Biblical Higher Education ... In Your Own Words

This month’s In Your Own Words segment comes from Somerset Christian College President, Dr. David Schroeder. He writes,

Is God on my side? Is God for Somerset Christian College? From Joshua 5, I take the answer to be No. Is God for me? Yes! If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). Confused? Let me explain what I believe God has been saying to me. While God is surely for His children, only one “organization” has God’s total affection and devotion. It is the Church universal, the invisible Body and Bride of Christ. Not my school, my local church, my denomination, my ministry. Does God support and care for these works? I believe He does. But no institutions or organizations will go to heaven or last forever. Some wonderful works of God have been closed. But His Word, His Church, and His people endure forever.

We who are pastors and leaders of Christian ministries are among the most zealous people in the world. Our strategic plans have eternal implications woven throughout; we rightly believe the stakes are higher even than on Wall Street and in Washington D. C.

Zeal is a wonderful attribute. At least one of the disciples of Jesus was a “Zealot” (probably against Roman occupation of the Holy Land). Zeal can be good or bad in Scripture. In fact, two Greek words, zelos and spoude are used to express different aspects of zeal: jealousy (positive and negative) and speed or intensity. “Jealous” is actually derived from “zealous,” and “speed” is derived from spoude. Zeal is essential in our pursuit of God; zeal for God’s house prompted Jesus to cleanse the temple (John 2:17), but zeal can be harmful if not according to knowledge (Romans 10:2).

Lately, the Lord has been speaking to my heart about the focus of my zeal. About what am I most intense or jealous? After a year of intense presidential campaigning, we have seen professional partisan zeal claim the hopes and allegiance of disgruntled citizens. Americans, like the Romans in Seneca’s time, are seeking ad salutem – for a savior. So the campaigning on both sides was zealous.

In our zeal for the Lord’s work, we tend so easily to sanctify our own organizations and pursue popular admiration and financial advantages, often by exaggeration and sometimes by subtle undermining of – in all honesty – competitor ministries.

Joshua was sure God was fully on his side after going through the Red Sea, the wilderness (40 years), warfare on the east bank, and the Jordan River. His warriors were recovering from fresh ceremonial sanctifying, and Jericho was in sight. (See Joshua 5). Out for a stroll, Joshua confronted a man whose sword was drawn. “Are you for us or for our enemies?” Joshua inquired. For the good guys or the bad guys?

The response of the commander of the army of the Lord ought to cause pause in all of us zealots: not for you, not for your enemies, not for both – for neither! God is on God’s side only. The question is, Joshua (and David, and Pastor Jones, and President Smith, and everyone else), whose side are you on?

So, bottom line on this: it’s good to be zealous for the ministry God has entrusted to us, and even to love it and work passionately for it, but to think of it as the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord (Jeremiah 7:4) as though my ministry is more special to God than others – not a good idea. When I go that way, I see ugly stuff inside, things like arrogance, envy, disunity, triumphalism, self-centeredness, and a very inadequate view of God. May 2009 be a year of THE KINGDOM FIRST!

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