Schooling and Goals

So, it's been a great summer thus far. The camp season for my co-workers and myself at Center Lake was almost double the usual length, but now we're officially done, and I'm ready to chill.

One thing that I need to get out here has to do with my education and life goals. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about where I wanted to be at this point in my life ten years ago and where I am now. I'll start by looking back.

Almost since I could talk, I've wanted to be a paleontologist (someone who studies ancient life-forms). I loved dinosaurs, and I never really grew out of that stage (Jurassic Park has always been one of my favorite movies, haha). I wanted to go to Michigan State University for a few years of college, then transfer to Montana State and live there for the rest of my life. This was my plan since about first grade all the way into high school.

When I was in my junior year of high school, a very intelligent teacher I respected a lot sat my mother and I down and asked me about my goals after high school. When I explained to him my goal of starting in geology at Michigan State and eventually becoming a paleontologist, he basically told me it was a poor career choice, and I should look into something else. Coming from him, this destroyed me, and so I started to look into other areas. My interests in the sciences were fairly eclectic, and I soon settled on ornithology (the study of birds) instead. I had taken a heavy interest in birdwatching in high school, and I had even made some connections which could help me gain a job in the field fairly quickly. I decided to try being a biology major at Michigan State instead.

As the time approached for me to start applying for college, Jesus made me realize something. My faith was not strong enough to handle going to a party school like Michigan State, and my relationship with Him would likely crumble there, especially going there as a science student. I decided to apply instead to Spring Arbor University, a Christian university which I hoped would grow my knowledge of the Scriptures and help grow my relationship with Christ. I applied and was quickly accepted.

During the winter of my senior year, someone I greatly respected in my church was talking with my about my goals after high school. When I explained to him my plan to major in biology and get into the ornithology field, he asked me point blank, "Well, that's cool and I'm sure you would have fun doing that, but how do you expect to serve Jesus doing that?" I didn't expect nor have an answer to this question, as I was still quite young in my relationship with Jesus. "You're passionate and good at music; why don't you do that instead?" So, after thinking about it more and looking at Spring Arbor's options, I switched m projected major to worship arts.

During my time at Spring Arbor, I never had really any idea where I was headed. I thought it was a good thing that I had no real goals in life; I assumed I was being more open to God's leading. I left the worship arts major for lots of reasons and went back in the direction of my former goals as a retreat and camping ministry major.

Last summer on my trip to Ireland and England, I found myself in a museum full of dinosaur skeletons and other geological finds. When some of my fellow classmates saw how into all of it I was, they asked me why I wasn't doing that with my education instead. Even one of my professors on the trip suggested that I do a Master's program in geology after I graduate if that was really where my passion still was. This affected me and got me thinking about the possibilities of more schooling after I graduate from Spring Arbor. This past year, however, made me lose a lot of faith in Spring Arbor as an institution, and I decided I would not ever consider going back to school for anything after I graduate in the fall of 2011.

This summer I read a two-year-old article about how Cedarville University had become one of the first fully-accredited Christian colleges with a geology program and which also holds to very similar Biblical views on Creation and the Flood as I do. They also teach the naturalistic and Creation theories on the beginning of life on Earth alongside each other so students know both views well when they graduate. This sparked a renewed desire in me which I thought had completely died.

Looking back, God definitely grew me closer to Himself at Spring Arbor and grew me in the knowledge of His Word. I also now think it may not have been the best idea for me to completely abandon my educational goals. God gave me a passion which others and I tried to squelch unknowingly, and now I believe He has renewed it in me. I believe He used my time at Spring Arbor to prepare me to finally follow after this passion. This change in mindset took me completely by surprise, and I realized immediately that I still wanted to become a geologist.

I'm now looking at possibly taking classes at Lansing Community College this spring semester, and maybe next year transferring to Grand Valley State University or Michigan State as a geology major. I decided against Cedarville, as I don't want to attend a Christian college again for several reasons. First, I would feel extremely irresponsible for spending so much money for more education after I graduate from Spring Arbor, and other Christian colleges don't actually have as much financial aid as Spring Arbor does. Second, I feel that if I went to another Christian college, I would probably become just as disenchanted with it as I have with Spring Arbor and would end up hating another institution and have a miserable time. I have lower expectations for secular schools to start with, anyway. Third, I really want to get out of the self-protective bubble of Christian education and be a Christ follower in a place where Christians aren't the majority.

I now also think I have an answer to the question which was posed to me during my senior year. The question, "How do you expect to serve Jesus doing that?" just reveals an attitude the church has toward the sciences which I have come to loathe. It seems that the church as a whole has abandoned the scientists as a group worth reaching with God's love, with some exceptions. Many Christians who are interested in the fields of geology and paleontology are out to disprove evolution. The hope in this is to prove God's existence by using physical evidences. What a horrible idea! We should prove God's existence by allowing Him to show His love through us, not by arguing our own points and theories. I have decided that I don't want to argue about Creation and evolution in my projected field of work. I want to work hard at my job, and allow Christ to speak through me to the people around me, and when anyone asks the reason for my hope in Christ, be able to answer them in love.

Peace.