Convocation Speech Spring 2014
Unless otherwise noted, these speeches and open letters were written for the Dean of Students of Biola University between 2011-2016.
President Corey, standing before you today are the men and women of the Spring 2014 incoming class…
which today officially adds 130 to our Undergraduate community…and 235 to our Graduate Community.
Among our new incoming students coming from other countries…
1 student each is from India, Canada, Kenya, Singapore, Sweden, Ukraine and Thailand
6 students are from South Korea
354 come from the United States
288 of those are from…California!
These students have come to Biola because they desire to live out their faith with integrity and transparency.
And yet to be transparent is not enough; they are here to be transformed.
But for this generation, even personal transformation is not enough. They want to change the world, too.
This world, where the phrases “Hands Up” and “I Can’t Breathe” represent something very different than they did a year ago…
This world, where hate and violence and God are sadly all twisted together…
This world, where push always comes to shove, and it’s said that love is just not enough…
And they are not here to run away from this world. They are here to learn how to step right into the middle of it… just like God did, 2015 years ago.
This generation of students asks what civil rights leader John Lewis asked 54 years ago:
“If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”
And so I pray that we would equip these students in a way that honors Christ,
with a light that illuminates without blinding;
a strength that is about building up, not tearing down;
and a grace that forgives, and forgives, and forgives again.
So, President Corey, we commit to stand alongside them, as they discover that change is hard.
That change can be painful.
That change will take sacrifice and commitment.
That to transform the world, we must be willing to be transformed ourselves, not just once… but every day.
I present these new students to you, President Corey, as they begin their university journey of intellectual and spiritual growth.
