Latest / The UNWavering Podcast / Centrality of God's Word | Dr. Corbin Hoornbeek

Transcript

Centrality of God's Word | Dr. Corbin Hoornbeek · The UNWavering Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_03: Hey everybody, this is Monty.
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SPEAKER_03: And Cassie.
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SPEAKER_03: And welcome to season three of the Unwavering Podcast.
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SPEAKER_02: Woohoo!
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SPEAKER_03: That's right.
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SPEAKER_03: They decided to fund us again.
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SPEAKER_02: That's right.
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SPEAKER_03: Yep.
0:11
SPEAKER_02: We know you've been waiting.
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SPEAKER_02: You probably took the day off to listen, so thank you for your time.
0:16
SPEAKER_03: We've heard of listening parties all over the world.
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SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
0:19
SPEAKER_03: You know, the students are arriving on campus today.
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SPEAKER_03: It's a great day to start a new season.
0:25
SPEAKER_01: We're very excited.
0:26
SPEAKER_03: I'm really excited for the list, uh, the lineup that we have in this season.
0:29
SPEAKER_03: We've we've got a couple series to bring you this season.
0:33
SPEAKER_03: Um, we have a bunch of alumni spotlights uh this semester, this season.
0:39
SPEAKER_03: And uh of course, we will also bring in some guests from around campus as well.
0:43
SPEAKER_03: But this is gonna be fun, and there's no better way to start a season than bringing in the president.
0:48
SPEAKER_03: So I think I think we're doing this the right way, Cassie.
0:51
SPEAKER_02: I hope so.
0:53
SPEAKER_03: So let's let's hit the intro music and let's get on with this.
0:57
SPEAKER_03: Let's go.
0:57
SPEAKER_01: Join as we highlight the people, the purpose, and the pulse of Northwestern.
1:03
SPEAKER_01: This is the Unwavering Podcast.
1:19
SPEAKER_03: Our guest today is uh President Corbin Hornbeek, and Corbin serves as president of the United States of the United States.
1:31
SPEAKER_03: Do you want to be president of the no uh not at all?
1:34
SPEAKER_03: Our guest today is Dr.
1:35
SPEAKER_03: Corbin Hornbeek.
1:37
SPEAKER_03: He serves as president of the University of Northwestern St.
1:40
SPEAKER_03: Paul and Northwestern Media.
1:42
SPEAKER_03: Since becoming president in 2021, he's led the university with a clear commitment to Christ-centered higher education, strengthening Northwestern's mission of preparing students to serve with excellence wherever God calls them.
1:53
SPEAKER_03: Under his leadership, Northwestern has continued to invest in academic excellence, spiritual formation, and the transformative impact of Christian education while advancing the historic mission of the university.
2:04
SPEAKER_03: President Hornbeek, welcome back to the Unwavering Podcast.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: Well, Mani and Cassie, thank you so much for having me.
2:11
SPEAKER_00: Uh this is fun.
2:12
SPEAKER_00: I've been looking forward to this, and let's roll.
2:14
SPEAKER_02: Let's do it.
2:15
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for being here.
2:16
SPEAKER_02: We have the President, Mr.
2:17
SPEAKER_02: President, um Corbin.
2:19
SPEAKER_02: Hail to the Chief.
2:20
SPEAKER_02: Should have been playing.
2:22
SPEAKER_02: Uh Corbin, what's something the Lord's teaching you did in this season?
2:26
SPEAKER_00: A lot.
2:27
SPEAKER_00: And uh hopefully for all of us, we're in uh in the Word on a regular basis, and we're asking God questions about what He wants to do in us and how He's gonna continue to form us.
2:40
SPEAKER_00: So I think one of the big things for me, uh Monty and Cassie is patience.
2:45
SPEAKER_00: I am not by nature a patient person.
2:48
SPEAKER_00: And though that helps in some seasons to be impatient, to want things to move quickly and move forward.
2:55
SPEAKER_00: Patience as it relates to uh how we develop a bold and courageous vision at Northwestern, uh how we lead in this time that uh feels that that comes with a sense of urgency.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: Um but patience to trust God, patience to trust that God is in control, He is sovereign, He is good.
