07042016
Declaration of Christian Community
WE WILL HONOR CHRIST
We at University of Northwestern – St. Paul and Northwestern Media
have decided that whatever we do, for as long as we choose to be
involved in this community, as students, teachers, administrators, on
the board of trustees, as employees in the university or the media
ministry, wherever we choose to live, our relationship to Jesus Christ and
commitment to obey God’s Word will be at the very center. This promise
to God and to each other is what binds us together and sets us apart
from the world. We believe that it is our duty, honor and delight to live
under the Lordship of Christ, to study His Holy Scriptures, to reach all
nations with the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ and teach
them how to be disciples, to participate in the relentless and joyous
pursuit of His truth, and we believe it is our privilege and responsibility to
live in community with other believers who feel the same.
WE WILL STRIVE FOR CHRIST-CENTERED COMMUNITY
We, as members of Northwestern’s Christ-centered community, will
strive to love our God and each other as He loves us (Matt. 22:37–39):
with kindness, mercy, faithfulness, gentleness, grace, patience and
perseverance (Gal. 5:22, 23; Jas. 1:4). We will love what is good and abhor
what is evil (Rom. 12:9). We will seek righteousness and justice. We are
willing to be as servants to each other. We will encourage and support
each other (Heb. 10:24). We value the passionate exchange of ideas, but
we will strive to resolve conflicts with humility, kindness, mutual respect
and Christ-like love (Col. 3:13, 14). We are to be faithful witnesses to
the gospel (1 Pet. 3:15), people of integrity, practicing good works and
self-control, with lives filled with prayer, joy and thanksgiving (1 Thess.
5:15 –22).
AS EMPLOYEES, WE WILL SEEK CHRIST-CENTERED
CO M MU NIT Y
As employees of Northwestern, we agree to put Jesus Christ at the
center of our lives and work. We will strive to live and work in Christ-like
community, dedicated to each other and our God, for the betterment of
His Kingdom, His people and Northwestern. We will respect each other:
our peers, our students, our listeners, those to whom we answer and
those who answer to us (1 Pet. 2:17), knowing that Christ has brought us
together to further His plan and for His glory. We will value individuality
and work for commonality (Phil. 2:2). We will strive to protect the
weakest members of our community (Psa. 41:1). We voluntarily abstain
from certain activities that might draw us or others away from God (1
Cor. 8:9–13; Gal. 5:19–21), particularly on behalf of those students and
listeners who are new to their freedom and have placed themselves in
our environment or in our care.
AS LEADERS, WE WILL SEEK CHRIST-CENTERED
COMMUNITY
As leaders in the Northwestern community, whether serving as a
manager, director, department head, vice president, cabinet member,
president or board member, we will be prayerful in our decisions,
receptive to the needs of the community, dedicated to the present
and future welfare of Northwestern. We will be good stewards of the
responsibilities that have been temporarily placed in our care, seek God’s
wisdom with humility and a servant heart, and pursue excellence with
compassion and Christ-like love (Col. 3:12).
AS FACULTY MEMBERS, WE WILL SEEK CHRIST-CENTERED
COMMUNITY
As faculty members, we dedicate ourselves to our students and to each
other in the community for the glory of God and the relentless and
joyous pursuit of His truth. We will strive for excellence as teachers
and as scholars. We will be good stewards of the responsibilities of our
positions, building up and encouraging those around us (1 Thess. 5:11),
and we will be faithful mentors and instructors to the students whom
God has temporarily entrusted to our care.
AS STUDENTS, WE WILL SEEK CHRIST-CENTERED
COMMUNITY
As students at University of Northwestern, we will strive to create an
atmosphere of Christ-centered community. We will put our relationship
to Jesus Christ at the center of our lives and our studies (Gal. 2:20). As
students, we agree to watch out for each other, support each other,
encourage each other, push ourselves and each other to work our
hardest, to live with integrity, to pursue God’s truth, to do our very best
for the benefit of ourselves and other students, the benefit of University
of Northwestern, its faculty and staff, and for the glory of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ (Col. 3:17). In our language and our actions, we will
honor and respect those in leadership positions. We will consider the
weaknesses of others as important as our own freedoms or personal
strengths for the greater good (Rom. 14:19–21), acknowledging that
each student comes to Northwestern from a different place in his or
her spiritual journey. We agree to protect the weaker members of the
community, even ourselves. We will depend on each other and be
dependable. We understand that many rules and guidelines at University
of Northwestern, instituted and followed by the whole community for the
safety and benefit of all, were created to instruct and steer us into right
choices, foster true Christ-centered community during our years here,
and teach us how to spread Christ-centered community to others.
NORTHWESTERN WILL BE SET APART
We pledge to set ourselves apart as a community of believers for the
glory of God. We will hold ourselves accountable to each other, so that,
with the sustaining support of the Holy Spirit, we will stand together
against the dangers of our fallen world and our own sinful impulses.
We stand together against all that the Bible clearly condemns: greed and
materialism, dishonesty (plagiarism included), prejudice, social injustice,
impurity and debauchery, casual and disrespectful use of the name of the
Lord, drunkenness, violent behavior, occult practices, hatred, jealousy,
pride and discord, immodesty in dress or behavior, murder/homicide
(including abortion), slander, gossip, gluttony, vulgar or obscene
language and any activities that are illegal (Col. 3:5–11; Gal. 5: 19–21; 1
Cor. 6:9–10).
We support the sanctity of marriage (Ephesians 5, Hebrews 13:4). We
define marriage as being a covenant between one man and one woman
(Gen. 2:21-24; Matt. 19:4-5). We believe in honoring the holy sexual union
within the context of that covenant (Hebrews 13:4). Believing that God
redeems and restores through life in Christ, we walk alongside those that
are seeking to overcome sexual sin (Romans 6-8; Galatians 6:2).
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