There is an old country song that contains the lyrics, "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.." That is the first thing I thought of when I was told at church yesterday morning to check out the Abilene Reporter News web site and look at Friday's front page. When I logged on, staring me in the face was the headline "ACU changes alcohol policy."
The article was not well written, in fact it was almost unreadable in some parts (that's the Reporter News for you), but as I read it aloud to David, I felt a lump in the pit of my stomach. The just of the article states that there will be a new policy for the 2008-2009 school year removing all sanctions for students of legal drinking age who drink off campus.
As we talked about this, we both felt sick and heart broken as we realized that this was just another step ACU has taken, allowing the world's standards to invade the Christian standards that the school was founded on. We have been gone for several years (is it really almost 10?) and so much as changed in those years. I think that I must feel like those "old-timers" (mom!) who remember when girls were not allowed to wear pants to class, and myself feel like an old timer when I think, "What is next?"
Since David and I left ACU, there is no curfew for sophomores in the dorms, they have lifted the ban on faculty social drinking, there are "chapel groups" all over campus instead of the entire student body meeting together three out of the five days a week, you can get chapel credit at night, there are housing complexes that house both men and women, the school allowed a gay rights group to hold a meeting, and now students will be allowed to drink off campus without consequences.
Maybe David and I are getting too old and conservative, but we have some really strong ideas about where ACU is headed and it really bothers us. In the past couple of years, ACU has not advertised record enrollment numbers and in fact, we have read where numbers of enrollment has dropped. Could these changes to be "more like the world", be based on politics and money, rather than finding ways to continue serving God and giving students a controlled, structured environment to learn to make decisions instead of giving them an open door to fall on their faces?
David and I were by far not model ACU students. We both made poor decisions, but I know at least for me, I stopped short of making horrible decisions because of the guidelines of the school (and because I knew that no matter what the school did, what dad would do would be 100 times worse!!). I am so glad that I had a curfew the first two years that I was in Abilene because I know that being required to be back "home", helped me make some of the tough decisions and gave me an excuse to not do some things. By the time I moved off campus as a junior (everyone had to live on campus the first two years when I was there), I had a job, I had gotten over that initial "FREEDOM", and I was much more prepared to make decisions that would take care of me. I am glad that ACU was looking out for my well being when I was trying out my wings.
Now, when I was 18, I would have said just the opposite. I rebelled at the thought of all that control the school had. I stood with the best of them and said, "The school can't tell me what to do!" As an adult now, and as a parent, I sometimes wish they had been stricter - maybe I would not have faced all of the heart break that came from my own stupid and selfish decisions.
I might have done fine at a school where no one cared when or if you came home or what you did. The temptations might not have seemed so good if they had not been forbidden, but I might not have. Only by the grace of God and ACU's policies did I come out as unscathed as I did.
I doubt that David and I are alone when we are very discouraged by the changing policies and the lowering of the Christian standards that ACU continues to act upon. I know that we are not the only alumni-parents who probably will not be encouraging ACU (who knows what they will allow in 15 years!).
ACU, you can change your standards and according to the dean of student life, "make the policy stricter in some ways..." (you are going to allow students to drink off campus - how is that going to be more strict??), but you are going to change the type of students who come to the university. You will loose what you have always stood for. Once you start giving in to the world's standards, it will not stop.
God doesn't change. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God's standard's do not change. The standards of a "Christian University" should not change either.
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4 comments:
(Since writing is so impersonal, and can often be misinterpreted, just know that as I write this I am smiling, and not having a negative thought about you in the least! I just felt compelled to enter the discussion. So, read a friendly tone into the writing! Thanks!)
My good sister,
While your concerns are understandable and your thoughts well written, I think you may be missing a key point in this debate. Does the New Testament EVER prohibit the consumption of alcohol? The clear answer is no, it does not. Drunkenness is prohibited. A loss of self-control is spoken against. However, while no laws are being broken, the moderate consumption of alcohol is absolutely never prohibited or spoken against in the New Testament.
The question you should consider is this: On what basis have you concluded that those of legal age consuming alcohol is a standard of the world? Because the New Testament makes no such claims. It would seem that your opinion, belief and doctrine on the matter are influenced by the society of the church, and not on the truth of God's unchanging word!
God bless you sister! I'd love to hear your thoughts back!
In Him,
Clint Davis
Springtown Church of Christ
Opening sentiments the same as cdavis247:
Got here via the Christian Chronicle. I think your post, which was written much better than the Abilene Reporter News article by the way, goes much deeper than just the drinking issue.
ACU seems to be getting out of the person minding business for adults. I think that's a good thing. I mean if you are a graduate student and had a glass of wine you were supposed to go on probation and could be kicked out of school. Seems kind of silly, especially when that same 21 or 22 year old is thought of as old enough to get married.
