Bethel University - Spire Yearbook (St Paul, MN)

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And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men. but choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. I Peter 2:4,5 The Spire yearbook is a student’s handbook to Bethel College, a four-year, accredited, coeducational Christian liberal arts college with approximately 1600 students and a teaching faculty of more than 100. The college, owned and operated by the Baptist General Conference, is located at 3900 Bethel Drive, Arden Hills, Minnesota (refer to college catalog for academic information). This book is published by a student staff under the direction of the Student Senate and has been printed by Bolger Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the school year 1975-2 1976.

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Bethel Is Bricks Although many of our Bethel buildings are almost entirely composed of bricks, they will probably not be one of the important things you will remember when thinking back on this year. Yet there is a beauty to be found in the history of these ordinary objects that constantly surround us. The long process from mud and straw to the final brick can be compared to our growth as Christians and students. Each individual brick on campus was layed in a planned position to form and strengthen the buildings, just as we “like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house.” (1 Peter 2: 4 5). The Master Builder who created us also laid a perfect foundation, and wc arc commanded to be careful and evaluate how we build upon it. (I Corinthians 3: 10). The decision to enroll in a Christian liberal arts college is an important step in making blueprints for building. It is not the plan everyone should make. But for those who do, it need not be an “empty wait for real life. We cannot turn life on and off like a light during our college years. This is life now. We are involved in a creative process of building, evaluating, and rebuilding. Before continuing, let’s evaluate our present craftsmanship. In an article by Donald Larson (Professor of Linguistics and Anthropology), “The Student as Spelunker” (January 1975). he evaluates students in comparison to cave-explorers: “Enrolling in a class is like paying someone to take you on a tour, adventure, or exploration. In our academic marketplace, you ought to ask yourself whether you want to fork over more than S200.00 of someone’s hard-earned cash to someone who will tell you how to spend your time. You need to evaluate whether you will be or have been ready to explore, to go on an adventure, or merely take a conventional tour. The Tourist can tramp along for the fun of it, let someone else hold the lantern, listen to the comments, do what he is told and stay out of trouble. The Adventurer can follow a slightly 4 different route by investing more time, energy. and talent. This will take him through more rugged activities and require more individual effort and initiative. The Explorer, whose level of commitment is even higher, can take an even different trail requiring even more involvement and independent effort. Both adventurers and explorers need a good heart, a creative soul, and a strong mind.” In the words of Stewart Luckman (Asst. Professor of Art), this evaluation of ourselves as students, graduates and faculty has made today an important “question making time.” If we have found miss-laid bricks in our building from this questioning and exploring process, it may be time to do some rebuilding. We may be “made nervous by the new.” We want things not to be rearranged. Yet “to live constructively in such a time, one needs to be an artist — a maker or builder of things, which is simply to say we must be beautiful, human, and Christian. There is a wild booming joy resounding in many of the psalms which is a delight in the greatness of God and all that He has made. The creative process can continue to happen here if we let the Father’s presence permeate our beings. Rejoice in ordinary experience. In the words of Pope Paul VI: We shall love our time our civilization our technical science our art our sport our world we shall love with Christ’s heart. Could this not be. in part the spirit that sustains and builds us as a Christian liberal arts community? (S. Luckman, faculty devotions, 1974). Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. (Psalm 127:1)