As Ivy to thy walls do cling, Our hearts will cling to thee.

An invitation to an October 2024 Homecoming celebration was recently received. It has been 50 years since graduation from Dana College, a Danish heritage school of the Lutheran Church. Fifty years is daunting in both the elapsed span of time, and in all that has changed. It's sad too, in that Dana is no longer in existence, no longer relevant to a new generation of students.

The relevance of Dana was at least partly based in family and cultural heritage. My parents and grandparents of were of Danish heritage and several attended or worked at Dana. Dana was a collection of exceptional professors and staff (like Stone, Bansen, and Nielsen to name a few) that daily challenged students to learn how to learn and to live. Finally, the Christian faith was tangible and a real presence in both campus life and personal faith formation.  Distinction in these three attributes contributed powerfully to Dana's relevance.

So this homecoming, sans an active collegiate campus, may have a stronger orientation towards what was relevant, versus what is relevant now. Dana's lost relevance was related to the diminished presence of distinctive and valued attributes (including heritage, an exceptional learning experience, and faith exploration/formation). These were some of the leading indicators of a problem. Financial debt, the lagging indicator, was the official cause of closure.  Many students, colleges, and Lutheran churches are searching for relevance today and struggling.  Private colleges and churches now face headwinds of organizational distrust and poor leadership. This amplifies challenges related to relevance.

September is when schools welcome students back from a summer hiatus, or orient the new students. Today, for those that choose to return, one might wonder is it for learning, protesting, a search for relevance, or something else? It could be argued that college campuses are naturally and perpetually in a state of unrest.  But is today's unrest just more of the same? And, what about the many students choosing not to return, or not to even start a college eduction. The more elite schools have huge endowments, but continue to assess crippling tuition and other fees for a graduation knowledge base that will probably fall far short of offsetting educational costs?

The college experience 50 years ago was similar in that there was antiwar (Vietnam) and civil unrest (peacefully led by MLK Jr). It was quite different too. Fifty years ago authorities abused protestors. Today it seems (with some admitted bias) that protestors abuse authorities and the public. The college protests of 50 years ago weren't coupled with blatant antisemitism/racism, calls for apartheid, and a meaningless cease fire. Rather they protested against racism, apartheid and protested for the end of war. Protesters on some campuses today are a hybrid of student and outside groups. Their behavior and actions, including masking to hide ones identity, intimidation and property destruction, is more reminiscent of the hooded KKK actions of 100 years ago. The quest for learning, and calls for tolerance have been replaced on some campuses today with a quest for the latest cause. Tolerance of free speech is caveated with an expectation that such speech must be aligned with the personal values of potential hearers, even those with contrary points of view. Instead of learning how to learn, educational relevance and the curriculum have been 'reimagined' towards teaching what should be believed. And these new beliefs, not all that dissimilar from 'there was no holocaust', require more faith, (in fact a truly blind faith) than the core tenets of Christianity. It might be a good time to become a welder.

September is also a time when churches seek to welcome parishioners back from summer vacations, trips and more casual or informal sleep-in Sunday mornings. Like some colleges, churches are struggling. Maybe there aren't the in the church courtyard protests. Yet similar to Dana College, the loss of distinctive and valued attributes has diminished relevance. The impact has been the eroding church attendance and participation, as well as reducing financial support.  It seems a primary basis of relevance for the Christian church (sharing and living out the Gospel message) is often communicated with more hesitancy than exuberance today. Some churches have embraced and propagated fear, more than freedom from fear. The Gospel message may be diluted in a tangential quest for entertainment, social action and even political causes. In an era where protests are encouraged, churches by and large do not appear to know how to advocate for the Gospel. Churches are more inclined to protest for or just accept the status quo. Congregants, even if 'evangelical' is in the name of their church, might not understand or practice what 'evangelical' means. This misunderstanding is consistent with and elevated by politics today. Words and terms like 'evangelical' have been redefined to mean something else, like 'white supremest'. 

Two books not on my recommended list are "The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory" (KPG) by Tim Alberta, and a "Letter to the American Church" (LAC) by Eric Metaxas. The negative takeaway after reading these epistles is partly due to a pre-read expectation that they would offer concrete and actionable ideas for enhancing the relevance of the Christian church in today's culture. That may have been an unfair and overly ambitious supposition. Rather than actionable ideas, both of these renown authors choose to bemoan and complain. These books are not representative of their much better literary works. You may not be as disappointed in these books if you're highly politicalized, and enjoy or are a complainer. Alberta has justification for being aggrieved.  However, save the introduction and the Epilog, KPG is basically a way too long TDS screed. Metaxas's LAC, a much shorter essay, is basically the antithesis to Alberta's complaints. So one author complains about conservative churches, the other complains about liberal churches. The reality is both liberal, conservative, and apolitical Christian churches in America are hemorrhaging members from their rolls.  

Grandmother Christine Lund Rasmussen (a Danish immigrant who did not attend college or drive a car) was a welcoming host to all visitors. Such visits were a joyful respite during the long trips from Colorado Springs to college in Blair. Each visit imbued a special and distinct relevance. This was so even those towards the end of Christine's life when there was more 'just being there', than conversation. One of the things that made a stop to see Christine distinctly relevant, was her end of visit assurance that 'The most important thing is faith in God'.  It was an expected, hope-filled benediction to each visit and Christine's life.