We live in a utopia. The novelty of a place like this though is not in the natural beauty the academic environment or the Waves Café: It’s the religion. For the most part students who want to steer clear of Christianity can get out largely unscathed. Other than religion classes and convocation there isn’t much more to the gauntlet that they have to pass through. They can go through the system while retaining their own beliefs without too much issue.
Despite how much we talk up Pepperdine’s religious aggressiveness religion class and convos don’t really pose a threat to spiritual liberty. Worst case scenario we learn about a pretty important historical document and hear a motivational speech. What this means though is that Christianity lacks an introduction that transcends religion class and convo. The university is not structured to fully present Jesus on its own.
Convo and religion classes are shows in a way — we hear and watch maybe discuss but while on this stage God is still an abstraction. The most gripping and powerful story we hear from a Christian at convo will still hold a certain distance from us. If there is no real foundational context for these requirements it risks becoming noise. When seeking to rightly understand anything there is no substitute for observing its effects in another person. The long and short of it: The most powerful tangible and natural representation of Jesus comes not from the institution but the individual.
Really individuals here are representing Christianity whether we acknowledge it or not. Christians are examined and observed all day long here to see if their faith is real. The Christian community is watched to see if their actions match up with those of Jesus spoken of in religion class. That’s a big bill but one you agree to pay for when signing up. When you call yourself a Christian you take on Jesus’ identity which means you have to look like Him which also means you are responsible for representing him. The longer and the shorter of it: We don’t do this rightly here.
The world Church the body of people that know Jesus around the world (bigger than Pepperdine) has a term for a community like ours: nominal. There are individuals and groups who authentically know and pursue Jesus here. There are students who are profoundly impacted and sincerely encounter Jesus because of the work done by the university and its students. But by in large our community is Christian in name only. Hypocrisy is thoroughly entrenched in the system. Considering the amount of people that claim Christianity on campus we are failing as a Christian community to accurately represent Jesus. Students come to Pepperdine excited for the Christianity they’ve read about in the Bible but instead find a community that they can only painfully describe as hypocritical. This is wrong.
We are a school that has largely been raised going to church knowing the Bible and singing the worship songs. The Christian community hasn’t demonstrated a faith that goes much farther than this. It’s Christian by name only; it’s lukewarm. We aren’t being useful like Jesus intended. We live our lives for ourselves and Jesus is just religion which is one more part to our lives with the end result of making us better people. We are not as useful to God as you would hope for a community like ours with the potential it holds. Another Biblical application: the unfaithful servant that doesn’t rightly use what the master gave Him. Jesus won’t let Himself be a supplement to our lives.
Do not confuse this with a call to “live better.” This is not moralism; the idea that by following the rules you will be made righteous is a throw-back to the Pharisees. Jesus is not about merely living better — He is about love. Once we really understand that love we naturally want to return it. We are too selfish at Pepperdine. Even our volunteering and ministry is tainted by a desire to benefit ourselves. We need to learn to see past ourselves before we leave this institution.
Everyone is at fault. However the understanding of our inability is a prerequisite for God transforming it and actually using it for something. The danger lies in us thinking we are in the clear. The solution to all of this and the security of Pepperdine as a community of Christ-followers is dependent upon our sincerity of love. We need to stop making Jesus conform to our lives choosing instead to live in His reality. That sounds scary. It means the end of us. And that is where the beauty lies.