But your post strikes at the heart of a debate that ACU has been having with itself for a long time. How does the school best serve it's students to influence culture and society? Does it build up high walls of protection from the outside world, or does it work to put the outside world in the context of scripture.
The issues you raised that troubled you made me have the opposite reaction. They make me feel excited. As an alumni (1997) who continues to interact with ACU students I see the students as being more grounded and in touch with their faith and with the world than I was at their age.
I think ACU fosters engagement and a free-trade of ideas, between the institutional faith it ascribes to, and the world in which that institution exists. The changing of the drinking policy is just one small part of this equation, but it speaks to ACU's overall principles of working within society to the glory of Christ instead of trying to hide itself away from the world as a means of protecting ones own relationship with Christ.
As a current student of ACU, I feel compelled to comment on your blog. I clicked on your blog off of the Christian Chronicle website and was expecting to find a blog about the drinking policy but what I found was a more deep-seeded issue that I believe is misguided.
I grew up as a preacher's kid which is an incredible blessing, but comes with repercussions. For one, I shared my parent's faith up until I was on my own at ACU. It is easy growing up in the church, as the girl who is supposed to have all the answers, to just regurgitate what you hear said. Until I came to ACU, I had not fully developed a relationship with Christ that was my own.
The issues you mentioned were my very avenue for finding Jesus. Chapel in Moody coliseum...let's start there. With 4500 college students in one setting with texting, computers, talking, etc. it is hard to truly worship. The message is often missed with all the "noise" going on around us. Small group chapels are way more conducive to growth and worship. With a "conversation" chapel called Theologia taught by one of the campus' favorite Psychology professors, a small group of students are able to dialog about the topics that churches all-to-often choose to shove under the rug. In Moody coliseum, it is not physically possible to have that deep of a discussion. The early church in fact probably looked a lot more like small group chapels than it does in Moody.
Secondly, you alluded to Soulforce coming to campus. Before they came, I had an aversion to gays. I did not like them, they disgusted me, and I didn't want to ever have a conversation with them. Meanwhile, I would be around alcoholics and porn-addicts who were the most active and well-liked on campus. When Soulforce came (not because they were invited by ACU - they weren't) the students were able to converse with them in a controlled environment. I despised the thought of talking to them, which made me realize that God was changing my heart and calling me to go. Does ACU agree with their cause or message? No. Did they clarify that? Yes. Can we still love and welcome them without condoning their behavior? Absolutely - which is what ACU did. Out of that conversation, I learned to be Jesus. He came to heal the broken...are we not called to love them as well?
I suggest taking a tour of campus. It is clear that the messages you have received are misguided. The co-ed halls are not connected, the night forums are incredible with amazing speakers from whom the students see Christ...how is ACU going wrong in those things? If it is changing lives and opening up conversations for students to be able to develop a relationships with Christ under a mentoring and supportive environment, how can that ever be bad?
It is because of ACU and the out of Moody chapels, chapel forums, and open, tough conversations that I have seen Christ. It is my prayer that you may see him work through those situations as well.
The "no drinking" policy, as earlier posts point out, has no Biblical merit. It is simply a Church of Christ tradition with an emotional anchor attached to it.
Like many other religions, our traditions have been around for a long time and many will continue to be with us into the future. While I don't see any alarming issue with traditions in the church, I do have an issue with traditions that are touted as Biblical and are not.
The belief that "all alcohol is bad alcohol" is one of those traditions. While it would be nice if the tradition was more than just a tradition, I must realize that it is not.
Who has the authority to tell us what and what not to do? It is not the Church nor the University. Only God can do this. If the Almighty came today and placed a prohibition on Christian drinking, I would change my stance in a heartbeat, and I hope ACU would too. However, we simply do not have the authority to put words in God's mouth, and it's a very good thing we don't.
If there is anything we can learn from ACU's decision, it is that we cannot cling to the traditions that detract from what we should really be discussing. Our message is not one of don't (don't drink, don't fight, etc.)it is a message of do (do believe, do be like Christ, do drink responsibly, etc.).
The blog is right, we do need to "stand for something," but it does not give us the authority to "stand against something" for which we have no right to condemn in the first place.
I can only hope that this is not a trend that will eventually do away with other rules that are Biblical. As a former Wildcat, I know the benefit of following such rules that have merit. I have known parents to send their children to Christian institutions because they are comfortable with the traditions and stances of the school. Yet the Christian institution cannot be a prison for students whose parents cannot trust them, it must be a place where the student learns how to shine their light, so that the world can see. ACU should not be a daycare for college students, it should be a place where the student is prepared to be the "light on a hill."
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