Thank You, and I Am Not A Christian.”

May 20th, 2007 by Michael Spencer

Several weeks ago, I removed all specific references to where I work from this web site. Without violating that, I want to tell you a story from yesterday, when our high school had its 104th graduation ceremony.
For the past 30+ years, our school has taken many internationals and children of internationals as students. A fair number of these have not been Christians. Some are from other religious traditions, like Islam, and some are from Atheistic cultures like China.
Several of these internationals graduated yesterday. Now a feature of our graduation is the reading of portions of a “senior essay” written by the student for this day. These essays often express the student’s feelings about their boarding school journey and how the experience has affected them.
Several times in yesterday’s ceremony, essays by students were read and the student said…
1) I am not a Christian.
2) Thank you for all you’ve done for me while I have been here.
3) I now understand Christianity much better (or I now realize Jesus is very important.)
As the primary preacher and Bible teacher in our school, all of this struck me as rather amazing. Here is a Christian school; founded by Christians, funded by Christians; staffed by Christians, supported by Christians. We have an explicitly Christian mission. We actively practice evangelism. We require attendance at daily chapel and weekend worship gatherings for all our students. We require a year of high school Bible to graduate.
God brings non-Christians to us because we are inexpensive and offer the language and science background international students want to get them into American universities. Our school does not have the “nice” things that more expensive schools have, but many of these internationals do not have American ideas of comfort and entitlement. They are open to our school, the hospitality and friendship of our staff and the generosity and compassion we share with them.
We do not mince words about the Gospel. At least I don’t. I point out the difference between Mohammed, Buddah and Jesus all the time. I preach Christ as the exclusive way to eternal life. I preach that hell exists and judgement without Christ is eternal condemnation. I engage atheism as an inadequate answer. I preach, teach and proclaim the Gospel with all my abilities.
But I also watch the Gospel happen as we work with students other schools reject, as we allow students to dress without school uniforms or overly strict dress codes, and as we give students the right to their own worldviews. One does not have to be a Christian to participate in any part of our school’s program.
Even in Bible class, I make it clear that a student’s grade and my evaluation of them does not depend on their attitude toward Christianity, and I welcome their expressions of why they don’t believe in Jesus and why they do believe other faith options.
When we do anything with our students, we tell them that we are doing it because of Jesus Christ. I regularly connect up what we do with what Christ has done for us.
And so, sitting there yesterday, I heard many student essays talk about finding Christ and about renewing commitments to Christ. But I also heard about coming here for one, two or more years and leaving without Christ.
And saying so. “I am not a Christian.” One of my best Bible students said it in her essay. “I am not a Christian.” But she thanked me and others for showing her Christ, and she said she is on the way.
Others said they were not Christians, but now they understood better what Christianity means. Some said they had learned that what they had been told about Christians in their culture was not true.
Of all the things in my life, the privilege to work with unbelievers is the most important and the most humbling. It is a joy to be able to spend two years with an atheistic Chinese boy, and to be his friend at the end of the process.
I often wonder why Christians, in building so much that is for themselves, haven’t stopped and looked at the world as Jesus did. Look at the fields white unto harvest. Look at the sheep without a shepherd. Look at the lost, needing to come home.
We could do so much for them, if we would simply allow them to not believe, but to still be loved. If we could include them, help them, love them…and let them not believe. We could treat them respectfully, like people made in God’s image and loved by Christ Jesus. If we did, they would say “Thank you.”
They are not the enemy, my friends. They are like us in every way. We distort the gospel to exaggerate the differences between ourselves and those that do not confess Christ. We are not God, nor do we sit in God’s place. The cup of cold water is given to the brother or sister in whom Christ dwells, but it is also given to the thirsty.
On this particular graduation day, I was proud to be part of this ministry, and proud that this particular “Christian” school includes, teaches, loves and respects those who are not Christians.

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