Room to Grow
No, you don't have to be a Christian to come to Seattle Pacific University. But you do have to be willing to grapple with spiritual questions. Students come from a wide range of faith backgrounds and are all challenged to grow and think about God in new ways. etc asked five students to talk about how their faith has developed since being at Seattle Pacific.
All I Needed Was
a Sounding Board
By Junior Syrron Crutch
Toward the end of my freshman year, it seemed like everything was spiraling downward for me. My grades were falling below average; I was faced with financial issues; and I started to wonder if SPU was the right place for me.
I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeves, so it did not come as a surprise when people would ask me almost daily, "Syrron are you OK?" Eventually, I realized that I had a strong community to confide in. As I spoke with different people, I began to understand that my trials were an opportunity to bring me closer to God and learn how to trust him.
In one particular venting session, someone asked me, "How can you understand God's plans for you without having a strong relationship with him?" That encouraged me to start reading my Bible and praying every day. Developing a stronger one-on-one relationship with God has helped to answer a lot of the question marks in my life. We may not see it right away, but the community we surround ourselves with has the power to make or break us. I just thank God that he has blessed me with such a wonderful community.
Finding Where
I Fit Into the History of Believers
By Senior Adrianna Bagnall
I arrived at SPU a jumbled mess of personal church history. I had experiences with many different denominations and was at a loss to explain my religious beliefs. I felt as if I had lost my Christian identity and was scrambling to pick up what puzzle pieces I could find hidden beneath the couch cushions of my life.
Spring Quarter of my freshman year, I took my first University Foundations class in which we learned about the history and basic doctrines of various church traditions. Finally! I had words for my jumbled mess of thoughts. My experience in a conservative Baptist church made sense — I understood the reasons they gave for the roles of women in the church, the sermon topics, and our commitment to missions — and while I might not agree with everything I grew up with, I have somewhere to start putting words to my experience.
I am currently attending an Episcopal church where I have the opportunity to take part in the liturgy. This is significant in light of the fact that now I know the history of these rich traditions. The liturgy helps me to remember I am one member of the body of Christ, a group that transcends cultural and historical boundaries.
Thank You
Professor Steele
By Senior Michael Richards
During the fall of my sophomore year, I became extremely frustrated by my avoidance of being in God's presence. I went to Professor Rick Steele for advice. He asked me this question: "What is the consistent element between all of the relationships you value most?" I thought of my parents, my best guy friends, my girlfriend — finally, I said, "More communication is always better. I know that even if it hurts, communicating more openly and honestly will always be best in the end."
"Do you feel that way with God?" he asked. When I didn't answer for more than a second, he and I both knew the answer. I finally said it. "No." He then asked, very gently, "Why not?" Inside my head, I was asking the same question. Then I started to understand. "I am ashamed when I am before God. I know I shouldn't be, but I am because I'm so inconsistent."
Then, Professor Steele said something I will never forget: "Michael, you have to stop being your own judge. You have to give that place back to God." That day, God showed me that knowing about grace and accepting it are completely different. Today, I am free from that shame.
Love Heals
By Junior Carolina Bravo
God has taught me to trust in him through the love that other people have given to my family and me. During my freshman year, both my dad and my older brother were sick. The situation at home did not get better until March 2010. God blessed my family by giving my father the kidney transplant he needed. Our faithfulness to God had not been in vain.
My family, friends, SPU staff, and students celebrated this great miracle. With this victory, we patiently waited for my brother's liver transplant. Unfortunately, on October 15, 2010, my oldest brother passed away. This time family, friends, SPU staff, and students mourned together for this loss.
I cannot explain the love I felt when President Philip Eaton, the President's Cabinet, the Office of Multi-Ethnic Programs, the Financial Aid Office, and my professors helped my family. They raised financial support, and sent letters and emails, and my professors made sure that I was caught up with everything I missed.
When I went to the service they held at SPU, I knew I was where God wanted me to be. Without this love I would have felt lost and alone. At SPU, I found the true meaning of love in a family of faith.
I Never Saw
That Coming
By Senior Hannah Pietila
I walked into Church of the Undignified Spring Quarter of my freshman year expecting to just observe and gain information for my University Foundations class presentation. Little did I know, God was about to blow my framework of how I understood him. I returned to CU the next week and was offered an internship for the summer, and a place to live in the church's community home.
Daily I was out on the streets praying for people and experiencing real miracles and Jesus encounters. I prayed for a man who had a torn rotator cuff and couldn't raise his arm above shoulder level. After we prayed, he could move it fully. I also saw migraines disappear, and one man's doctor confirmed that his pancreatic cancer was gone a few weeks after we prayed. I remember calling my mom and saying sheepishly," I think I have the gift of healing."
Now, as a senior, I am leaving my time at SPU thankful for the mysterious and boundless God I have begun to know in a deeper and fuller sense. The gospel became alive in my own life after that summer and has challenged me in the way I go about all my daily interactions.
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