Come To Campus

Not Everything Can Be Learned Online

In some ways, I have always been an old man. I like old things. I like typewriters, fountain pens, and physical newspapers that blacken my fingers. I am unashamedly nostalgic, looking back on the 80's and 90's with wistful memory. My penchant for nostalgia and all things old might disqualify my argument in the eyes of some, but I am compelled to make it anyway.

My argument is simple: One of the most significant purposes of Christian higher education is spiritual formation. Formation involves, even necessitates, physical, embodied presence. You should move to campus if you can.

A disclaimer: I understand that online education is a great help to many. I have both learned and taught in an online environment and recognize the benefits and convenience of the medium. Online education is "the future," and "it's not going away." Please understand that I'm not saying it should go away. I am saying that whenever possible, students studying at a Christian college or seminary should pack up and move to campus because of the immense value of doing so.

Christian Spirituality is Embodied Discipleship

Just as some argue that online education is "the future," so many have argued that online/virtual church is also "the future." The 2020 pandemic reinforced this idea as many churches moved to online services to avoid spreading COVID-19. "Pastors who had previously decried the idea now opened up 'virtual campuses' and staffed them with full-time pastors, promising that the campuses would continue indefinitely."[1] Indeed, there were obvious benefits of streaming church services. Virtual services connected shut-ins and those medically unable to attend services, at least in some sense, to their community of faith. Virtual services allowed congregants to hear the Word of God preached when they desperately needed biblical exhortation.

However, as the pandemic ended, worship attendance didn't bounce back as many anticipated. In a 2022 survey, LifeWay Research found that churches were only at 85% of their pre-COVID attendance numbers. The survey also discovered the reasons many have still failed to return. For some, COVID-19 or related physical concern was a source of anxiety. But for others (74%), the convenience of watching a service online was their sole reason for not returning in person to church.[2] In his excellent book Analog Church, Jay Kim points out that convenience isn't the only factor in choosing virtual church over in-person engagement. He says, "The digital age has affected, and in some cases infected, all spheres of life, including the most vital part of the Christian life: discipleship."[3] He argues that a preferential bias toward the new, reminiscent of what C.S. Lewis called "chronological snobbery," led churches to adopt digital discipleship strategies long before COVID-19 infected anyone. "Many church leaders have come to believe that all of this is for the best; we've bought and believed the myth that what's new is always better than what's old."[4]

Admittedly, watching a church service online is, in fact, much more convenient than attending in person, and some digital tools available can be beneficial when used wisely, but digital discipleship has its shortcomings. First, the Christian life is more than a data download. Hansen and Leeman note, "When church is only online, we can't feel, experience, and witness…truths becoming enfleshed in the family of God, which both fortified our faith and created cords of love between brothers and sisters."[5] Kim agrees, adding a particular insight gleaned after observing his congregation, "Transformation was happening in much more tactile ways—through personal relationships and the profound simplicity of studying Scripture, praying, and sharing meals together."[6]

Second, Scripture indicates that physically gathering with the people of God is a critical part of our spiritual formation.

"…addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart" (Ephesians 5:19).  

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16).

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people" (Acts 2:42, 47).

 "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Christian Higher Education and Spiritual Formation

I believe one of the leading aims of Christian higher education is the spiritual formation of students. The experience of Christian higher education should be far more than vocational preparation. The student's spirituality should be affected in every aspect of their education.

J.I. Packer Started It

In 1989, J.I. Packer was appointed Sangwoo Yountong Chee Professor of Theology at Regent College. In his introductory lecture, he argued that any study of theology is essentially work in spirituality.

I have always conceived theology, ethics, and apologetics as truth for people and have never felt free to leave unapplied any truth that I taught, whether orally or on paper; and to speak of the application of truth to life is to look at life as itself a relationship with God; and when one does that, one is talking spirituality.[7]   

According to Packer, spirituality is "inquiry into the whole Christian enterprise of pursuing, achieving, and cultivating communion with God, which includes both public worship and private devotion, and the results of these in actual Christian life."[8] Indeed, he notes his attraction to Regent in the first place was its emphasis on that brand of spirituality in two foci: every member ministry in the body of Christ, and the priority of the person over function (what you are matters more than what you do). He set out to teach systematic theology with both doxological and devotional aims.

I want to arrange a marriage, with explicit exchange of vows and mutual commitments, between spirituality and theology. Given the marriage, both our theologizing and our devotional explorations will become systematic spirituality, exercises in (allow me to say it) knowing God; and we shall all be the richer as a result.

Thus, Packer's intent in theological education is (allow me to say it) knowing God. I couldn't agree more. We shall be richer, indeed.

Putting it All Together

One of my favorite memories during my M.Div. studies at Southern Seminary was preaching in the book of Romans at a local church. While in chapter one, I discovered a discrepancy between Dr. Schreiner's commentary and one by Doug Moo. One afternoon, I caught Dr. Schreiner outside his office and asked him about his view. He said he changed his mind on that passage and now agreed with Moo. We discussed cross-references and parallel passages; Dr. Schreiner helped and encouraged me immensely. Driving home, I was overwhelmed at the privilege of physically speaking with and learning from the author of my favorite Romans commentary.

If spirituality/spiritual formation is a primary aim of Christian higher education, and if spiritual formation is best accomplished when physically present with other believers, then on-campus education should be the preferred method of Christian higher learning.

Again, online education is certainly convenient. Online education can provide instruction and edification when work schedules or life situations demand. But whenever possible, students studying at a Christian college or seminary should pack up and move to campus because of the immense value of doing so. Come to campus.

Notes:

[1] Collin Hansen and Jonathan Leeman, Rediscover Church: Why the Body of Christ Is Essential, 9marks (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2021), 51.

[2] https://research.lifeway.com/2023/06/07/4-reasons-people-havent-come-back-to-church/

[3] Jay Y. Kim, Analog Church: Why We Need Real People, Places, and Things in the Digital Age (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 2020), 14.

[4] Kim, Analog Church, 9.

[5] Hansen and Leeman, Rediscover Church, 53.

[6] Kim, Analog Church, 9. He later says, “Digital informs. Analog transforms. The truth is we need both. But information should always move us toward transformation. Information is the means; transformation is the end” (60).

[7] J. I. Packer and Alister E. McGrath, The J.I. Packer Collection (Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 198.

[8] J. I. Packer and Alister E. McGrath, The J.I. Packer Collection, 195.