3:15
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm learning that.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: I'm learning how to be I'm learning how to be patient.
3:18
SPEAKER_00: And and actually makes my wife happy that I'm thinking about that as well.
3:23
SPEAKER_03: Do you feel like do you feel like you've sensed him helping you grow in that area too?
3:28
SPEAKER_03: Have you felt like you know is there peace that comes with growing in patience?
3:31
SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell I move quickly, I move fast, and you know, at this stage of my life, I'm I'm learning that God is physically slowing me down and and teaching me to to rest, to slow down, to listen, to pray more and be more sensitive to how the spirit's leading.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, there does come with a a sense of pacing uh with that as well.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: But I I like moving quickly.
3:57
SPEAKER_02: Speaking of moving quickly, moving, people are moving into campus today.
4:01
SPEAKER_02: Um we've got our athletes coming back, they've been here for a little bit, and our freshmen are moving in today, our traditional students, and then our our other students will be back this week.
4:11
SPEAKER_02: So what is exciting to you this academic season?
4:14
SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell Yeah, there's nothing better than seeing eager first year students come on campus.
4:20
SPEAKER_00: And uh I love it because some of them have uh this look of absolute terror on their faces, like what am I about to enter into?
4:29
SPEAKER_00: And some of them have this look like I can't wait to leave home.
4:33
SPEAKER_00: And so you have you have all of that.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I'm most excited about.
4:37
SPEAKER_00: Our mission is not just to do education or just to do Christian education.
4:45
SPEAKER_00: Our mission is to prepare great leaders for the Great Commission.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: And so when we keep that mission front and center, our commitment to Christian education falls into its proper place.
4:56
SPEAKER_00: And so what I'm most excited about when I see new students, first year students, and then returning students come back on campus, I see a new generation and next generation of great leaders for the Great Commission.
5:09
SPEAKER_03: I love that.
5:10
SPEAKER_03: And that that that the feeling of that on campus is electric.
5:14
SPEAKER_03: When they're ready for it.
5:15
SPEAKER_03: It's happening.
5:15
SPEAKER_03: And you're just getting excited to see how can we encourage and shape these young men and women.
5:21
SPEAKER_02: Well, and you can feel it in the air, the excitement, the buzz, and fall.
5:24
SPEAKER_02: I fall feels like a new beginning to me because of the start of school.
5:27
SPEAKER_02: I always get very excited.
5:29
SPEAKER_02: Um but as you look across campus with fall coming up, what are you most hopeful for this year?
5:35
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: You know, our theme for the year is revival ready.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: Revival ready.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: So we're not trying to manufacture revival.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: That's up to God.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: The question we have to ask ourselves is are we ready for revival ready for us means at the personal level.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: Are we personally, individually, ready for God to do a work in our own heart, in our own soul, in our own lives?
6:02
SPEAKER_00: And as we as a community come together to commit ourselves to that, to commit ourselves to being at a personal level, God, what are you doing in my life?
6:11
SPEAKER_00: What are you doing through me?
6:13
SPEAKER_00: What do you want me to surrender to you, to give back to you?
6:16
SPEAKER_00: I think we develop a posture of being revival ready.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: If revival comes, we need to be ready for that, and we need to be on the front edge of leading that and being prepared for that.
6:28
SPEAKER_02: So when you say there's a theme, uh uh students and employees will get to hear about that every week at Chapel, is that correct?
6:34
SPEAKER_00: That's correct.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: And so Chapel all year long will carry that theme of becoming revival ready.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, and not, like I said, not preparing for some big manufactured kind of sense of of movement, but being revival ready in our own hearts.
6:49
SPEAKER_00: And I do believe that as a community, faculty, staff, students, as we commit ourselves to being revival ready, we can expect revival to happen.
6:59
SPEAKER_03: Well, it jumps back to what you said at the very outset of this uh podcast that we should all be studying in the word and pursuing our relationship with him and just asking what he has for us, what's next, what is he teaching us?
7:10
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
7:10
SPEAKER_03: Right.
7:10
SPEAKER_03: And I think that's exciting to think.
7:12
SPEAKER_03: Can we have our hearts in a spot that is ready for like, Lord, what do you want to do with my heart?
