What Does a Wesleyan Perspective Offer Higher Education?
By Clint Kelly
Seattle Pacific University was founded by Free Methodists whose driving principle was clear: to provide students with a superior education steeped in a Christian perspective on the world. It was an idea that in the late nineteenth century found fertile soil all across America. Numerous schools with a distinct Wesleyan heritage took root and prospered.
In terms of establishing Christian institutions of higher learning, "the Methodists quite simply led the evangelical world," said J.I. Packer, renowned author and theologian, in a presentation at SPU's Symposium on Evangelicalism and Higher Education.
He further stated that where "authentic Wesleyan piety" is established in universities, "it will make for a degree of wisdom and insight which we very badly need and which I think Wesley's tradition is better equipped to supply than any other. Give me the Methodist intellectual heritage as embodied in Wesley before that of any other [Christian tradition]."
What is it about the Wesleyan tradition that fostered so many educational institutions? How can a Wesleyan perspective contribute to the development of the "life of the mind" among evangelicals? And how does Wesleyanism influence the education offered at SPU today when only a small percentage of its students and faculty actually come from Wesleyan denominations?
These were among the questions addressed by participants at the recent Symposium. The answers, they said, seem to lie in a time-honored, holistic approach to education supported by a triplex of values: serious scholarship, Christian piety and social action.
"John Wesley prized liberal learning and thoughtful Christians," says SPU Vice President for Campus Life Steve Moore, who has embarked on a personal quest to articulate the pertinence for Seattle Pacific of Wesley's legacy. "Education was foundational to his understanding of faith and life."
The eighteenth century "minister on horseback" was an Oxford scholar, widely read and a proponent of lifelong learning. He insisted his followers not only understand the heart of Christian thinking down through the ages, but that they grapple with the ideas of his day. Far from fearing the mind, Wesley believed that to use it according to the dictates of Scripture and under the guidance of Church tradition and Christian experience was what Richard Steele, associate professor of theology at SPU, calls "an act of intellectual worship."
This became the foundation for an integrated view of education. For example, a deep appreciation for beauty is not confined to the study of fine arts at a Wesleyan university, but informs all disciplines. "Students learn to delight in the world as an expression of God's love," says Steele, whose research field is Wesleyan studies. "They learn to appreciate the universe as a gift, not an object to be conquered or possessed."
To this dynamic view of the creative mind, Wesley linked a dynamic understanding of grace that sets no limits on God's power to transform human beings and society. He emphasized the importance of individual character and a life where growth in personal holiness was both possible and expected. Consequently, a focus on character-building is found throughout the curriculum at Seattle Pacific.
"Because of this optimism of grace," says Kenneth Kinghorn, dean of the School of Theology at Asbury Theological Seminary, "SPU can give moral leadership in an age of ethical erosion. Students see the truth of Wesley's faith in God's ability to not only forgive sin, but to deliver a person from the power of sin."
But Wesley was no pie-in-the-sky sermonizer. He taught a muscular faith that rolls up its sleeves to balance wisdom and character with applied experience. "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, to all the people you can..." was the standard by which Wesley lived.
Historically, Wesleyanism served as a corrective when either scholarly learning or social action was emphasized to the exclusion of the other. Patricia Ward, chair of the Department of French and Italian at Vanderbilt University, considers it the only truly successful kind of education. "The dominant model in so much of higher education, Christian included, is highly intellectual. You can have all the intellectual models you want, but unless you can turn out a student who can think, make choices and serve, you've failed."
That SPU has taken a strong leadership role in areas of service is largely due to its Wesleyan heritage and emphasis. Seattle Pacific came to be known for sending missionaries worldwide in its early years, then for the caliber of its teaching and nursing graduates in the latter half of this century. Today, short-term mission teams and an applied service program across the disciplines further model the Wesleyan value of social action.
The strong integration of scholarship, faith and service offered by a Wesleyan university has attracted students to SPU from 50 Christian denominations and groups, plus a small but significant population of students of other faiths. So strong a spirit of ecumenism at Seattle Pacific not only creates an atmosphere of free and open inquiry, but is also a testament to Methodist roots.
"Wesley was 200 years ahead of his time [on this]," says Kent Hill, president of Eastern Nazarene College and former Professor of the Year at SPU. "He recognized that the body of Christ is broader than any one sect. It is possible for a Seattle Pacific University to exist where the tap root is intertwined and enriched by the roots of other theological traditions."
Therein lies the strength of an SPU that remains firmly committed to its Free Methodist founders and Wesleyan heritage, says Steele. "John Wesley himself resisted attempts by both his followers and his antagonists to be seen as 'over and against' some other Christian tradition. On the contrary, Wesley sought to integrate the insights of many branches of Christian tradition."
And when that essential charity is applied to higher education, both scholar and culture can anticipate profound and lasting change.
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