Bishop Mike Lowry

This morning I attended the Board of Trustees meeting at Texas Wesleyan University.  I am grateful that, under the leadership of new President Fred Slabach, TWU is engaged in strengthening its connection with the church. There is a creative openness to learning and intellectual exploring that is exciting. From my perspective, there is openness to church relations, to the Christian faith, and comparative religion that is refreshing!

The mission of Texas Wesleyan is clearly stated: “Our mission at Texas Wesleyan University is to develop students to their full potential as individuals and as members of the world community. …The University also strives to develop a sense of civic responsibility and spiritual sensitivity, with a commitment to moral discrimination and action.”

President Slabach has articulated a clear vision emphasizing the importance of “critical thinking, analytical reasoning and creative problem-solving” in intellectually, nurturing, small classes. “Texas Wesleyan aspires to be a values- and student-centered university where motivated students prepare for graduate school and leadership in professional careers.”  Recently ranked in the top tier of regional liberal arts universities by US News & World Report, TWU is engaging culture in ways that unite knowledge and vital piety.

There was a day when TWU served us a pipeline for clergy leadership development. Looking around the Central Texas Conference, many of our best pastors are TWU graduates. I hope for the day when the pipeline of leadership development for our churches again runs through Texas Wesleyan University. If we as a church are serious about leadership development (as we must be if there is to be a future to The United Methodist Church), then we must re-engage in serious deep Christian dialogue with our church-related colleges and universities.

I sat through a discussion recently about whether a church-related college or university should require a course in religion as a part of a liberal arts education. Science classes, fine arts classes, language classes (to mention a few) are a required and expected part of a liberal arts curriculum. The required religion course was not a required course in Christianity (or any other particular religion); it was simply a required course in religion – period. The faculty voted to eliminate a required course in religion.

It is incomprehensible to me that religion per se is not a basic and foundational part of any truly comprehensive liberal arts education. The historical and contemporary importance of religion (not just the Christian religion but religion as a broader category of inquiry and study) is self-evident in a world torn by religious conflict, competition and claims. And yet, the skeptical gods of the Enlightenment reign triumphant in the academy. Religion is to be suspect on principle. In much of “so-called” higher culture in Western civilization (Europe and North America), religion (and especially the Christian religion) is rejected out of hand as some form of corrupted superstition. It is no longer seen as the queen of academic inquiry but rather treated as the dreads of mere opinion and ignorant opinion at that.

And yet, those same gods of the Enlightenment, so eagerly embraced, are challenged across the landscape by religious climate to truth with a capital T. Two colleagues of mine commented on the subject: “How can your education be liberal if it has no exposure to religion?”(Rev. David McNitsky) “The need for intentional examination of the religious dimension of life is imperative to any first-rate liberal arts institution. As important as open inquiry is in the area of the humanities, arts, and sciences, fine arts, etc. is, I contend, that any complete education must address the religious dimension of life. Religious dimensions of life contextualize all other areas of inquiry.” (Dr. J. Eric McKinney)

Well spoken gentleman!