7:15
SPEAKER_03: What brokenness do you want to heal?
7:17
SPEAKER_03: What are you calling us into?
7:18
SPEAKER_03: And what do you how are you gonna move?
7:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:20
SPEAKER_03: As in our in our community and in us as individuals.
7:22
SPEAKER_03: That's that's really exciting.
7:24
SPEAKER_03: Well, believe it or not, it's been six months since you were last on the Unwavering podcast.
7:28
SPEAKER_00: Was there snow on the ground?
7:30
SPEAKER_03: Probably.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: Probably.
7:32
SPEAKER_03: That's usually right.
7:33
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
7:33
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's right.
7:35
SPEAKER_03: When you last joined us, uh, we had talked about how Northwestern's mission is driving the momentum here at Northwestern.
7:42
SPEAKER_03: And uh would you say that that momentum is still happening, is still continuing?
7:47
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: And there are days where I feel like I can't keep up with it.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: It it's moving.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: I go back to uh an important verse in the book of Colossians, Colossians 1 6, it says, all over the world, this gospel is growing and moving.
8:05
SPEAKER_00: And there's that sense for all of us that when we keep the gospel front and center in our mission, and we understand that the gospel, the gospel of grace, is what motivates us and compels us and shapes everything we do.
8:21
SPEAKER_00: The gospel transforms us at the individual level, but it transforms us at the community level, but it it compels our mission.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: And so when we keep the gospel front and center and we continue to focus on the centrality of the gospel in everything we do, that will drive momentum.
8:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we've got a lot of projects that are going on, and we've got a lot of initiatives that maybe we can talk about later that are going on, things that are just happening.
8:47
SPEAKER_00: But those aren't the most important things.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: The most important thing is that our mission, our Christ-centered mission, our commitment to loving God's word, our commitment to loving God's world is what drives uh the momentum at Northwestern.
9:01
SPEAKER_03: And I imagine that is something that is happening uh all the way with the leadership level conversations that you're having with your cabinet and the board of trustees, all the way through the departments here on campus.
9:11
SPEAKER_03: That's my hope.
9:12
SPEAKER_03: Well, one of the biggest stories over the past year has been the Amplify the Gospel campaign.
9:17
SPEAKER_03: Can you give us an update on where things stand today?
9:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
9:20
SPEAKER_00: So when we launched our vision and plan for Northwestern, the University of Northwestern and Northwestern Media, we began with a question: God, where are you taking us?
9:29
SPEAKER_00: Uh where do you want us to go?
9:31
SPEAKER_00: How do you want us to amplify the gospel?
9:35
SPEAKER_00: And so we called it that because we wanted our vision and plan to be about the gospel.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh and so uh we started with a goal of$21.55 million.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: Within a couple of months, we asked the Board of Trustees to increase that to$23.55 million.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: And so as of June 30th, just this past June 30th, we crossed over the$23.55 million mark.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: And so God provided abundantly more than all we could hope for or imagine.
10:07
SPEAKER_00: And so I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: Uh thank you to our alumni, our faculty and staff, and our students and our donors and our friends of the university and friends of Northwestern Media.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: This is a historic and incredible accomplishment.
10:22
SPEAKER_03: Wait, this is this is breaking news, right?
10:25
SPEAKER_03: Wait, so you're hearing it.
10:26
SPEAKER_03: The 23.55 million goal has been reached with pledges and gifts, correct?
10:31
SPEAKER_00: $23.55 million goal has been reached with gifts and pledges.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: Uh and here's the amazing thing.
10:38
SPEAKER_00: It was supposed to be a three-year campaign.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: And God said, How about let's just do this in two years?
10:44
SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.
10:45
SPEAKER_00: And so that is amazing that God has provided in that way.
10:47
SPEAKER_03: And now the whole amplify the gospel timeline is five years total instead of seven, right?
10:51
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: We just compressed it down.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: We're So Monty, when you ask about momentum, do we feel like the momentum is continuing?
10:59
SPEAKER_00: We feel like there are days we can't keep up with what God's doing.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: And that's what the gospel is, right?
11:04
SPEAKER_03: Like it's greater than we can imagine.
