Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Healing Missions

Mission

Calvin College equips students
to think deeply,
to act justly,
and to live wholeheartedly
as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.


David Brooks in his recent book, The Road to Character, outlines the paths of and the ideas behind a meaningful life.  Like the last post, “Healing Stories”, we get to hear the stories of struggle and healing in the lives of some famous historical figures and are challenged to examine our own stories.

The book is descriptive and prescriptive!  The authority behind the prescription is a deep faith and purpose demonstrated in the life stories.  This model of education resonated with my teaching a freshman seminar at Duke University and a medical school elective.  We required the students to write a biography of someone they admired.  It was a wonderful experience to share the stories and see them lived out in the lives of the students.  The good news is there is a path based on a faith and mission that results in a wholeness in our lives. 

This weekend, I attended the Calvin College commencement and the alumni reunion of the class of 1965  The alumni shared their faith and life stories as they lived out the mission of Calvin College.   I was inspired by their lives and their faith.

Thanks for letting an “outsider” hear and be a part of the Calvin story and to David Brooks for a challenging book.

Marvin


References:


Brooks, D. (2015). The Road to Character. Random House

Hage, M. L. (2015). Healing Stories. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2015/04/healing-stories_17.html

"Exploring Medicine: Cross-cultural Challenges in the 21st Century” 1/95-3/98  Duke University Medical Center