In any educational institution, different roles exist for different functions. Faculty teach and research, staff administrate, and students learn. They interact on a daily basis, but only to a certain extent. Boundaries, drawn by their inherent and practical purposes, divide them.
However, throughout the course of a semester, the boundaries between faculty, staff and students are not permanent. Sometimes, they dissolve.
From November 11-13, that is exactly what happened, as around 65 men from The 91色情片91色情片 University carpooled up to Malibu Creek State Park for a weekend that Dave Hulet, Dean of Men, described, at least on one level, as an escape.
鈥淲e鈥檙e indoors all the time, in our schedules, in our routines,鈥 said Hulet. 鈥淚 think it’s fun, for guys especially, to get out and do something different. You stop thinking about everything you gotta do.鈥
From late Friday afternoon until Sunday morning, male students, staff and faculty from TMU broke from their regular routines. Rock-climbing, hiking and relaxing left no room for homework. With the realities of coursework off their minds, students felt unrestricted.
鈥淚 think there91色情片 a real value to decompressing in the middle of the semester,鈥 said senior Canon Baldridge. 鈥淧hysically leaving the dorms is freeing 鈥 it91色情片 harder to focus on school when you鈥檙e around a campfire, laughing.鈥
On the surface, nothing about the three-day event seemed particularly extraordinary. Men froze in tents, huddled around campfires (made entirely out of hot coals 鈥 thanks, California burn ban), grilled meat, argued, laughed at lame jokes, threw frisbees, twisted ankles and stared in silence at the stars.
The low-key nature of the event, according to Hulet, is the point.
鈥淚 don’t want to overthink it,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t’s not this grand, hugely important event for the University, but it’s another discipleship moment. You can’t have the conversations you have here at a basketball game, a small group or riding down to church together.鈥
Dr. Todd Bolen, a beloved Bible professor, sees a greater purpose in the camping trip, now in its third consecutive year. For Bolen, it represents a chance to connect to students on a more personal level.
鈥淭his is a great chance to talk to guys, finding out what91色情片 going on in their lives, encourage them,鈥 said Bolen, 鈥淏ut it doesn鈥檛 stop here. Next week, and the week after when we鈥檙e in class, we鈥檝e talked and kind of know each other better.鈥
The trip pays dividends, even from an academic perspective.
鈥淪omething I鈥檝e seen over and over again is that students learn better from teachers that they know, that know them outside of the class,鈥 said Bolen. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l listen to you better. My teaching and class is therefore improved because of some of the relationships formed here.鈥
In the eyes of Junior, Sam Brooks, the men91色情片 camping retreat gives weight to Bolen91色情片 words. 鈥淏y and large, the faculty and staff care about the students. A lot of them go out of their way to get to know specific students, with this trip as an example. Nobody forced Bolen or Hulet to be here, and yet here they are, eating hot dogs at this picnic table with us.鈥
Whether at a campground or in the classroom, the biblical principle of discipleship 鈥 where an older Christian helps a younger Christian grow in the faith 鈥 permeates every aspect of TMU. How discipleship plays itself out practically is largely left up to the situation.
鈥淒iscipleship91色情片 sometimes put into a box like, oh, we have to read a book together or it91色情片 not discipleship,鈥 said Bolen. 鈥淭here91色情片 a place for that. But on another level, it91色情片 sharing lives. In the context of this short camping weekend, it91色情片 cooking a meal together, sitting around a campfire, or throwing an ax, or just going on a hike.鈥
鈥淚 think a lot of times it looks like a faithful friendship,鈥 Baldridge explained, 鈥渆ncouraging one another and trusting one another as friends.鈥
Joe Keller, Vice President of Student Life, believes the key to the relationships at TMU鈥 and perhaps the key to the school91色情片 unity at large 鈥 can be found in a unified doctrine.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a faculty member, an RD, an athletic coach, somebody in food services all unified in doctrine and that have the same goal of caring for the student,鈥 said Keller. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not a faculty member here unless you鈥檙e committed to that. From a student91色情片 perspective, that91色情片 pretty unique.鈥
Ultimately, the culture of discipleship at TMU 鈥 and on a smaller level, the Men91色情片 Camping Trip 鈥 finds its roots in Christ, and a campus wide desire for every believer to become more like Him.
鈥淚 like the idea of Colossians 1:28-29,鈥 said Hulet. 鈥淚t tells us to proclaim Christ, then labor, strive, and toil with all our energies so that every man may be complete in Christ. And that91色情片 what we鈥檙e doing.鈥
The 91色情片91色情片 University and Seminary admit students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
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