11:06
SPEAKER_03: So the Lord is moving, the the money has been raised, there's still pledges that need to be completed in that amount, I imagine, and there's still work to be done in those initiatives.
11:16
SPEAKER_03: But can you share a few highlights of things that are happening?
11:19
SPEAKER_03: Like what is that money that has been raised already doing on campus?
11:24
SPEAKER_00: So the three major initiatives that were part of this campaign began with uh a vision to launch the Classical Christian Honors College at Northwestern.
11:33
SPEAKER_00: And our vision for that is that it would eventually become 10% of our traditional undergraduate student body.
11:38
SPEAKER_00: And so this is a brand new program, it's a brand new academic program, uh, but really seizes on the growth of the classical Christian movement uh in the kindergarten through twelfth grade private school movement across the country.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: And so we felt there was a real opportunity for us to uh really return to the core liberal arts founded on a biblical worldview.
12:01
SPEAKER_00: And so we had our first cohort of 16 students last year.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: We have 32 students coming in this year.
12:09
SPEAKER_00: And so uh we're well on our way to uh to the goal of 10 percent.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: And so, yeah, that that's an incredible opportunity for us through the Classical Christian Honors College.
12:18
SPEAKER_00: We also expanded our engineering science and technology program to uh include a focus on the medical device industry.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: I think we've talked before that in this region, in this area in Minnesota, you know, medical devices are to Minnesota, what Silicon Valley is to uh to California.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: And so this is an opportunity for us to seek the peace and prosperity of the city, for our students to do research through the Northwestern Center for Innovation and Research, to work on projects directly with local uh medical device companies.
12:49
SPEAKER_00: And so it was really exciting to see our engineering program expand and grow.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: Uh we launched uh this past year a new degree, the uh Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a concentration in chemical engineering.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: So we're really growing that program as well.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: Uh the last area uh that was part of this campaign and this initiative was to expand Northwestern media.
13:11
SPEAKER_00: And our vision is that Northwestern media would become a national media enterprise.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: We believe firmly that if Billy Graham were alive today, if Billy Graham were alive today, I think he would say something like, if you're serious about the gospel, go big on media.
13:25
SPEAKER_00: And so we're committed to using every every uh media uh way that we can to amplify the gospel.
13:34
SPEAKER_03: Well, that's awesome.
13:35
SPEAKER_03: And if if those things are new to you listening that you've you've yet to hear about those initiatives, we actually had a chance to talk with uh Dr.
13:43
SPEAKER_03: Ryan Griffith from the CCHC, the clo the Christian Classical Classical Christian Honors College, um, and he talks a lot about that.
13:49
SPEAKER_03: So go back and listen to that episode with him.
13:52
SPEAKER_03: We also had um uh Dr.
13:54
SPEAKER_03: Sue Yu Tam on here to talk about the Northwestern Center for Innovation and Research and what's going on in in that part of Northwestern.
14:01
SPEAKER_03: So go check out that episode.
14:02
SPEAKER_03: And then we had Jason Sharp on here from Northwestern Media talking about all that is happening in Northwestern Media.
14:08
SPEAKER_03: So go back and hear from them all details about what are going on in those initiatives and those areas on campus.
14:14
SPEAKER_03: But um, Corbin, beyond reaching the fundraising goal and beyond what is happening in these initiatives, what do you hope this campaign represents for for Northwestern?
14:23
SPEAKER_00: You know, as we said several times, I I hope this campaign represents our commitment to amplifying the gospel.
14:32
SPEAKER_00: And that may sound simplistic, but you know, if we if we really step back and we think about our calling and our mission, if you remove the gospel, the salvation that comes to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, if you move remove that from uh who we are in our mission, we've got nothing.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: And so our hope is that this campaign, this uh the all of these initiatives would uh would expand our reach, uh, give us the ability to amplify the gospel.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: We talk a lot about Jeremiah chapter 29 and how important that is, where the prophet Jeremiah tells God's people living in Babylon to seek the peace and prosperity, to seek the shalom of the city that God's called them to live in, which in their case was Babylon.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: And so we see ourselves in that passage of Scripture where God is calling us, compelled by the gospel, to seek the peace and prosperity of the city.
