"Answering the Call"
by Dr. Royce Money, President
Second Century Convocation
Abilene Christian University
Sept. 11, 2006
Today, this university is 100 years old.
Today, we have nearly 4,800 outstanding students from across the country and around the world.
Today, we have more than 800 excellent faculty and staff members who have chosen to live the mission of this place. Today, we have a beautiful campus with high-tech, high quality facilities and a growing endowment that provides us financial strength and stability.
Something else is happening today. God is calling us to become better and stronger - and to more completely fulfill our mission of educating students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world. As we step into our second century as a university, this call has serious implications.
It means we cannot afford to do business as usual.
Any coach will tell you, any business consultant will tell you, that an organization is often most blinded to a need for change or improvement when things are good - when life is calm, work is steady, and the status quo is comfortable. In those times, we may find it easy to become complacent and maybe even a little self-reliant. The paradox is that we are in greatest danger of losing ground or momentum and focus when things are going well.
That is not going to happen at this university.
In retrospect, we have had a very successful, year-long Centennial Celebration that has resulted in permanent physical improvements, as well as lasting enhancements to the reputation of ACU across the country. We have some academic programs that attract the country's very best students because of their distinctive quality and Christian focus. We have professors who are recognized as national experts in their field of study. And we are increasingly attractive to smart, Christian students who could choose to attend college anywhere - and yet choose ACU.
These strengths are blessings from God, and we are grateful for them. But in a rapidly changing world, it is not enough.
We must produce leaders who think critically, globally and missionally.
Critical thinkers explore and discuss and debate ideas. They challenge their own ideas through reading and discussions with friends and mentors, and they analyze and solve problems. They manage projects, write well and speak well. They are the go-to people in any company or organization, and we want our students to be prepared to take on this role when they graduate.
To give you a succinct definition of missional, it means being "salt and light" in the world. It means engaging the culture as followers of Jesus. We send out more than 1,000 ACU alumni each year who have received very distinctive educational preparation – a rare and precious education in which they are called to live a lifelong mission of Christian service and leadership.
In the coming decade, we will continue to call our students to go out into the world and touch it for Jesus Christ. We will call them to gain a deeper understanding of the world’s poverty and violence and fraud and darkness - and to believe they can make a difference there, even if in a small corner of their own community. Lighting a candle is much better than cursing the darkness. Being engaged is much better than being isolated and insulated.
What is the impact of a talented, Christian teacher in a first-grade classroom? Or the impact of a Christian surgeon? Or Christian journalist? Or Christian CEO? If the past 100 years are any indication, the impact is enormous. ACU will become the beacon for students who are talented and deeply committed to their faith because this university will provide them the knowledge, inspiration and challenge to live missionally for Christ.
Finally, we must prepare students who think globally. What does that mean? On our campus each year, our U.S. students engage with international students from Russia, Zambia, Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, France….and more than 50 other nations. Some of our students study abroad in places such as Europe and South America and China, and others join medical mission trips to various sites in Africa and Central America. But we feel we must do more. More of our students must study abroad. More of our students must graduate with fluency in a second language. And more of our students must gain greater understanding of global issues, especially in their field of study.
The world is flat, as Thomas Friedman reminds us in his bestselling book. With converging technology, fast travel and instant communication, we are not and will not be isolated in Abilene, Texas.
I spent some time in China this summer, and it was an eye-opening and inspiring trip. The potential for the unprecedented spread of Christianity there is beyond imagination, and ACU and other Christian universities are in the middle of the action. At the request of the president of Madagascar, we continue to educate the future leaders of his nation. We are in conversations with various friends around the globe about opportunities for our students, faculty and staff to travel more, to gain greater global understanding - and to impact the world in positive ways. In the coming years, we will take ACU to the world - and we will continue to bring the world to ACU.
Abilene Christian must also build more distinctive and innovative academic programs. We serve our students best when they receive a world-class education with a Christian foundation. Our graduates will continue to stand toe-to-toe with others entering leading medical schools, law schools and prestigious graduate schools around the world. In fact, in some areas of study, ACU will become the premiere Christian university for dedicated, faithful young scholars to attend.
Our vision requires that our students are able to discuss, in a Christian context, any ideas that exist in this world - letting iron sharpen iron. Our vision calls us to be courageous and bold in seeking solutions to world issues. We will engage our students, faculty and staff in ways that take us away from our comfortable place in Abilene, Texas, and send us to the far corners of the earth. Our vision calls us to break out of old paradigms of teaching and learning that stifle the leadership preparation that today’s students require. And our vision calls us to work across all boundaries on our campus - and in the world - to ensure that we are doing our part to transform darkness into light.
I believe Abilene Christian University will walk boldly into a new leadership role in the coming decade. We will hold securely to our Christian foundation as the basis of all we do. In fact, our distinctiveness will be founded on two bedrocks - outstanding academics and serious Christianity.
We are solidly and securely a Christian university, and that will never change. For the sake of our students, we must continue to become a premier academic institution that prepares Christian leaders for service and leadership throughout the world.
That is our vision. This is our mission. That is our answer to the call.
