A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

ts witness of personal faith to the nature of the Christian's relationship to the dominant political and cultural realities. What distinguished the Idea was not its commitment to a liberal arts education within the Christian world view, but the linking of the two with com- munitarian and prophetic ideals.31 The theological implications of the Pacific College Idea were significant: Christian education was to educate for social transforma- tion as much as for personal righteousness. Humanity suffered alienation from God, but also alienation from the 176 MENNONTTE BRETHREN EDUCATION social world. The political and economic structures that divide people into rich and poor, liberated and oppressed, nourished and malnourished, were also in need of re- demption.52 A document entided, "Broadening the Base: My Vision for Fresno Pacific College," presented to the Pacific District Con- ference by president Edmund Jarizen in 1983, called for en- larging the college's student potential as well its economic re- sources. The intent was not to surrender the theological dis- tinctives of the institution as defined in the Pacific College Idea, The statement in part read: I. We will establish a clear sense of our identity within the wider philosophical/theological framework of the cur- rent Christian College scene. RRC is and will continue to be a Mennonite Brethren related school securely anchored in the Anabaptist/Evangelical tradition. Today (perhaps more than ever) both church and college need a vital "center"-a core of values that gives meaning to every pro- gram, and that provides the cohesive glue to our purpose- This means that the College will continue to stress the same key distinctives that are also the hallmark of our churches as noted in the MB, Confession of Faith: a* personal conversion to a new life of discipleship in Je- sus Christ, b. a high view of the Scriptures as the norm for daily liv- ing. c. the importance of "the Believer's Church" as the vehi- cle of God's grace to the world. d. the primacy of evangelism and mission in extending God's Kingdom. e. the concepts of servanthood, voluntarism and mutual aid as a way of life, f. the importance of "doing Kingdom ethicsMiving so as 177 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH to conform to the lordship of Jesus Christ , g. the application of limitless Christian love and active peacemaking to the hurts and injustices of the world. These distinctives will allow us to position ourselves in the spectrum of Higher Education so that we may extend an invitation to the many who will profit from examinin