15:32
SPEAKER_03: Aaron Ross Powell Well, what can you tell us about what's ahead?
15:35
SPEAKER_03: You know, uh as we look towards phase two of the Amplify the Gospel campaign, what is there anything that you can tell us about what to expect?
15:41
SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell You know, phase two is coming faster uh because uh phase one has been completed sooner, and that's exciting.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: That's exciting to feel that momentum and experience that momentum.
15:52
SPEAKER_00: And so we're uh we're we're uh making sure that we just follow in God's footsteps on that.
15:57
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna focus on a number of areas in in phase two.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: And of course, we've all heard about the Stoltz School of Business through the generosity of alumni Dan and Robin Stoltz, a historic gift to the University of Northwestern that has given us a vision for reaching the world through the marketplace.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: Uh Billy Graham actually said one point that he believed that the next major move of God in the world would be through the marketplace.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: And so through through the Stoltz School of Business, we are preparing, again, great leaders for the Great Commission who will enter the marketplace.
16:36
SPEAKER_00: Uh, we're also going to be focusing on our student experience.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: We recognize in a world that we live in today, there's a lot of options that students have on how they choose to go to college.
16:47
SPEAKER_00: That includes everything from uh free college options to community college options to no college options to places like Northwestern.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: And we believe that the excellence that God calls us to ought to be reflected in our student experience.
17:02
SPEAKER_00: So we'll be building out our student experience.
17:04
SPEAKER_00: They'll be looking at everything from like residence halls and how students live to how they build communities to chapel, kind of a comprehensive overview of our student experience.
17:14
SPEAKER_00: And then lastly, we will continue to expand uh Northwestern media.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: And God's just giving us incredible opportunities to reach the world through Northwestern media.
17:25
SPEAKER_00: So that's what's coming in phase two.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: I can't wait to hear more about those things.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
17:28
SPEAKER_02: It's very exciting.
17:29
SPEAKER_02: Um so as you're talking about students having so many options, I think people are looking for a place that's that has a mission, that has a purpose.
17:37
SPEAKER_02: And you were actually featured in Decision Magazine recently.
17:40
SPEAKER_02: I was talking about preventing mission drift.
17:43
SPEAKER_02: So can you tell us why does mission drift happen even in Christian colleges that had strong beginnings?
17:51
SPEAKER_00: Aaron Ross Powell I think this is something that we should all be concerned about.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: And we are part of an organization called the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities, the CCCU.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: And my guess would be that every every Christian college and university in the world has something going on that could contribute at some point.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: Maybe contributing now, but could contribute at some point to mission drift.
18:17
SPEAKER_00: It's something that we have to take so seriously.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: Again, it begins with the centrality of God's word in everything we do.
18:26
SPEAKER_00: When we say we are unwavering, for us that means an unwavering love for God's Word and an unwavering love for God's world.
18:35
SPEAKER_00: It begins with a high view of Scripture.
18:37
SPEAKER_00: So we say at Northwestern, we believe in the inerrancy, the infallibility, the authority, and the sufficiency of God's Word.
18:44
SPEAKER_00: That's central to everything we do.
18:47
SPEAKER_00: And so we have at times to remind ourselves of that.
18:50
SPEAKER_00: At times we have to correct ourselves on some things.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: At times we have to address those issues and have some really difficult and important conversations across the organization to say what do we truly believe and are we truly living that out?
19:07
SPEAKER_00: And so I think this is the responsibility of every president of Christian colleges and universities in America, the boards of trustees.
19:14
SPEAKER_00: And it comes down ultimately to who serves at Northwestern, who leads at Northwestern, and are we being faithful to our mission?
19:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
19:24
SPEAKER_02: Well, we've got some pretty amazing well human leaders here, but ultimately our leader in Christ is the most important.
19:33
SPEAKER_02: So have you seen any warning signs that an institution might be drifting from mission?
19:38
SPEAKER_02: Or what can we look out for in ourselves?
19:40
SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell I mentioned a moment ago that the biggest warning sign for me is what do we believe about God's word?
19:47
SPEAKER_00: If you were to reverse engineer all the formerly Christian universities and colleges in America and say, what happened?
19:56
SPEAKER_00: What happened?
