new people and new ideas. From what I see, our church would do well to ask more questions of our students, rather than to try to train them to love our own church culture.
ANDREW: I hear Eric saying that the church needs to be open to the presence and the point of view of college and university students. I hear the voice of the Apostle Paul there, when he says to Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth.” To that I would add the whole area of the church known as campus ministry as well. Local congregations need to see campus ministry as the place where the church’s future leaders are nurtured and raised. They’re vitally important! And I say that as someone who has served as both a campus minister and a local church pastor.
Where do you see the United Methodist Church going in relation to higher education? ERIC: This is a scary question for me, because the possibilities and reality don’t match up. Young adults are full of life and energy, of real leadership ability with the potential for growth. It only seems reasonable that for a denomination that has such a terrible time reaching young people in general, we would want to make higher education a greater priority—not just to educate young adults about what we value, but to let them shape us as well.
In recent years, however, I’ve seen a lot of conferences pull back from an investment in higher education—and campus ministry in particular. I think it’s a terrible—maybe even fatal—mistake. We can start or “revitalize” all the churches we want. But if we neglect our best personnel resource in the process, who will lead or inhabit the things we build?
ANDREW: I have to admit I’m pessimistic about the future of the UMC in higher education. Our relationships with our church-related colleges and universities seem mostly based on legacy and past identity. But in what way is any UM-related school robustly Wesleyan today? What would it mean to have a United Methodist college whose mission is truly theological in nature? It’s a radical idea, if only because practically all church-related schools follow a mission defined by the secular academic philosophy of liberal democratic society. In the university, the Enlightenment’s victory has come at the expense of any understanding of higher education as an actual ministry of the church.
Then there are our Wesley Foundation ministries at state universities. These have the potential to be real missional outposts, but we under-fund them and don’t make them missional priorities. As a result, we are losing out on the opportunity to make disciples for Jesus Christ at the very time in life when young adults need that kind of training the most.
But God is good! And there’s no telling what is around the corner for our church. We may see a great revival of the Holy Spirit across the connection. If that happens, I have no doubt that the church’s presence in and with institutions of higher education will be a part of it.
Eric Van Meter
ERIC: I think the goals of American higher ed get thrown off course by the drive for success. Most of the university people I deal with see graduation as the goal. The degree is vital, but education is what really matters. It’s possible to get the diploma without the education. 
