by Allison McLean
Editor-in-chief
&
Dr. Ken Turner
Guest Writer
The Bryan College church attendance policy deserves reconsideration.
Presently, “Bryan College students are expected to attend ten Sunday morning worship services of the church of their choice” (Community Life Handbook, p. 15).
Yet, we pause to ask: is this rule consistent with biblical principles and does it actually promote the spiritual development of our students?
This question assumes that biblical principle and spiritual development constitute the main purpose for such a policy.
Most of our rules do not need direct biblical warrant—other than general principles like unity or charity. However, the church attendance policy should be distinguished from administrative rules, such as speed limits and dorm regulations, because the church attendance policy has more to do with being Christian than with being a college, per se.
The handbook itself suggests as much in its opening sentence for this policy: “Involvement in a local church is an essential part of the spiritual development process for every Christian” (ibid).
In our understanding, God expects of Christians voluntary, active participation in a local church. This understanding challenges the school’s policy in two directions.
First, the policy goes too far in making a mandate out of something that should be voluntary. While God may “require” church involvement, nothing in the Bible—except for parental rule over children—suggests that we can or should establish such a rule.
The problem is exacerbated when we apply such a mandate to non-Christians. Bryan College does not require a profession of faith of its students; yet, we require non-Christian students to fulfill a requirement explicitly intended to foster “the spiritual development process for every Christian.”
This point not only seems unjust, it also runs the risk of giving a false view of the gospel.
Second, the policy does not go far enough. We question the efficacy of the church attendance policy, with respect to promoting actual church involvement, the stated purpose.
To be fair, some students may find our policy helpful in making them more faithful church participants. However, it is equally true that the policy can have a deleterious effect with respect to the biblical standard: active participation.
The policy may promote, although unintentionally, a “legalistic minimalism,” whereby students equate God’s expectations with merely showing up to church 62.5% of the time—10 of 16 weeks.
We raise this issue, ironically, because of two positive observations about Bryan College.
One, we believe this community is mature enough to handle such a conversation. In many institutions, this type of article would either fall hopelessly on deaf ears or raise such a firestorm that it would not be worth the risk. However, we sense here a community that encourages and enjoys such an iron-sharpening-iron discussion.
Also, having examined several Christian school handbooks, we think ours does a relatively good job at embedding rules within the larger context of our mission and vision. It also intentionally seeks to avoid a legalistic approach to the Christian life.
However, we should always strive for greater consistency between broader goals and specific application. We feel the church attendance policy is an issue where such consistency might be improved.