Let’s get rid of the elephant in the room right away. In the past there has been some tension between Free Will Baptist colleges. In some ways, it’s been like a heated rivalry in sports; but the difference is the schools never seem to meet up. Instead, attacks are launched from hundreds of miles away through students, publications, teachings, etc.
In reality, perception is as far as we’ve gone for connection. We hear rumors. We spread rumors. Is there any truth behind them? Maybe. Maybe not. But at times it seems we’d rather spread the latest gossip first and find out we’re wrong later. And when we find out we’re wrong…well…let’s just say it’s not so easy to admit.
Sadly, many of us have never stepped foot in that “other world.” We think we know what’s going on at the other colleges. We think we know how they live, what they believe, and what they say about “us.” But the truth, we haven’t been there. We don’t know them. We haven’t built relationships with those people. We simply judge without ever knowing all the facts.
In the past several years, I’ve seen that tension start to ease. It seems we’re actually seeing each other as people and not institutions. Whether it has been through leadership conferences, camps, the NYC, or any other gathering, I feel like we’re finally starting to realize we’re not so different from each other. Sure, we may attend a different college. We may believe different things. We may even have different convictions about different areas of life. But when it comes down to the basics and what’s really important, we’re actually fighting on the same side. We wrestle with the same topics. We encounter the same problems in ministry. Our training may be different, but our cause is the same.
Lately I’ve noticed Twitter and even Facebook have been driving forces for demolishing the old mindset and helping us cross the bridge to unity. It has given us a chance to connect with people outside of our typical “bubble” and interact in a way that’s never been done before. No matter if you’ve come out of California, Oklahoma, Nashville, Virginia, North Carolina, or any other state, Twitter allows us to forget about the name of the school on our diplomas, and instead connect with one another as the body of Christ.
Now in no way am I saying you shouldn’t take pride in your institution. We should be proud of where we come from and our education. But we can’t let our location or alma mater divide us, even if we don’t agree on every single facet of life.
In a lot of ways, Twitter is self-indulgent and, as a comedian recently put it, a major “time suck.” However, I truly believe it’s allowing us to bridge the gap from knowing each other as “colleges” to knowing each other as people and fellow believers.
We can argue all day about our differences, but when push comes to shove, we’re definitely more alike than some want to admit.
Maybe something as simple as a “tweet” will lead our denomination to a level of unification that we haven’t seen for many years.
