The fifth principle is to invite students to join the Christian story. In his essay entitled “A Story-Formed Community: Reflections on Watership Down” Stanley Hauerwas discusses the importance of narrative guiding the Christian Community. Hauerwas uses the Watership Down story as a backdrop for his discussion on the importance of knowing and being a part of the Christian narrative to developing disciples. He states in his conclusion to the essay that,
“Without trying to claim a strong continuity between rabbits and us, I think at least the suggestion that we, no less than rabbits, depend on narratives to guide us has been made. And this is particularly important to Christians because they also claim their lives are formed by the story of a prince. Like El-ahrairah, our prince was defenseless against those who would rule the world with violence. He had a power, however, that the world knew not. For he insisted that we could form our lives together by trusting in truth, land love to banish the fears that create enmity and discord. To be sure, we have often been unfaithful to his story, but that is no reason to think it is an unrealistic demand. Rather, it means we must challenge ourselves to be the kind of community where such a story can be told and manifested by a people formed in accordance with it – for if you believe that Jesus is the messiah of Israel, then ‘everything else follows, doesn’t it?’”[1]
Huaerwas makes a weighty point. As followers of Christ we are part of God’s redemptive story. That story has helped to shape our faith and our witness to others. Our faith communities were built upon the backs of those who came before us and will survive after our contributions to the story because of our commitment to be part of the story, or in other words because of our commitment to discipleship. For the student who is already committed themselves to the faith story, it is important to remind them of the story that they are a part of to help them see the connection between their faith and the notion that the redemptive story is much bigger than the individual. In seeing the bigger picture of the Christian narrative it will help them see their place in it more clearly. For the non-Christian, an invitation to the community established in the Christian narrative will help them clearly see the connection between authentic community and Christ as its author. Students are crying out for authentic community and in order for that to occur, Jesus must be at its center.
Unfortunately their need for authentic community tends to result in finding acceptance in all of the wrong places and in all the wrong ways. At West Virginia University, a number of students attempt to find love and acceptance in the party scene instead of in Jesus. This translates into students who party all weekend and have little or no connection to the church community and as a result are not connected to or versed in the Christian narrative. Without that connection, disciplining becomes very difficult. We must invite students to hear the story and become a part of that story. As faithful disciples, the story must be made manifest in our own lives because for many we are the introduction to the story. If we are called to make disciples then invitation to the story is essential. After all, is that not what Jesus did when he called his disciples? He invited them into God’s redemptive story for the Human race. He showed them their place in the narrative and empowered them to continue the story with the Holy Spirit. As ministers on college campuses it is incumbent upon us to share the Gospel story with students and help them see their place in it. It is also part of our responsibility to challenge those who are already aware of their place in the story to share that story with others.
Here is how this principle might work itself out on campus. Challenge students to familiarize themselves with their history. This can take place in a number of different ways. Have them research the history of the church they belong to. Help them to see their connection to the body of Christ by seeing who came before them and laid the groundwork for the community they are connected into. If the students do not belong to a church, help them to further see the bigger story by challenging them to read and study the earlier church fathers. Provide the students with opportunities to explore their connections to the body of Christ around the world through mission trips and speakers who have been missionaries. It is important to the discipleship process to figure out how ones gifts, talents, and resources can be put to work for building up the community. Opportunities to help students explore these areas will be invaluable to them during their college experience but more importantly to their faith development. All of this means that successfulness will be necessarily harder to measure. It is difficult to ascertain where someone is at on their journey and it is even more difficult to see where God is at work. If we are interested in connecting people into the story and introduce them to the Gospel and what it means to part of an authentic community then success must be measured in ways that go beyond simple numbers. This leads me to the final principle.
[1] Stanley Huaerwas The Story Formed Community: Reflections on Watership Down From the Huaerwas Reader edited by John Berkman and Michael Cartwright. Page 198
