Dr. Royce Money, president of Abilene Christian University, delivered this address at the Centennial Convocation Aug. 22,2005.

Today is a historic day in the life of Abilene Christian University.  From its humble beginning of 25 students one hundred years ago to this morning, where we welcome over 4,700 students from virtually every state in the union and from 59 nations throughout the world, it has indeed been an exciting century.

First today we thank God for the way He has led us in the journey.  He has undoubtedly made “his face to shine upon us,” in the words of the ancient benediction.

Next we give thanks for the countless people through many generations who shared the dream of an institution such as ACU and who gave of their lives and their means to make it what it is today.

We have in our presence on this occasion distinguished emeriti, men and women who have lived through many of those years.  We simply cannot thank you enough for what you did and for what you stand for. Joining you is a cloud of witnesses in heaven above who are no doubt rejoicing with us today.

Universities like ACU are not built in a year or even in a decade.  They take time and sustained effort and heroic people who have a dream from which they will not be deterred. From the beginning our goal at ACU has been transformation—intellectual transformation, social transformation, spiritual transformation.  It still is. Our official mission statement says that we exist “to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.” And we do exactly that.  But we do it by being in partnership with the Lord in the transforming of lives into the likeness of Christ. 

We do so in an excellent liberal arts academic setting where students will study with women and men on this great faculty who will equip them for their chosen professions in a superior way. 

We do so through the influence of staff and administrators who care about what happens to our students outside of class as much as inside the classroom.

So far, 86,000 of us have been through this hallowed place, and we have been transformed.  Our alums are scattered throughout 100 nations today, and they are leading and serving wherever they are.

I say a special welcome to all new freshmen.  What a great future you have ahead of you! All of us here at ACU and in the Abilene community believe in you.  We will help you to be what God wants you to be. Freshmen, you are now the newest mission keepers of ACU.  I am confident that you will make us all proud.

What is the essence of this place we call Abilene Christian University?  I sometimes hear the saying, “The church is not the building, the people are the church.”  The same is true of this university.  ACU is not the buildings that sit on 168 acres in Abilene, Texas.  It is the people who have come through its doors and who have been transformed and who are now serving and leading throughout the world.

It is generation after generation of men and women who have come to this unlikely place in West Texas and who have left by the thousands to be light and salt in the world of business, education, medicine, science, government, ministry, and countless other callings.

ACU isn’t the place, it’s the people.

Through the decades, this opening convocation has taken on a tradition all of its own.  People come from far and near for this inaugural event of each school year.I would like to say a few words about the rest of our program, and particularly I would like to say a word to our international students. I admire you for your courage and determination to cross lines of culture and language, to come a great distance at a significant sacrifice to study with us.  I realize that most of you freshmen have never been to America before last week. We honor all of you today by displaying the flags of your nations in our traditional “Parade of Flags.” You have much to teach us about God’s wonderful and varied world, and we hope we can impart some educational and social and spiritual benefits to you as well during your time here.

It is a good time to remind us all that God values and loves all people alike.  He is Lord over all the nations, not just a few.  Though time and circumstance cause us to wonder at times, the Scriptures assure us that it is so, as we heard read in our presence earlier today from Acts 17.

We live in a world where there is a glaring uneven distribution of resources and wealth. Poverty and strife are rampant.  War is a constant threat or reality in far too many places.Through modern technology we are informed about these things more than any generation who has ever lived.  But perhaps we are becoming desensitized as a result of the saturation of information.

My hope for our international students is that you will not forget your people, that you will seize this opportunity to be salt and light in your home country in a powerful way because of your time with us here at ACU.

 My hope for all of us is that we will not be so desensitized that we will settle for things as they are in this world.  Surely God has called us to a higher calling than that.

To the American students, let me also say a word.From a material and political standpoint, God has allowed us to have an abundance of blessings. We live in a free democratic society, which we will celebrate in just a moment.  Freedom is indeed a precious thing not enjoyed everywhere in the world. We have an abundance of material resources and we have to decide what to do with them. As we ponder this thought, consider a Scripture from Luke 12:48   “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

You see, God’s Word teaches us that these abundant blessings are not to be hoarded selfishly, but are to be shared.We Americans have even fooled ourselves into thinking at various times in our history that we were God’s most favored people.  But it is not so.  He loves everyone the same. Another Scripture from Matthew 10:8 captures the essence of what our attitude should be:  “Freely you have received, freely give.” A nation who forgets God is on the brink of disaster.

Today I think of people who have sacrificed their lives for the freedoms we now enjoy as we participate in our opening centennial convocation.

Pam and I were in the little village of Grafton, Vermont (population 600) during last Memorial Day.  The town was chartered in 1751. Now for most of us, Memorial Day is just another holiday, another chance to grill out or go to the lake. But to the people of this Vermont village, it was a serious day of reflection and respect for those who gave their lives for liberty.

