Persistence and humility without rancor
Oct. 14, 2006
Below is a message about InterVarsity’s posture in difficult campus situations from InterVarsity national president Alec Hill. He quotes at length from Surprised by Jesus, by Tim Stafford:
Friends,
While flying to LA last week, I was reading a book by one of my favorite authors, Tim Stafford. You can imagine my reaction when I came upon the following exerpt from Tim’s latest work, Surprised By Jesus (IVP, 2006, p. 174). His summary has direct bearing upon our current situations at Wisconsin-Superior and Georgetown:
...Persistence, humility must come into play, as they did for Jesus. To respond in anger and self-righteousness is “human,” and it may be “effective,” but it is not the path of Jesus.
An example of witness comes from the evangelical student movement InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. In 2002, Harvard, Rutgers and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill withdrew recognition for InterVarsity campus chapters. All three chapters had a clause in their constitutions specifying that only evangelical believers could be officers. The universities held that these clauses were discriminatory and thus contrary to the university’s commitment to diversity. In the name of religious diversity, the universities were prepared to banish it.
A Christianity Today article by Andy Crouch tells how InterVarsity responded in varied ways, by negotiating at Harvard, be entering public debates at UNC and by filing a suit against Rutgers. “That was a difficult decision, because we have never been a litigious organization,” (InterVarsity President Alec ) Hill said. “But at each of the three times when the Apostle Paul calls on the civil powers in Acts, he uses his rights to ensure that the church is strengthened when he leaves. We are compelled to go this route not just for our sake, but for the sake of other ministries.”
In suing, InterVarsity wanted not so much to win as to get Rutgers’s attention. They appealed for justice. The dispute was settled out of court, with Rutgers accepting InterVarsity’s right to retain its religious faith while operating freely on campus. On all three campuses, in fact, university officials ultimately came around. Crouch notes InterVarsity’s “combination of conviction and openness” which appreciates the university’s emphasis on diversity while struggling for their right to be part of it. According to attorney David French, “The InterVarsity folks don’t apologize for their beliefs, but at the same time they present the spirit behind the belief.”
What stands out is InterVarsity’s lack of rancor towards university officials, their willingness to appeal to the university’s sense of fairness and to take the extreme public heat of criticism without lashing out in bitterness. Crouch warns that more such disputes will likely come… It will will be tempting for Christian groups to retreat into the shadow or to embrace a harsh us-versus-them mindset. That is not how Jesus taught us how to live. Loving enemies means more than just getting along while never discussing religion. It takes it shape through active engagement…
May the Lord grant us wisdom, courage and grace in the days to come.
Alec
