Vol. IV, Iss. 3 - March 2006
The latest from Student Leadership University

Novelist and author Flannery O'Connor penned in her book The Habit of Being the following: "If you want your faith, you have to work for it. It is a gift, but for very few it is a gift given without any demand for equal time devoted to its cultivation." Faith is something that must be nurtured and practiced, but we all know that. However, sometimes we can lack clarity as to how our faith is to be practice and implemented in the midst of today's society. What does Christian discipleship look like? What does it mean to follow Jesus in the midst of a world that screams against peace? How can faith be practiced in a world where the injustices of our day seem to overshadow justice?

It sometimes seems overwhelming when we compare all of the world's problems against our limited ability and resources. But that's exactly where faith comes in. Faith is total belief in the absurd, and it's that which makes the leap from what seems impossible to what we believe can be possible. Others may say that it can't be done, and still others may fear taking action because of what people will think or say. However, if faith is the key to our ability to take a stand, then we must embrace opportunities to practice our faith instead of avoiding them.

At the outset, we must Align our Faith with Christ. That is, Christ's faith must be our own. As Dr. Danny Akin says, "The problem with 'What Would Jesus Do?' is that most people don't know what Jesus would do!" This is the call for us to Examine our beliefs and actions thoroughly. Did Christ support the use of violence? Did Christ love conditionally? Would Christ have supported a life in the lap of comfort and luxury? Did he condone the possession of much material wealth and food? Would he support the way you spend your money? Your time? Did Christ ignore the poor, or place conditions on who he healed or spent time with? How much time do you spend with the poor? Intentionally, these questions are meant to push us -- but hopefully they push us to think with more clarity on how Jesus would act as we seek to Align our faith with his.

The next step is that we must Acknowledge our Faults and Act Differently than Before. Take a stand! For example, when you learn that some companies and industries exploit their workers by underpaying them, treating them like slaves, and then capitalizing from their labor, you must DO SOMETHING. Will you continue to allow your money to support corporations and industries who oppose what Christ would have opposed? We vote with our dollars - the way we spend our money. The diamond industry, for example, has been controlled by individuals who were responsible for several brutal civil wars in Sierra Leone that forced the bodily amputation of many human beings, forced the displacement of an entire people, and caused many other human rights violations. Not to mention, those who work to mine diamonds get paid less than some McDonald's workers. Yet, those who run the diamond industry make billions of dollars every year as they capitalize on consumerism and sell their products to eager and unsuspecting buyers.

Take a stand. Sadly, the diamond example is only one of many hundreds that illustrate the ways in which our actions could be different. Research what you consume. Educate others. Make Christ and faithful Christian discipleship an active part of all of your decisions. Then, be bold, take a stand, and take action. There are too many who cower behind the idea that someone else will do it. Leaders must be the ones who step up to the plate. Put your faith into practice, and practice your faith often. It does take hard work, but the eternal is certainly worth the effort.

Luke Lin is the Associate Editor for The Edge.

This month we feature an interesting slate of articles that we hope you will read. More importantly, we hope you will begin to think about the issues raised by these articles and the implications of how Christianity relates to culture.

For example, one of the themes some of our articles highlight center on the value of life. Undeniably, the articles lead you to think about the value of life and how Christians should support life at every instance. As Dr. Strack has often quoted: "One judges a nation by how they treat people at the dawn of life and at the dusk of life." However, many people who would affirm that statement also find room to support the death penalty. Although it is a given that capital punishment is a complex issue, it still exists as an important issue for all Christian leaders to reflect upon carefully.

I challenge you to e-mail me your opinion about the death penalty and why we should or should not support it as Christians. Some things to think about: If Christians value all life and should always aim to protect it, how does the killing of a guilty person support this Christian practice? If the death penalty is the best form of forensic justice we have, how does it line up with the biblical stance of the sanctity of all life? Does the Bible place parameters on the sanctity of life? Are biblical examples of capital punishment enough to justify our use of capital punishment? How can we faithfully practice justice today?

Think carefully, and respond. We would love to hear your responses - to this issue, and to any issue we raise here in The Edge. We remain committed to our goal of developing Christian leaders who will think carefully about their faith in the midst of an often confusing culture, and we'll do our best to help you ask questions and guide you as you think and act.

Luke Lin is a Master's degree student at Duke University and the Associate Editor for The Edge. His column on culture and Christianity appears every month.

As defined by SLU 101, leadership is “defining reality”. When posed with the question of the one critical issue facing America’s youth today, I must answer with one word - lies. Today’s youth are continuously bombarded with lies, whether they come from people, the media or any other form of communication. This brings me back to the definition of a leader. My suggestion for solving this problem would be to act like a leader by defining reality and clarifying truth.

A largely influential body of lies comes from America’s main entertainment source. When teenagers are exposed to the images and jargon used on television, it becomes a part of their life because they accept it as the truth. Young teenage girls are fed lies of how they should look or act. To conform to these “truths”, they begin to imitate what they have seen on the big screen. Eating orange juice-soaked cotton balls and dressing in skimpy attire becomes the new fad for girls who want to lose weight and appear fashionable. The long-term effects of this conformity can cause the pressure to go from the expense of fashion to the expense of human lives. To address this issue, young women must simply be informed of the real truth. The simple answer to a big problem is the fact that God has created us to be unique and since we are beautiful in God's sight, there is no need to conform to the world. Taking a leadership role by defining God’s reality will open up these victims to the truth.

However, girls are not the only people affected by television. Young men are just as susceptible to lies spreading through language, drugs, and violence. Actors are seen to portray actions that become the norm to boys across America. When these events become natural occurrences to these boys, they adapt the same characteristics because they are perceived to be cool. Rampant language use causes the quick adaptation of a wicked tongue. What used to be seen as neutral has now become truth to these boys. Frequent uses of drugs and alcohol allow Hollywood to define what a “man” is supposed to be like. In response, the new “men” start adapting the same habits of these cool “men” who appear on television. All of this is followed by the extensive use of violence. It would be one thing if violent acts committed on television went punished, therefore warning future criminals, but Hollywood’s violence goes un-punished almost all the time. This not only shows how certain acts of criminality can be performed, but it motivates young men to commit these acts. What was thought to be truth or to be normal eventually becomes consequential after the “truth” is put into action. Being a young man, I experience this corruption first hand at my school, in my neighborhood, and sometimes in my church. Fortunately, there is a solution to realigning the values of our young men. After sharing God’s Word on taming the tongue, self-control with drugs and alcohol, and loving your enemies, Hollywood’s lies can be shattered by the power of truth. Leaders need to define what God’s definition of a man is as opposed to the world’s definition. In doing so, leaders can encourage the boy to sit down and the man to stand up.

SLU 101 stated how “Leaders hate the status quo. They are motivated by what could and should be done.” As a leader, I hope to change the status quo by swapping the lies put forth by the world with the truth set forth by God.

David Baloche is a graduate of SLU 101. He is from Community Christian Fellowship in Texas, and his youth pastor's name is Heath Stoner. David is one of our 2006 SLU Essay Contest winners. Every month, we feature the story of an SLU graduate whose life has been impacted by SLU in significant ways. Have an SLU story? Send it to us at edge@studentleadership.net