United Brethren Faculty at Huntington College

An Open Letter to the Delegates of the United States National Board of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ

March 20, 2002

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

With the current controversies swirling around us, we thought it might be valuable for the United Brethren family--particularly those who are delegates to the United States National Board--to hear from those of us who have felt caught between our allegiances to both the Church and the College. We offer these statements in the hope that they may improve understanding and strengthen the partnership we value with the Church.

We want to continue to contribute to the disciple-making priority of the Church.

Regardless of our academic disciplines, we believe that as we give the Lord Jesus our best efforts, he will be glorified. We take seriously our role as models of dedicated Christian men and women within the variety of disciplines in which we serve. And we embrace fully the cooperative responsibility we have with the Church to help young men and women grow into mature and faithful followers of Jesus Christ, especially as we help them to integrate an authentic faith with academic excellence.

We want the Church to continue to value this ministry partnership in the future.

We want to experience a greater degree of trust in our relationship with the Church.

The current climate of Church-College relations is both troubling and confusing. This is deeply disheartening to us, as we're sure it is for many in the Church. In view of the wonderful things God seems to be doing in and through HC, we struggle now in our attempts to understand the apparent fragility of our trustworthiness in the eyes of some in the Church. Vocal critics have built public cases against the College. During this season, we have felt exposed to harsh accusations and--in the absence of equally impassioned rebuttals--we don't know if these concerns are representative of a majority view in the Church or not. We really want the Church to be certain that we at the College can be trusted.

If we have failed to build the sort of trusting relationships necessary to sustain a positive and dynamic partnership, be assured that we want to do better in the future.

We want the Church to consider the College as one of her greatest contributions to the kingdom work of Jesus Christ in the world today.

We share with the Church a desire to avoid a departure from the heritage, theological perspectives, and moral and spiritual values of the UB Church and the evangelical world. We are also excited about the serious academic leadership being provided to the world by Huntington College faculty today. We are proud of our faculty and want the Church to be equally proud. The nature of scholarship is that it contributes in new ways to the bodies of knowledge within particular disciplines. We believe that original scholarly contributions provide for some of the most invigorating learning possible. They help ensure that Huntington College students will have access to cutting-edge developments within their fields of study. We want the Church to value our contributions deeply as we pursue the ministry of Christ-honoring education and scholarship on behalf of the Kingdom of God. We have believed that our statement of faith should suffice as the formal basis for this pursuit.

If our eagerness to make such contributions has in any way been discomforting to the Church, we pledge to be more sensitive in the future.

It is our intent with these statements to help contribute to a partnership-enhancing dialogue. May the Lord be honored as we work to better understand our responsibilities in His service.

Your brothers at HC,

Chaney Bergdall (Bible and Religion)
Lance Clark (Communication)
Bill Fisher (Christian Faith and Life)
Robert Kaehr (Library)
David Rahn (Educational Ministries)
Gerald Smith (Physics)
William Bordeaux (Chemistry)
Luke Fetters (Educational Ministries)
Norris Friesen (Student Development)
Paul Michelson (History)
Michael Rowley (Communication)
Paul Smith (Exercise Science)
Dwight Brautigam (History)
Paul Fetters (Practical Theology)
Francis Jones (Mathematics)
Jim O'Donnell (Business)
Ray Seilhamer (Practical Theology)