Losing faith at Bible College
More Bible knowledge means more faith—right?
Not always, it turns out. In fact, many students leave their Bible college communities feeling challenged, or even dissatisfied after a deeper academic study of the biblical text. An odd thought, considering that most attend Bible colleges expecting to become stronger Christians.
Though Brady Enslen felt frustrated at times during his years at Capernwray Harbour in B.C. and Providence University College in Manitoba, he now looks back with more appreciative eyes.
"I could have done way more to enhance my experience as well, [because] there was more potential to have deeper relationships with people, talk to the professors more one-on-one, push myself more academically, go out of my comfort zone more with people in dorm to build better community," says Enslen. "Those things were all there…but I don't think I utilized [them] as much as I could have.
"Looking back I think the only thing that hindered me from really having all of that in fullness would be just myself," he says.
Faith-based college or university is often the first time young Christians have their minds actively engaged in reading the Bible on a deeper level. But when they return home they can often feel disconnected from church communities.
"Sometimes churches aren't engaging young adults at a level that really stirs their intellect or engages them in missions," says Phil Wagler, lead pastor at Gracepoint Community Church in Surrey, B.C.
There are ways that churches can better care for their returning students, he says. A lot of it has to do with providing them the things that they want, most of which a healthy church should already be doing.
"They want dynamic community, real community, and authentic community. They want to know that faith makes a difference in the world—that there's a way for them to be involved in that…they want purpose and meaning. And they want to understand their faith in light of the real world."
But how can churches engage returning students? Wagler emphasizes the need for community. Many students feel disconnected because community—like the kind they experienced at Bible school—is lacking.
The key, says Wagler, is integration.
"To me, it's about building a culture where inter-generationally, we're living this out, and faith is a dynamic, and not just something we intellectually assent to—where community is an integral part of my life, not just something that I come and participate in from time to time."
Over the course of his 10-year teaching career at Providence University College, former theology professor Tim Perry noticed students were arriving with less of a spiritual foundation than in previous years, which led to problems for students facing new ideas.
"It is my deep conviction…that churches are failing their young people in training them, even for the kind of testing that comes even in a safe environment like a Christian college," he says, speaking from personal observation rather than hard data.
Perry says it's not necessarily the job of professors, even those at Bible colleges, to make their students into better Christians—that, he says, is the responsibility of the student.
On some occasions, students in Christian college classrooms are faced with new interpretations of biblical stories, which can leave them questioning what they thought they knew about the Bible.
"My understanding of Christian doctrine is always going to be a poor substitute for somebody else's, because it's not theirs," says Perry, explaining the hostile attitudes students sometimes have when various biblical viewpoints are discussed in class.
However, he insists that the problem isn't due to a lack of education. "The problem arises when you have a student in the class who's convinced they've mastered the material and have nothing left to learn."
One mistake that Christian students are prone to making, even while attending Bible colleges, is assuming that the classroom can act as a substitute for the Church.
"Attending a sociology class or a theology class at a Christian university is not necessarily going to make you a stronger Christian," says Perry. "To grow in Christian faith is to immerse yourself in the practices...those are the things that make you a stronger Christian."
Parents may send their children to Bible college, fearing they will lose their faith at a secular university. While few would argue that Christian education is a bad thing, Perry cautions parents against assuming their children's faith will not be called into question.
"I don't think you can send your kids, or go as a student yourself…on the assumption that when it's over [you'll] be a stronger Christian…it's not what Christian universities are designed to do." He notes that a small number of his own students found themselves walking away from faith altogether, obviously not his intention.
For students who find themselves in crises of faith during their time in a Christian post-secondary school, it's a good reminder to continue the practices that Christians have been doing for centuries.
"Going to Christian colleges can be an occasion for deepening faith—but it won't be if students stop going to church, stop praying, stop reading their Bibles in a devotional setting," says Perry. "If you cut yourself off from the sources of nourishment that the Lord Jesus gave us, it's not the Christian college's fault if at the end of four years, you don't have a faith left."
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
