Letter from the President: Spring 2021
Four Qualities That I Hope and Pray Define IWU World Changers…
For good or ill, my iPhone has become my constant companion. Most of the time, I am grateful for this wonderful tool that helps me remember things, stay in touch with the important people in my life, find my way when I’m driving, and remember where I parked when I get there.
But there are a couple of things that drive me nuts. Here’s one of them. When I get into my car, my iPhone automatically syncs with the radio and begins communicating in ways that I don’t necessarily welcome in that moment. In fact, the most frustrating thing is that I often don’t even know where the sounds are coming from. Sometimes the only way I can shut off the unwanted signals is to just shut everything off and reset it.
If any of you are iPhone aficionados who can tell me how to deal with this distraction, I’d love to hear from you.
But I got to thinking about this the other day. It struck me that this is an apt metaphor for something that happens in my life. All too often, wired into crucial moments of my life, are distracting and unwanted messages that come from sources I am barely aware of and hardly know how to control. They shout distractions into my life, and shove me in directions I may not want to go.
Over the past few years as I’ve sat in this front-row seat watching and guiding the process of educating future world-changers I have become acutely aware that our culture is working overtime to disciple all of us, but our youngsters most importantly, with messages and values that run deeply counter to the Biblical worldview to which God calls us.
Just as my iPhone sometimes plays songs unbidden that distract me from the task at hand, our culture and our own past experiences can sing songs to our souls, tunes to which we can’t and shouldn’t dance as we pursue the journey through the life to which God calls us as followers of Jesus. These days, I am reminded of the great privilege and responsibility of introducing our students to the beauty of truth as we discover it in God’s revelation. In my recent reflections about this task I identified four qualities that I hope and pray will define our IWU world changers:
An inner core of unshakable spiritual strength founded on a living relationship with Jesus Christ
An intellectual toughness developed by an honest and unflinching commitment to and exploration of revealed truth
A posture of engagement with the world – a leaning in instead of stepping back – informed by compassion and skillfulness
An unquenchably positive vision for what God is doing in this world sustained by a personal in filling of the Holy Spirit
Here at IWU we are deeply committed to the sacred task of preparing world changers who are intellectually and spiritually prepared to make the world a better place. Thank you for your partnership in making this great ministry of Christ-centered higher education possible. We could not do it without your support.
DR. DAVID WRIGHT '77, PRESIDENT
