As you enter the hall leading to the Waves Café, it is nearly inevitable that standing in between you and your chicken tenders will be tables promoting microfinance in Argentina, Greek life philanthropy events, or anti-human trafficking initiatives in Thailand. As you sit in convocation, you will undoubtedly be presented the story of an African princess fighting against AIDS or a man who discovered his calling to help the homeless. At some point in your college career, you may have the chance to fly across the world with a Project Serve or Let’s Start Talking group, drive down for a short mission in Mexico with Campus Ministries, or at least serve in Los Angeles on Step Forward Day.
This proliferation of service options at Pepperdine suggests that the middle word of our mantra, “Purpose, Service, and Leadership,” is alive and well, and that’s great. But, how are we doing on the other two words? When we as students participate in service initiatives, are we purposeful? And as a result of that, are we capable of being effective leaders in whatever end we choose to pursue?
If it appears that I am too concerned with following Pepperdine’s motto only because I go to school here, let me correct this false perception. If I thought the motto worthless, I would throw it away with all of the random flyers I get in my campus box. My interest in the motto arises from my belief that service is an essential component of human happiness, both individual and collective. One way to look at service as the pursuit of solving other people’s problems, but to look at it this way would be to miss out on a great part of life. We all have problems, whether they are material, moral or relational. The solution to these problems is an exchange, and a relationship, of help between people. Real service is much more than just one person giving assistance to another.
However, service alone is meaningless. I can serve any purpose, person, or philosophy, but some are much greater and more fulfilling than others. I could serve the purposes of a genocidal dictator I mistakenly believed to be a great leader, which would be horrible; or I could serve a cause devoted to creating a change beyond myself improving the lives of others, which would be undeniably superior. It is obvious that who or what I am serving will determine how happy my service will make me or anyone else.
Leadership, in turn, is both necessary to produce purposeful service, and also in itself an act of purposeful service. I also believe that education, which we generally associate with college, is essential to effective leadership. So, being a college student who is in support of happiness, I am interested in purpose, service and leadership.
For followers of many world religions, service is traditionally an important part of an active faith. Some Buddhists have summarized their faith as the pursuit of a positive life. In Islam, philanthropic giving is one of the central Five Pillars of being devout. Jesus emphasized being a servant over and over, including washing the feet of others, healing the sick and feeding the hungry. It would be a stretch to interpret this as a quirk of his rather than an emphatic message of leading by example. Even among atheists and agnostics, service doesn’t have to have a religious connection to be beneficial. So, whatever you believe (or don’t), there’s a good chance your spiritual persuasion only strengthens the case for service.
So then the question is — how? How do you find purpose for service, and how do you follow that with effective action? Each person’s purpose in service is slightly different because of his or her unique beliefs, talents and instinctive interests. Then, the most effective strategy of service arises out of that purpose as well as the situation and resources available to a person.
In this column throughout the semester, I would like to first challenge you to seek your individual purpose of service, and then to find the most powerful way of turning it into a tangible force for good. Second, I hope to discuss issues that people commonly encounter in their search. I’ll weigh the importance of making service fun and popularly appealing versus making it economical and impactful. I’ll talk about decisions, such as whether to stay local or go far, and to work religiously or secularly. I’ll also analyze the merits of focusing on aspects such as awareness, fundraising, emotional and relational impact, and sustainability. And most importantly, I’ll describe how Pepperdine students, staff and faculty are dealing with these issues in all of their various pursuits. Sometimes they fail, but often they succeed. Even as we dive in and try our own hands, we would be wise to step back on occasion so that we can observe, learn from others, and think about what we are doing so as to frame what we do with purpose.