19:57
SPEAKER_00: Where did they go astray?
19:58
SPEAKER_00: Why did you know the Harvards and the Yales and the Princetons of this world begin a certain way and end up a certain way?
20:05
SPEAKER_00: And that of course has happened to hundreds and hundreds of formerly Christian colleges and universities across America.
20:13
SPEAKER_00: And I think you could trace some of the shift or the drift back to a number of issues, but I think the core issue will always be to what do we gr degree do we believe that God's word is God's word?
20:27
SPEAKER_00: It is infallible, it is authoritative, it is inerrant.
20:31
SPEAKER_00: And when you begin to move away from that, that's when you begin to drift.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: When God's word becomes more of a good idea, a good recommendation.
20:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, way to develop good people.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: But is it in fact the lens through which we understand who God is and how he's working in the world?
20:52
SPEAKER_00: And do we shape our academic enterprise and our student experience enterprise through the lens of Scripture?
20:59
SPEAKER_03: Aaron Ross Powell It's interesting in that sense that we say we're unwavering in our love for God's Word, because the the reverse is also true.
21:05
SPEAKER_03: Our ability to hold to God's word is actually what allows us to be unwavering.
21:10
SPEAKER_03: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
21:11
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
21:11
SPEAKER_00: That's where it all starts.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: And when we love God's word, we will love God's world.
21:17
SPEAKER_00: God's word sends us into the world to be his light, to be his redemptive work in the world, to be his hands and feet.
21:24
SPEAKER_00: And so when we talk about preparing great leaders for the Great Commission, that's what is so central about this experience at Northwestern.
21:34
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: Almost 125 years.
21:40
SPEAKER_02: What is that?
21:42
SPEAKER_03: Qui quasi quincentennial or something like that.
21:45
SPEAKER_03: It's going to be on his shirt next year at Homecoming.
21:49
SPEAKER_02: Aaron Ross Powell For over a century.
21:50
SPEAKER_02: We've been committed to biblical truth.
21:52
SPEAKER_02: And so leaders have set up the next generations to have this clear mission in mind.
21:59
SPEAKER_02: So how is that The current leadership setting up our future generations to remain on mission?
22:05
SPEAKER_00: We talk about it every day.
22:07
SPEAKER_00: You hear me talk about it a lot on campus.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: I talk about it often with our board of trustees.
22:14
SPEAKER_00: We constantly talk about mission.
22:16
SPEAKER_00: And not just mission in the sense of what's our mission statement, but our mission in the sense of what is our ultimate calling in the world and what's the foundation for that.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: So we talk about it often.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: The number one job of the president and the board of trustees is to guard the mission.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: That's our number one job.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: And if we're not doing that, then I should be fired.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: That that's where my job ends, is if I'm not guarding the mission.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: And so I take that very, very seriously.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: The second part of that, of course, is how where are we going and where is God leading us?
22:52
SPEAKER_00: That's called vision.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and that's the other part of it.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: So guarding the mission and then um envisioning where we're headed.
22:58
SPEAKER_03: I love that.
22:59
SPEAKER_03: And I think as an alum who's here, you know, it's important to me, and we know it's important to other alums, that they want Northwestern to stay on mission and hold fast.
23:07
SPEAKER_03: And I think it's it's just great to hear it from you, yourself, as a president, that you are excited to grow Northwestern and expand its impact in the world.
23:15
SPEAKER_03: But to hear you say your number one mission is to guard the mission, I think brings a lot of encouragement.
23:20
SPEAKER_03: And uh alums and parents, whoever's listening to this, it's a great prayer request too, because that's a big responsibility for the president.
23:27
SPEAKER_03: And I know you don't do it alone, but um just we'll be praying for you and the opportunity that you serve to guard that mission and praying for your strength, people that surround you in this.
23:35
SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
23:36
SPEAKER_03: So you you've talked multiple times now about the centrality of God's word.
23:39
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
23:40
SPEAKER_03: And actually, starting next week, which here at Northwestern, next Friday, uh August 28th, is Unwavering Day on campus.
23:46
SPEAKER_03: But as part of Unwavering Week, um, we're gonna do a three-part series next week on what does it actually mean to have an unwavering love for God's word?
