Foundational Values
The College motto “Christ Preeminent” points to Jesus Christ as both the ground for personal salvation and the pattern for life and service. Since its founding, Messiah College has affirmed a set of values derived from the Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan traditions. The following five ideals summarize how Messiah College defines its distinctive Christian character:
Unity of Faith, Learning, and Life. This principle affirms the wholeness of persons and the unity of every dimension of life as revealed in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. It also emphasizes that all truth is God’s truth and thus avoids the creation of false dichotomies in thinking and in living. Messiah College affirms a united Christian worldview and lifestyle that joins revelation with rational inquiry and that integrates believing with doing. Accordingly, Christian “calling” and vocation is broadly understood. All of our gifts, talents, and interests are to be nurtured as acts of praise towards God while serving humanity and all creation.
Importance of the Person. Every person is to be respected and valued, regardless of gender, race, nationality, status, or position, because each person is created in the image of God. Freedom and responsibility are primary characteristics of being human, and we must take care to protect each other’s freedom while encouraging responsible living. As free agents, individuals make choices that determine the contours of their lives, and they bear responsibility for those choices. Individuals are accountable for their manner of response to God’s grace. Similarly, every person must be responsible in their pursuit of truth, and yet be free to develop their own understandings as they integrate their formal studies with their broader experience and faith.
Significance of Community. Our understanding of the Church as the body of Christ and our recognition of humanity’s interdependence cause us to value community. In community, we voluntarily share our lives with each other, we care for each other, we rejoice and suffer together, we worship together, and we offer counsel to each other. While every community develops rules, in Christian communities such rules should always be humane, recognizing the impact they have on the lives of those affected, and should help us appreciate each other’s gifts and talents. In any community there will be tensions that require mutual give and take, but a Christian spirit of care and support provides the security needed to accept one’s own weaknesses and those of others. The ultimate goal of every Christian community should be to help us live more faithfully as disciples of Christ.
Disciplined and Creative Living. The mature Christian life is characterized by a delicate mix of discipline and creativity. We are called to a life of devotion and obedience to the Gospel. Such discipleship demands of us self-control and sacrifice and requires us to examine all our wants and desires in the light of God’s holiness. The Gospel also calls us to celebrate the goodness of creation and to live our lives in active engagement with this ever-changing world in which God has placed us. In order to fulfill these tasks, we must be both creative interpreters of the world around us and creative actors in that world. Creativity and discipline are complementary characteristics of the mature, joyful Christian life.
Service and Reconciliation. Central to the Gospel is the work of reconciling individuals with God, with each other, and with all of creation. God has called us to be active agents in this work, as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit and bear the fruit of the Spirit within us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Prepared in this way, we are compelled to share the redeeming Gospel of Jesus with those around us; to build bridges of understanding and peace across the dividing lines of race, class, age, gender, religion, and ethnicity; to demonstrate the love of God in service to others; to open our hearts to the poor and needy; and to work for justice wherever injustice prevails.