One of the great things about going off to college is the combination of freedom and structure. Once you enter the “real world” you will never have that kind of opportunity again. Perhaps this is why some of my fellow alumni think that Covenant College has been losing sight of something so special, so important, that they are now raising their protest flags with fury (one even jokingly suggested an air strike). While I do not doubt the sincerity of those feelings — after all, I too came into my own so to speak during my college years — fondly looking back I wonder if I do not sometimes mis-root the value of my time at Covenant in the “college experience?” Sitting around the commons area and having late night intellectual debates about everything from literature to politics to theology is not unique to a single school. Freedom of expression finds ways of escaping at even the strictest of institutions. And who does not have a story or two (or several) to share about the shenanigans that went on during their dorm days? So what do I think makes Covenant College stand out above every other college in America?

The focus of Covenant College is found in its motto, based on Colossians 1:18 “In All Things…Christ Preeminent.” Acknowledging Christ preeminent as the creator of all things, as the redeemer of people fallen into sin, as the touchstone of all truth, and as the sovereign ruler over all areas of life, the college strives to discern and to unfold the implications of His preeminence in all things. To serve this end, we seek to appropriate the mind of Christ as the biblical perspective from which we characterize and respond to reality. In attempting to make such a biblically-grounded frame of reference explicit and operative, we are committed to excellence in academic inquiry, and we seek to define all areas of the college’s structure and program according to this understanding of our purpose. #

When Covenant College says that it is a Christ centered institution, it is not giving lip service to the title. As a ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America, everyone from the board of trustees down to the staff recognizes that Christ is the Head of the Body. It does not mean that everyone there is perfect, or that they always make the most prudent decisions (the current debate over the school newspaper yet to be determined). However, it does enable them to “acknowledge the fallen nature of [themselves] and of the rest of creation and to respond, in view of the renewal that begins with Christ’s redemption, by seeking to bring every thought and act into obedience to Him.” It is this committment to Jesus Christ and Him crucified in all things that is the heart of “the experience” at Covenant College. I did not fully understand what this meant back when I graduated, but given thirteen years and a lot of grace I think I am beginning to grasp the concept. Putting it into practice will more than probably take the rest of my life.