At last week’s State of the University meeting among faculty and staff at The Master’s University, Dr. Abner Chou spoke on what it means to remain faithful to Christ and Scripture in light of TMU’s approaching Centennial year.
“What is most important for our institution,” he began, “is to go back to the basics. It is to go back to our fundamental convictions. It is to go back and remember Christ and Scripture. It is to go back and double down on exactly who we are.”
Chou highlighted how, over time, institutions naturally tend to drift in their mission and convictions. He said that institutions are very rarely still faithful to their original missions by the time they turn 100 years old.
“What we are now trying to do is defy the entropy of history,” Chou said. “What we are trying to do now is to break the paradigm that institutions have fallen into before us. We are in the fight for our lives for faithfulness.”
Chou then walked through the history of TMU, from its founding by Dr. William Matthews to other past presidents (and even a secretary, Harriet Ishii), to show how faithful individuals in every corner of campus have shaped TMU into what it is today. The previous generations’ legacy of conviction, sacrifice, and courage should not only inspire gratefulness in the present, Chou said, but also renewed determination going into the future.
“If we want to be the generation that receives the baton and runs for the next 100 years, we don’t just need to make them a historical relic. We need to make them our historical reality now. We need to be them now.”
Chou then explained why upholding the present integrity of TMU, and continuing to submit all subjects to the lordship of Christ, is of utmost importance.
“What we have is something very unique,” he said. “We don’t just teach all things. We don’t just teach Christ. We don’t just teach Christ and all things. We teach Christ in all things — how He has absolute lordship to capture everything. That transforms every single thing we do.”
This powerfully affects the way faculty and staff approach education at TMU.
“We are trying to help students grasp a vocation,” Chou said. “Not just how to get a job done, but how to live for Christ in all that they do. That is meaningful — to redeem and capture everything in their discipline and all the ramifications around it to the glory of Christ, and to have a life that truly is life.”
This produces graduates that countless people and ministries around the world rely on, from summer youth camps on the mission field to churches in Canada. Because of this, Chou urged TMU’s faculty and staff to take seriously the responsibility of equipping the next generation.
He concluded with a final exhortation connecting this upcoming Centennial year to the future of TMU.
“May we be the generation that is not only faithful, but sets up every generation after us to be faithful until our Master returns,” he said. “That’s what we want to be, and that’s what this year is about. It is doubling down on who we are.”
Sign up to receive future updates about the Centennial here, and RSVP interest for TMU’s Centennial Celebration here.