23:56
SPEAKER_03: What does that actually mean, more than just the phrase itself?
23:59
SPEAKER_03: And we've got three guests coming on.
24:01
SPEAKER_03: We've got Professor Anna Rask Emerson to talk about how God's word is rich.
24:05
SPEAKER_03: We have Dr.
24:06
SPEAKER_03: Michael Wise to talk about how God's word is foundational, and then Dr.
24:10
SPEAKER_03: Robin Bell to talk about how God's word is alive.
24:14
SPEAKER_03: But for you, before we get there, I'd like to ask you, Dr.
24:16
SPEAKER_03: Hornbeek, do you have a favorite passage of scripture or one that's been especially meaningful meaningful for you in your life?
24:22
SPEAKER_00: I I do.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: And so I've I've you know talked earlier about Colossians 1.6, which which describes you know Paul's saying to uh the church in Colossae, all over the world this gospel is growing and bearing fruit.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: It you can't help it.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: That's the nature of the gospel is to grow and move.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: Uh but for me, Colossians 2.6 uh has always been a foundational passage for me.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: And it says, so then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
25:01
SPEAKER_00: To me, that verse captures the essence of the Christian life that our responsibility, our opportunity, what God invites us into is a place to be rooted and growing and bearing fruit.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: If we want the see the gospel bearing fruit all over the world, it begins with us individually.
25:19
SPEAKER_03: And how have you seen that text specifically impact you throughout your life, through the different seasons of life and through the years that you've experienced?
25:28
SPEAKER_00: You know, I've read a lot over the years on the spiritual disciplines, and I and I love using the model of the spiritual disciplines to shape my own approach to the study of scripture, to time in the word on a daily basis, to developing a love for uh being up early in the morning and having time in the word, time in prayer.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, to be rooted and grounded means that you actually have to do the work.
25:54
SPEAKER_00: You have to you have to tend the field.
25:56
SPEAKER_00: And so being rooted and grounded in God's Word is something that you know we we begin with uh every day.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: Some people do it at night, I do it in the morning.
26:06
SPEAKER_00: Well, casting it.
26:06
SPEAKER_00: Sleeping in the morning for me.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: Casting lost money.
26:09
SPEAKER_00: It's the worst.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: Uh long long ago I I prayed that God would give me the gift of sleeping in, and uh and he said uh to me, this is a thorn in your side that I will not remove.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm I'm I'm an early morning person.
26:24
SPEAKER_02: Oh sometimes God says no.
26:26
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
26:26
SPEAKER_03: He said to me, I'm giving you children.
26:29
SPEAKER_03: And that was the end of sleeping in.
26:30
SPEAKER_03: That's all right.
26:31
SPEAKER_03: I love what you're saying about rooted.
26:32
SPEAKER_03: We uh I just had a conversation with Alum recently, we talked about that, and he said, part of being rooted is that when the hard seasons of life come, the roots actually go deeper.
26:43
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, they do.
26:43
SPEAKER_03: You know, to look for that water.
26:45
SPEAKER_03: And I think that's a it's a good encouragement too.
26:47
SPEAKER_03: Well, you've kind of already hinted at this, but maybe we can just ask you it one more time.
26:50
SPEAKER_03: But why is it why is it so important that Northwestern graduates leave not just with a knowledge of scripture, but a genuine love for God's Word?
26:59
SPEAKER_00: Aaron Ross Powell Because we want them to have a love for God's world.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: And we want them to have a deep and authentic love for God's world.
27:09
SPEAKER_00: And that can only happen if they've begun with the centrality of scripture in their life.
27:16
SPEAKER_00: And I I I say it this way: if you love God's word but you don't love God's world, that's a problem.
27:24
SPEAKER_00: If you love God's world, but you don't love God's world, that's also a problem.
27:29
SPEAKER_00: And so the two have to have to work together.
27:33
SPEAKER_00: God's word compels us, it moves us, and it sends us to be his light, his hands, and his feet in a dark world.
27:42
SPEAKER_03: You know, I've heard you in this conversation say a phrase that I haven't heard you say before, but you've said it multiple times this morning.
27:48
SPEAKER_03: Great leaders for the Great Commission.
