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I feel very blessed to have been part of Pacific Rim Christian University during the past five years. I am grateful to the students, faculty, staff, and Board members for making it such a wonderful experience for me. Our Christian learning community is the best community I have ever been part of. It has been a joy to serve as President, working with all of you to advance the Kingdom of God.
As I retire as President, I am delighted that Dr. Steve Hostetter will be serving as the next President. Dr. Steve is nationally recognized as an outstanding leader in the Bible College movement. I am personally and professionally grateful for the many contributions he has made as Vice President for Academic Affairs here at PacRim during the past three years. We have a strong team, and Dr. Steve will be an excellent team leader during the coming years. The university is in very good hands indeed.
As I pass the torch, I would like to share some ideas with our students, past, present, or future, about why a PacRim education is important.
One of the ideas that has had a significant impact on my life has been the idea of being in the world, not of the world. This idea comes from the prayer that Jesus prayed for his disciples during the Last Supper. At John 17:13-14, he said:
I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
To me, this means that as disciples of Jesus, we should be fully engaged in the world, loving and serving others, and spreading the Gospel. But we do not have to measure ourselves by the symbols of success so popular in the secular world, like power, wealth, and fame. We are not against the world, but we are not of the world. That gives us great freedom. We are here to be who God wants us to be, not who the world wants us to be. We are here to follow Jesus. If we do, we will be blessed, whether the world thinks we are “successful” or not.
During my lifetime, our country has become less and less Christian. Staying focused on the will of God has made Christians more and more counter-cultural. That means that what we are doing at PacRim has become more and more important.
There are thousands of colleges and universities in America, but only a few hundred consist of Christians teaching Christian subjects to Christians. PacRim is one of those few. We are one of the few universities that remain true to three great historic traditions in higher education—the traditions of the first universities in Europe, the first colleges in America, and the Bible college movement. These three traditions help explain who we are and what we do at PacRim.
Pacific Rim Christian University is a new university. We started as a Bible Institute only 22 years ago, which makes us very new in the field of higher education. But PacRim is part of the oldest Western tradition in higher education, a tradition that goes all the way back to the beginning of higher education in Europe during the Middle Ages. The first universities were the University of Bologna, founded in 1088, the University of Paris, founded sometime around 1150, and the University of Oxford, founded in 1167.
The word “university” comes from a longer Latin phrase that means “a community of teachers and scholars.” It is important that the word “university” did not refer to a place—it was not a campus or a building. The word referred to teachers and students, members of a learning community. Those teachers and students could meet in a public hall, or tavern, or church.
Because a university was a group of people, there were times when those early universities moved from one place to another. For example, they could move classes from New Hope on one side of Ho’one’e Place to the New Hope annex on other side of Ho’one’e Place, or hold classes at Kalihi Union Church, and then at the old Heald College building, and then at Sunset Towers. We are grateful for our facilities, but as a PacRim student, past, present, or future, you should know that you belong to a community—a community that will continue to care about you for the rest of your lives, no matter where the university’s facilities may be located.
The students in those first universities nine hundred years ago were Christians who were preparing to become clergy. They wore the robes of monks. The robes you wear when you graduate are in that tradition, a tradition of Christian students committed to their God and their church. Like those Christians nine hundred years ago, each of you, in your own way, has prepared to serve the Lord, in ministry or marketplace. We do not call you monks, but your graduation robes symbolize your unity with thousands of students who have gone before you, century after century, loving God and serving Christ in all things. There is no older tradition in higher education, and you are part of it.
Second, PacRim is true to the tradition of the early American colleges. The first colleges in America were founded by congregations and churches. Harvard was founded in 1636, then William and Mary in 1693, and Yale in 1701.
At Harvard the original goal was “to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3), and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.” At Yale the primary goal was that “every student shall consider the main end of his study to wit to know God in Jesus Christ and answerably to lead a Godly, sober life.”
I am fascinated by the many ways in which PacRim resembles Harvard in its first century. Like early Harvard, PacRim was founded by a church—New Hope. Like early Harvard, PacRim was founded to educate Christians to become clergy and community leaders. Like early Harvard, PacRim is small, with 150 students. By the way, it took Harvard a hundred years to grow its enrollment to 150. PacRim did it in less than 20 years.
