The calling of a Christian university is about more than academic excellence. It is about forming people who pursue truth with humility, lead with courage and compassion, and reflect the reconciling love of Christ in a divided world. At PLNU, this calling has shaped our university for more than a century and continues to guide how we equip students for lives of faithful service and purposeful vocation. It is a calling we have inherited, but also one we must continually renew and embody for the generations we serve today and those yet to come. In a world longing for wisdom, truth, and hope, that calling is not only relevant but also essential.
In this three-part series, I explore how our Wesleyan-Holiness heritage offers a hopeful and distinctly Christian way to navigate the complexities of our time. I describe this vision as the Way of Faithful Tension—a commitment to Spirit-led, Scripture-shaped discernment that resists easy answers and false choices. It calls us to hold together what is too often pulled apart: truth and humility, grace and conviction, and faithful Christian identity and thoughtful cultural engagement, all guided by wisdom shaped by the character of Christ.
For Christian higher education, this work is not optional. It is part of how we faithfully pursue both academic excellence and spiritual formation in a complex and changing world.
My hope is that these essays encourage meaningful reflection on the role of Christian higher education and inspire each of us to consider how we can live more faithfully in our own time and place. Whether you are a student, faculty or staff member, an alumnus, a parent, a church leader, or a friend of PLNU, I invite you to join me in this conversation. Together, may we discover how the Way of Faithful Tension can strengthen our witness, deepen our discipleship, and help us faithfully steward the Christian mission entrusted to us while reflecting the light of Christ in a world that desperately needs it.