A Holy Resistance to Mission Drift in Christian Higher Education

Some years ago, while serving on a Christian university board, I was introduced to Greer, Horst and Haggard’s (2015) Mission Drift: The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches. As a brand new and ultimately incredibly short-serving board member, I received the authors’ message as a call to action for leaders and all people who believe in and work to secure the integrity and fidelity of Christian organizations, including but not limited to colleges and universities. At that time as a board member and continuing today now as a president, my heart’s desire is for Christian organizations, universities in particular, to remain unshakably, undeniably and unapologetically centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ—wholly committed to sharing the Gospel, making disciples and being the hands and feet of Jesus in our mission contexts.

Examining both the drift of some once-Christian institutions and the missional fidelity of other still-Christian organizations, Greer, Horst and Haggard share several truths that I find to be meaningful for Christian universities generally and Houghton University specifically. First among those lessons is that mission drift is seldom dramatic or all at once. Instead, it is more typically gradual. It is a decision here, a hire there—gradual drift, almost unnoticeable, until the organization that was once mission true finds itself so far afield from its founding commitments and convictions that it is indistinguishable from its secular peers. Seldom is there a primary culprit to blame or a specific moment in time to point back to. Instead, drift results from the gradual accumulation of things done and things failed to be done. Christian organizations that were founded for Gospel purposes become ones with only a Christian heritage when they could have and should have remained institutions committed to Biblical truth and centered on Jesus Christ.

As I serve Houghton University during this season, I strive to lead in accordance with Biblical truth and in a manner that honors God. As a Christian and a Wesleyan, I believe it is God’s will for people everywhere to know Him and that the purpose of the Church is to worship God in spirit and in truth and reach a lost and fallen world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Within that context, I have wholly committed myself to Houghton’s mission of providing a Christ-centered, academically challenging education to students from diverse traditions and economic backgrounds. Pointing toward the Church’s and University’s missions, ensuring continued alignment of University operations and mission, continually reminding our University community of the centrality of mission, and requiring reaffirmation of that mission are essential elements of my leadership. With all of our strength, Houghton will fight to remain a mission-true, Christ-centered university. We know gradual mission drift to be a real and ever-present threat to our Gospel calling. We will not underestimate the strength of the dominant cultural current. I pray for continued Godly wisdom, discernment, humility and courage as I lead Houghton’s holy resistance to mission drift.