It was February of the year I was to graduate High School.  I had been granted a scholarship to attend a
well-known university as a pre-law student.  
My college plans were set.

            Until the Lord turned
my world upside down by turning me to Himself. 
A most unlikely convert – I became a committed Christian.

            In not too long a time
I met with one of my High School teachers – who happened to be a pastor.   He was the only pastor I knew.   Thankfully, he was a minister who believed
the Bible is the Word of God and who held to historic Christian teaching.  (Sadly, that’s not true of all who bear the
title of Christian pastor or minister.)   He
began discipling me – and I will thank the Lord for all eternity for that time
he spent with me so patiently and carefully,

            In the course of those
meetings, the pastor expressed his concern that, as a very young Christian, I
would be attending a college that would hardly be a good environment to encourage
my new faith.   He suggested that I go to
a Christian college.

            This was right out of
left field.  I had no idea what he was
talking about.  (And, remember, my plans
for college were already set.)   I asked
him what a “Christian college” was.

            The pastor explained
to me that all schools have certain philosophies of education – ideas that
govern the way the school (or its various schools) view the world and
everything about it.  (I later came to
learn that these were actually faith commitmentsreligious commitments even if the
school claimed not to be religious.)  
Particularly because I had come to faith in Christ after toying with a
lot of very weird ideas in that tumultuous period of the late 1960s, the wise
pastor told me that it would be good if I could go to a college with faith
commitments that would encourage me in my faith rather than discourage
or actively oppose it.

            And the rest, as they
say, is history. 

            I ended up giving up
the scholarship to what I’ll simply call “The secular college”, and, instead,
attending a Christian college (actually, a
university) where I received both my bachelor’s degree and my first master’s
degree. 

            In more ways than I
could ever express to you, my life became (and is still today) totally
different because of those years at a Christian college:

  • I developed friendships with other committed
    Christian classmates who gave me a network of encouragement in my new
    faith.
  • I was blessed with committed Christian
    teachers who became role models for me.
  • I began to learn how to think about every
    academic discipline in ways that were faithful to the Word of God and that
    honored Jesus Christ.   It was my
    introduction to the fascinating challenge of “bringing every thought
    captive” to Jesus Christ as the source of all Truth.
  • I grew in my communication skills in a
    school that put an emphasis on helping young people express their faith
    naturally and effectively in every calling in life.
  • Through healthy extra-curricular activities,
    I was able to develop my gifts in ways that formed me for my eventual work as a
    Christian pastor and leader.
  • And last, but hardly least, I met the
    wonderful, committed Christian woman who would one day become my wife and
    the mother of our six children.

            As you can tell, I
don’t need to be convinced of the benefits of a Christian college.

             But I want you to be!

            And that’s our topic
for today’s A Visit to the Pastor’s Study: The Benefits
of a Christian College.   It’s not wrong
to attend (or to let your son or daughter attend) a secular college or
university.  I’m not saying that.  But there are many, many
benefits of attending a good Christian college.  And I want you to think about that with us in
the hour ahead.  

            I’m fascinated with
the vast background and experience of my guest today on A
Visit to the Pastor’s Study.
   Dr. Mark
Hijleh has served as Provost of The King’s College in New York City
since July of 2014.  (He also serves as
Professor of Music at The King’s College.)   Before that he served for over 20 years in
various capacities at another Christian college – Houghton College, in western
New York State.  During that time, he
also served as the Founder and President of the Christian Fellowship of Art
Music Composers
.

            With over a quarter of
a century of experience in so many parts of the world of Christian higher
education, Dr. Hijleh is – to say the least – well qualified to help us think
today about The Benefits of a Christian College.   So, put on your thinking caps!

         Dr. Mark Hijleh, – Provost of The King’s
College, Manhattan, New York City – welcome to A Visit to the Pastor’s Study….

Here’s a link to the full
program:  


                                                                        Yours in the God of all wisdom and knowledge,

                                                                                    Pastor
Bill