Near the public library there is a marker with the names of those who gave their lives for the cause of freedom, ranging from the Revolutionary War to the first Iraq war. There was a parade, led by aging soldiers of the town, most of whom could still squeeze into their uniforms.  They were followed by the small community brass band playing patriotic music, all on the back of a flat-bed truck.The band was followed by school children who had made wreaths for the graves of those who had given their lives for freedom who had formerly lived in that little town.After going around the block, they headed for the village cemetery.  And, of course, there were American flags everywhere.It was a moving sight.

A part of our Opening Ceremony at ACU for many years has been the singing of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” by the ACU Grand Chorus. This anthem was written during the Civil War, where American soldiers were killing other American soldiers. From its inception it was shrouded in political and theological controversy.Yet, today it has survived as an anthem that humbly reminds us of God’s sovereignty in the world and the true freedom that is in Christ.

It is followed by the “Ceremony of Allegiance, with quotes from the preamble to the Constitution and the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the singing of our national anthem. We approach this ceremony not with a sense of pride and arrogance but with a sense of humility and thankfulness for what God has done for us.We understand that we are Christians first and then Americans, for our eternal citizenship is not of this world.

Yet we honor our own country as being a place where God has shed many blessings, one of which is the privilege we have of paying respect to our nation and its flag, which stands for the freedoms we enjoy.

To our international students, let me say that we do not expect you to participate in this part, just as we Americans would not participate in a similar patriotic ceremony in your country.  We do ask that you respect our allegiance to our country as we will respect your love for your homeland.

But today, at the beginning of this Centennial Year, I want the rest of us to reflect on the heavy price of human lives that was paid so that we can enjoy a free democracy today.  Among those we honor are scores of ACU alums who paid the ultimate price for liberty. We remember also today one who wanted to be an ACU alum.  George Merritt Page, Jr. intended to come to ACU, but first he would serve his country in the Navy.  On June 12, 1969, Page was killed in Vietnam.  The flag that was draped over his casket has hung here in Moody Coliseum since that time in memory of him.

Throughout the world we are witnessing the innate desire of people to be free. In honoring our own history and freedom and especially those who gave their lives for it, we also honor the efforts of people all over the world who are trying to shake off the chains of oppression and want.

So in this celebration of freedom, perhaps it would be a good time to remind ourselves of a few things.

God is not the God of one nation over the other.  In ways we do not fully understand, God ordains governments as His servants, and all come under the judgments of the Lord, as to whether they stand or fall.

God is neither a Republican nor a Democrat.  In a bitterly partisan country right now, we need to be called back to our basic principles and indeed be one nation “under God.”

Patriotism is not, and should not be a religion.  In the ultimate scheme of things, our allegiance as Christians is to God and not to man or to any governing authority. Yet Paul reminds us in Romans 13 that the governing authorities are ordained by God to protect those who do right and punish those who do wrong.

Paul also said in our reading today from Acts 17, “From one man he made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”

 It is in this spirit of humility and gratitude that we pause to give thanks for our freedoms.

At the threshold of our centennial year, we are doggedly persistent in our dual goal of excellence in education combined with spiritual, moral, and ethical formation.  While many great institutions of higher education in our country started with these noble goals, not many remain committed to development of the whole person.

But what about the future?  What about all the uncertainty? We have been doing a lot of thinking about the future lately. If the Lord returns, it’s all up to Him from then on! But until then, here’s what we intend to be doing.  We will still be calling students to personal integrity and academic excellence. We will help them grow closer to God, develop their intellect, prepare for meaningful careers, and address global challenges with a Christian worldview.

We expect five things of ourselves in the future:
1. To be engaged in holistic, faith-informed learning;
2. To challenge our students and each other to the highest level of excellence in all that we do;
3. To equip students to serve and lead in whatever circumstance they find themselves;
4. To help alumni remain connected to ACU and to the vast ACU family for life; and
5. To teach and practice Christian stewardship in every area of life.

These things we know:

• We know who we are—we are followers of Jesus Christ. We teach students how to love God with their heart, soul, mind and strength.  We prepare them academically for lives of service and leadership in their chosen professions.

• We know why we are here—we are on a mission to capture the minds and hearts of students, to give them meaning and significance and focus as children of God.  We are answering the fundamental question of life, “Who am I and why am I here?”

• We know what it takes to get to our goal—it takes generations of hard-working, godly men and women who will teach and model Christian community and academic excellence.  It takes friends who believe in us and who will give sacrificially of their lives and their means to make our mission possible.  For 100 years, ACU has been blessed with such people.

• We know who the enemy is—it is Satan, as he is seen through poverty and ignorance and conflict and apathy and godless secularism.

• We know that our God has the power to turn our frail efforts into unbelievable success when we submit our future to Him.  We know because we have seen 100 years of His faithfulness in this place.

We are clear about these things—let there be no doubt in your mind.

To God be the glory for the great things He has done in this place and for the great things that lie ahead.

You honor us by your presence today.  As we stand on the threshold of a new century at ACU, may we do so with grateful hearts to the God who gives us hope for the future.

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