27:50
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
27:51
SPEAKER_03: Where did that come from and why is it so present on your heart and your mind right now?
27:56
SPEAKER_00: Uh that has come from a lot of thinking about what's important and central to our mission.
28:02
SPEAKER_00: And you know, we oftentimes will say things like, well, our mission is Christian higher education, and that's our vehicle for our mission.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: But our vis our mission is the Great Commission.
28:13
SPEAKER_00: That's our mission.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: Our mission is the Great Commission.
28:17
SPEAKER_00: And so how will we fulfill the Great Commission?
28:19
SPEAKER_00: We'll fulfill it by preparing great leaders for the Great Commission.
28:23
SPEAKER_00: Christian higher education is our vehicle for doing that.
28:26
SPEAKER_00: And so this entire experience at the University of Northwestern has to be f shaped around preparing great leaders for the Great Commission.
28:34
SPEAKER_02: Our mission is the commission.
28:36
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna put that on the t-shirt as well.
28:38
SPEAKER_03: Well, and I just I I'm glad that the Northwestern education as a vehicle is better than the vehicle that I currently drive.
28:44
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
28:44
SPEAKER_03: You know.
28:45
SPEAKER_03: They all break down.
28:46
SPEAKER_00: They except this one.
28:47
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
28:49
SPEAKER_02: Oh well, as we wrap up this new we're wrapping up talking about a new school year.
28:54
SPEAKER_02: Um as we think about it, how can alums and friends of Northwestern be praying for the year, be praying for you, the students?
29:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: You know, we said earlier that our theme for the year is revival ready.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: And that would be our big prayer request.
29:09
SPEAKER_00: Not that not that we are praying, you know, to try to manufacture some kind of revival, but pray for us to be revival ready.
29:19
SPEAKER_00: Pray for the Board of Trustees, for me, for President's Cabinet, for every faculty and every staff member at Northwestern, for every student to have their hearts softened, opened, and ready for God to do a work in us individual and ready for God to bring revival to this world because we need it.
29:39
SPEAKER_03: Well, and let's let's close this launching episode with prayer.
29:42
SPEAKER_03: Let's do it.
29:43
SPEAKER_03: And so for you listening to this, if you're driving, like we like to say when we're out on this podcast and praying together, keep your eyes open.
29:50
SPEAKER_03: But if you're sitting with us, you can keep praying with us too.
29:52
SPEAKER_03: But Lord, thank you so much that we we have the chance to be here at Northwestern and thank you for our listeners, the opportunities that that they have in front of them today, wherever their feet are, wherever you have them right now.
30:02
SPEAKER_03: Lord, I pray for listeners and I pray for students and staff and faculty here at Northwestern, Lord, that we would be revival ready.
30:08
SPEAKER_03: Lord, that you would start a work in our heart that opens us up to what you're doing in our life, gets us ready to face maybe brokenness, it gets us ready to look right at what you're calling us to with courage and bravery, and it gets ready for us to have a deeper love for your word.
30:24
SPEAKER_03: We need your spirit to have a deeper love for your word, uh, which will, we pray, Lord, lead to a greater love for this world.
30:30
SPEAKER_03: So thank you, Lord, for the opportunity we have.
30:32
SPEAKER_03: And uh, Lord, I just pray for everyone who's listening to this as they go from here today.
30:36
SPEAKER_03: In your name.
30:37
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
30:38
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
30:38
SPEAKER_03: Well, President Hornbig, thank you for joining us again.
30:41
SPEAKER_00: Monty, Cassie, thank you so much for having me.
30:43
SPEAKER_00: We'll do it again, I hope.
30:44
SPEAKER_02: We will.
30:45
SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
30:45
SPEAKER_00: Go, Eagles.
30:46
SPEAKER_00: Hold it up to your promises.
30:49
SPEAKER_00: Hold it up to your promises.
30:52
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening.
30:53
SPEAKER_01: To hear more, subscribe and leave a rating wherever you listen.
30:56
SPEAKER_01: And if you know an alum, faculty member, staff, or student of Northwestern doing amazing things out in the world, let us know at alumni at unwsp.edu, the unwavering podcast, highlighting the people, the purpose, and the pulse of Northwestern.