It seems we all like new things. We buy new cars, new homes, new clothes. Even in Christ, God has made us “new” creatures (2 Cor. 5:17). This past May, I was blessed to witness the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Talbot buildings.
I was amazed to hear of the fasting and prayer, along with all the hard work and dedication it took to raise so much money in so little time to begin construction on this new, and much needed, facility for the graduate students of Talbot. The price tag on this monumental project? A whopping 55.4 million.
I’ve seen the scale model of what the new buildings will look like, and the CGI animation of the complex found on the Biola website. It’s truly an exciting time to be a new Talbot student–– we will be able to see and utilize both Talbot East and West within the near future. But in the back of my mind, after hearing about all the money raised and the cost of the project, I kept wondering, “what about the students?”
While I have no problem with the purpose for this building project, I can’t help but wonder if we are missing the mark by spending more on the buildings than we are on the people who will occupy the buildings. What good will it do to have these wonderful new buildings, but not enough students to fill them? After thinking about this and looking at some facts and figures, I was quite disturbed by what I found.
Most of us who attend Talbot are in dire financial straits. We’re barely hanging on, despite scholarships, grants, loans putting us in debt for years to come, and money made from hard work. Some are forced to quit school for a while and return after they’ve come up with enough money to continue attending classes. Many may have had to drop out altogether and find less expensive, unaccredited schools to attend. This process can be heartbreaking.
I’m in the Masters of Divinity program at Talbot. This program, excluding food, housing and school supplies, costs roughly $42,000 to complete. Yet, the money proposed for the new Talbot buildings ($55 million) could have been used to pay for the entire tuition of about 1,309 students! When I realized this, I was taken aback. I could not help but think that perhaps our priorities are, to say the least, a little out of order.
While I realize and can appreciate the need for new buildings, I also realize the greater need for Spirit-filled, spiritually mature and well-educated ministers of the Gospel in this time of rising atheism, skepticism and apostasy. Now, more than ever, we need to be thoroughly equipped to deal with an increasingly Biblically illiterate culture. I can think of no better place to become so equipped than Talbot School of Theology.
The new Talbot buildings are a wonderful and needed blessing to the Biola community. I welcome the improvements and the enhanced ability for the professors to teach and for us as students to learn. However, my heart’s desire is to challenge the Talbot community and administration to put as much effort into raising funds for the people who will be trained in the buildings as they did for amassing funds for the brick, mortar, steel and concrete.
The buildings are temporal and will ultimately rust, break down, and fall. But, if we can prioritize our efforts to help people attend and graduate, this will have eternal and lasting significance long after the buildings have faded into dust. Let’s break new ground now for the heart and soul of ministry—the people.