Like early Harvard, PacRim faculty are part-time, teaching while serving as pastors and professionals in their churches and in the community. Like early Harvard, the PacRim curriculum includes Greek, Hebrew, and general education topics. Like early Harvard, PacRim uses a few small buildings. Most important, like early Harvard, PacRim was founded for the glory of God, to know God and Jesus Christ, and to make Christ the foundation of all knowledge and learning.
Over the centuries, colleges in America changed and moved away from their original religious purpose. Christians responded in the late 1800s by establishing Bible Colleges that focused on the Bible and the preparation of Christian leaders and workers. These Bible colleges were not elite institutions. They were for anyone who was willing to serve the Lord, especially as missionaries. PacRim is part of that Bible college tradition. It is an amazing tradition that has spread the Gospel throughout the world.
Because we live in a predominantly secular culture, there are a lot of people who do not understand these historic traditions of religious higher education. Even worse, many Americans have come to the conclusion that the purpose of a college education is to get a job. I don’t agree. I think that the purpose of a college education is to lay the foundation for the rest of your life. And that is exactly what students do at PacRim. PacRim students lay the foundation for the rest of their lives as Christians.
Of course, most of us need jobs to take care of ourselves and our families. Many PacRim students had jobs before they came to PacRim, and many have had jobs while taking classes. It is no surprise that PacRim graduates get jobs in both the ministry and the marketplace—in churches, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and businesses.
Work is important. Jesus was a carpenter, and Paul was a tentmaker. Work is a way of meeting human needs and living our faith. We can worship through our work. We can place our work on the altar. As Paul wrote in Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters… It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
While work is important, choosing a college major in order to get a specific job is a little risky. Research suggests that half of all Americans do not have jobs that relate to their college majors. That is understandable. People who prepare for a job may not be able to get the job they prepared for, or may find that the job they prepared for has changed, or may find that the job they prepared for no longer exists. The world is changing too fast.
Meanwhile, surveys of employers repeatedly indicate that employers are not looking for college majors as much as they are looking for skills. They are looking for skills that students learn at PacRim, like public speaking, writing, critical thinking, and working in teams. These are skills that you can use in any job, in the ministry or marketplace.
So work and skills are important, but there is something more important, and that is what we study at PacRim—the Holy Word of God. As students, you have learned truths that can serve you throughout your life, no matter what God calls you to do. Jobs may change, but God does not change, and his Word does not change. A job is short-term. A life with the Lord is long-term. Very long-term. There is nothing more long-term than all eternity.
From time to time, people may ask you what you majored in at PacRim. When you tell them, they may look at you quizzically and then say: “What are you going to do with that degree?” I suggest you start with this simple answer:
I am serious about my faith, so I spent time studying in order to lay a strong foundation for the rest of my life as a Christian. I want to live a Christian life, whatever specific job I may be called to do.
If they express interest in knowing more, tell them more. Tell them that your studies at PacRim helped you to grow closer to God and understand how the Holy Spirit moves in your life and in the world. Tell them about the excitement you feel as you grow spiritually and come to know Christ better and better each day. Tell them about how inspiring it is to learn about the Sacred Word of God. Tell them how deeply meaningful it is to discover your gifts and prepare to play your role in the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God, the inbreaking that will turn our world upside down, transforming the entire universe. Tell them how much it means to you to know the Gospel, so you can spread the Gospel, and share the joy of being with Christ for all eternity.
At PacRim, students learn to see the big picture—the really big picture. While we are in the world, fully engaged, loving and helping others, spreading the Gospel, we know that that is not the whole story. We know that the whole story is not just about now, it is also about forever. We are part of a much, much bigger picture. We are part of the biggest picture there is. We are part of God’s eternal plan.
To PacRim students past, present, and future, I say this: Your faith and your studies give you insight into a larger understanding of the meaning of our lives on this planet. That is not an understanding that any of us should squander. We are instruments of the Lord, and he has given us gifts to use in doing his work. So go, humbly, with quiet confidence in the Lord. Go, to love and serve others. Go, to advance the Kingdom of God, each in your own way. Go, listening to the Lord’s voice, and staying open to his call. If you do, you will be blessed, and you will be a blessing to others. I wish you all Godspeed!
As a tireless and passionate servant leader, Dr. Keith’s ministry will of course continue beyond his retirement as President of PacRim, and his relationship to the University will also continue in the role of President-Emeritus and as part of our teaching faculty. We invite you to keep up with Dr. Keith and his other endeavors on his website, christianleaderatwork.com.