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Wheaton College

Faithfulness: Learned & Lived

Vocational Principles Senior Essay

Elyse Sandberg

COMM 494 Senior Seminar

Dr. Chase

10 February 2017
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My time at Wheaton has been filled with learning and growth, both in

the classroom and outside of the classroom, that has shaped the person I am

today and the person I will be for many years to come. My time studying has

primarily been spent in the departments of Communication and

Bible/Theology, where I have learned how to critically think and engage the

world around me. My time outside of the classroom has been primarily spent

volunteering/working for the ministry of Young Life, where I have had the

opportunity of living out what I have learned in the classroom through

engaging the world around me via relationships with high school students.

Throughout my time at Wheaton, I have had to wrestle with the question of

how to live out faithfulness in our world today. Specifically in studying

communication, this question has primarily been how to be a faithful

communicator to those around me. I have had to struggle with these

questions both inside and outside the classroom, and while I do not believe I

have the full answer, I feel significantly more equipped now than when I first

arrived at Wheaton. My experiences have formed me into the person I am

today, and have given me foundational principles to live off of as I seek to be

faithful for the rest of my life. I have learned how to be in relationship with

nonbelievers, and the importance of friendship in the sharing of faith. I have

learned how to take the role of the other, in order to faithfully communicate

and represent God well in my communication. And I have learned that to be

faithful to Gods calling on my life is to be a light of faith, hope, and love in

the lives of all those around me, both believers and nonbelievers. In order to
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summarize what I have learned during my Wheaton experience, I will speak

of my learning as it pertains to three categories: my own spiritual growth,

relating to the world around me, and communicating with others.

As it relates to my own spiritual growth, I have been stretched and

challenged during my time at Wheaton. While I have primarily taken classes

in Communication and Bible/Theology, I have also taken classes in Christian

Education, Anthropology, Human Needs and Global Resources, English

Writing, English Literature, American History, Astronomy, Geology, Public

Health and Nutrition, Art & Music History, and Philosophy. Additionally, I have

spent countless hours investing in Young Life, an outreach ministry for high

school students focused on relationships. Through my studies and my lived

experiences, I have grown more than I ever imagined I would. I have been

stretched academically and spiritually, and have learned lessons that will

stick with me for the rest of my life. A huge theme of these lessons has been

faithfulness. Primarily Gods faithfulness, but also my own faithfulness;

specifically, what it means to faithfully live out Gods calling on my life. I

have learned that I must submit my desires to Gods desires and my will to

his will. N.T Wright speaks of this concept in an article I read for my senior

seminar class. In describing the most common modern thought process of

today, he says, Whatever we deeply, most truly find within ourselves must

be right. My heart is telling me how it is, and I must go with my heart (54).

Today, this is what many people believe to be true. Even Christians believe

this is precisely what Jesus came to model and teach. However, this concept
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is wholly wrong, as Jesus has actually called us to a life of denying ourselves,

not seeking/giving ourselves our every hearts desire. I read a book in my

Christian Thought class titled, Suffering: A Test of Theological Method, by

Arthur McGill. This book highlighted the character of God as serving and self-

expending, and therefore, as imitators of Christ, McGill proposed that we

must also take on this life of self-expenditure. This is a denial, then, of our

emotions and desires, and essentially, of ourselves. McGill argues that the

life of expanding oneself leads to emptiness and death, while the life of self-

expenditure actually leads to true life and joy. He claims that being shaped

by Jesus, his life as a Christian should take the form of unlimited self-

expenditureof walking the second mile, of giving everything to feed the

poor, of laying down my life for my friendsthen that is the form of true life

and joy for every man (57). Through serving in YL, I have found this to be

true. The life of denying oneself is not a life of emptiness and death, but a

life filled with true joy, peace, and love. YL has allowed me to experience this

that I have learned in the classroom in a real way, demonstrating that the

less I focus on myself and seek my own desires, the more abundant and

joyful life I experience. I have found that a life of self-expenditure, then, is a

life of faithfulness.

During my time at Wheaton, I have not only volunteered for the

ministry of Young Life, but I have also worked for this ministry in numerous

roles, including student staff/team leading, as well as a summer internship.

These roles have placed me in leadership positions among my peers, and

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challenged and stretched me in ways I was not expecting. Through these

leadership roles, God has taught me a great deal about faithfulness. During

my time volunteering and working for Young Life, I have continually been

faced with the question, What does it look like to succeed in this ministry?

There are many ways over the years that I have measured my success,

including how many kids showed up at our events, how many kids came to

camp with us, or how many girls I was mentoring started a relationship with

Jesus. However, finally during my summer internship with YL after my junior

year, the Lord showed me that I had been viewing success all wrong. He

taught me that success in ministry (and in life for that matter) is not

measured by what we do or what we accomplish, but by faithfulness. Thats

it. That is all God was, had been, and will continue to ask of me: that I be

faithful to his calling on my life. And then he went even further to show me

that I am not defined by my own faithfulness, but by his. 2 Timothy 2:13

says, If we are faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself.

Therefore, ultimately, the success of ministry depends entirely on Gods

faithfulness, and my role is to be faithful with what God has given to me. In

this case, faithfulness looks like obedience; it is being obedient to what God

is asking of me. And in order to know what God is asking of me, I must walk

with him deeply and personally, seeking him first above all else. James

Hunter wrote about this concept in his book To Change the World: The Irony,

Tragedy, & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. I read this

book for my Political Theology class, and it was quite possibly the most
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influential read during my time at Wheaton. Hunter says, The burden of

leadershipand thus the task for the church and all Christiansin every

generation is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; to

seek to integrate the very orders of the heavens within our personal lives

and relationships, our families, our work and leisure, and our communities

(269). As Christians, we must seek the Lord before all else, focusing on Him

and not the possible success or failure of what we are working at. Colossians

3:23 says, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for

the Lord, not for human masters. We must work hard at whatever the Lord

has placed in front of us, placing the outcome fully in his hands. C.S Lewis

encourages readers to leave futurity in Gods hands in his chapter Learning

in War Time. He says, Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or

happiness to the future. My personal growth at Wheaton has been defined

by learning more what it looks like to be faithful with what God has put

before me, ultimately trusting in his faithfulness to accomplish his will and

not my own.

Another main theme of my Wheaton experience has been learning how

to live in the world but not of it. Hunter spoke of this concept in his book,

proposing the churchs role in America as faithful presence within culture.

He says The church will not flourish in itself nor serve the common good if it

isolates itself from the larger culture, fails to understand its nature and inner

logic, and is incapable of working within itcritically affirming and

strengthening its healthy qualities and humbly criticizing and subverting its
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most destructive tendencies (275). I feel that through YL, I was able to get a

good idea of what the larger culture is like, and therefore, had to struggle

with how to be a presence in this culture while still being distinct from it.

Hunter reflects on a story in Jeremiah where God had brought the Israelites

into exile and called them to be a blessing to the world in which they were

placed. Hunter claims that this passage in Jeremiah is applicable to

Christians in America today, as many speak of us as exiles in the world.

Therefore, he proposes that a theology of faithful presence calls Christians

to enact the shalom of God in the circumstances in which God has placed

them and to actively seek it on the behalf of others (278). This idea of

faithful presence has largely been a theme during my time spent investing

in the school I lead YL at, as I seek to bring Gods shalomhis peace and

loveto the students at Glenbard West. I have learned the importance of

being in the world but not of the world through being in relationships with

these high school students, and the importance of genuine friendship in the

sharing of my faith. It is through walking with high school students that I can

best share with them who Jesus is, as he is transforming me to be more and

more like him and using me to be salt and a light for Him. Wright speaks of

this concept when he talks about Christians doing things which bring Gods

wisdom and glory to birth in the world (71). He encourages us to seek to

learn the language of Gods new world in order to most effectively bring his

kingdom to our world today. This is important not only in YL, but in all of life

and in all of our interactions with believers and nonbelievers alike.

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Lastly, I have learned that in order to bring the light of Jesus to the

world, we must be competent in communicating with and relating to others. I

have learned the importance of this in classes such as Communication

Theory, Interpersonal Communication, Conflict Resolution & Reconciliation,

Anthropology, Human Needs and Global Resources, Biblical Interpretation &

Hermeneutics, Nonverbal Communication, and Persuasion. A huge theme of

these classes has been learning to take the role of the otherlearning to

step into someone elses shoes and see the world from their perspective.

This is helpful on both large and small scales, whether speaking to an

audience or to an individual. To be able to step into another persons shoes

and learn how they may best receive a message is a huge tool for the

spreading of the gospel. I have also learned the importance of listening.

Sometimes all someone needs is to be listened to and know they are cared

for. This builds relationship, which then builds credibility in the sharing of

your faith and experiences. Through my classes in Communication and Bible,

I have learned that to be faithful to Gods calling on my life is to be a light of

faith, hope, and love in the lives of all those around me, both believers and

nonbelievers. Hunter speaks of this saying, Faith speaks to the fundamental

need for meaning, hope speaks to the fundamental need for purpose, and

love to the elemental need for intimacy, affection, and the belonging (263).

Through working with high schoolers, I have learned that everyone is

searching for meaning, purpose, and belonging. These things are found in

Jesus, and as Christians, we are called to help others find the light of Christ
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by creating spaces and relationships that foster meaning, purpose, truth,

beauty, belonging, and fairness. This is exactly what Jesus did when he came

to earth by inviting people into a fuller, more meaningful life of freedom and

joy. McGill highlights that our lives should be shaped by Jesus, who laid down

his life for us, so therefore, we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers

(1 John 3:16). Through fostering communication skills such as truly listening

and taking the role of the other, we can best imitate the person of Jesus, and

better bring his truth and light to the dark places in our world.

My time at Wheaton will define my life for years to come, specifically,

the principles I have learned through classes and lived experiences such as

Young Life. I have grown personally in my relationship with Jesus, learned

skills to better engage the world we live in, and gained communication

practices that will allow me to strengthen relationships with all those around

me. I have learned that faithfulness is being obedient to Gods calling to be a

light in the world, and I have learned that part of this is being a faithful

communicator, representing God well in my communication. I feel that after

my four years at Wheaton, I am equipped with the power of Jesus and the

knowledge I have gained to better reach the world in these ways for his

glory.
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Works Cited

Hunter, James Davison. To change the world: the irony, tragedy, and

possibility of Christianity in the late modern world. New York: Oxford U

Press, 2010. Print.

Lewis, C. S. The weight of glory and other addresses. New York: Macmillan,

1949. Print.

McGill, Arthur Chute. Suffering: a test of theological method. Philadelphia:

Westminster Press, 1982. Print.

Wright, N. T. After you believe: why Christian character matters. New York,

NY: HarperOne, 2010. Print.