Around 30 students gathered in the Collegium Thursday night to hear three fellow Biola students share why they should be elected to the position of SMU president for the 2011-2012 school year. Current SMU president Luke Payton led the discussion, asking incisive questions which pushed the candidates to further define themselves and their campaigns. The pleasantly crackling gas fireplace was not the only thing bringing the heat, but the overall tone of the evening was friendly and encouraging.

Changes of plans led candidates to current position

A common thread running between all three of the SMU presidential candidates was that of God changing their plans and their goals. Junior ICS major Brian S. originally came to Biola as an engineering major and said he was confused about what God wanted him to until his heart was broken over his own pride. He now desires to be a long-term missionary. Chris Johnson, a junior ICS and Biblical Studies double major originally intended to pursue a career in medicine, but is now being steered towards the continent of Africa and has a heart for pastoral ministry.
Junior Thilini De Visser shared that her original intention was to come to the U.S. only long enough to get her psychology degree and then return to her home country of Sri Lanka to help her people, but that her perspective has changed.

“God started breaking my heart for the people of this country,” De Visser said. “I have been so blessed by coming to this culture and I want to be able to bless people here the same way.”

Embracing a cross-cultural perspective

De Visser’s campaign platform – “A Different Point of View” – is both a personal lesson learned and a vision in process for the Biola community. As one who has been both blessed and at times offended by Western missionaries, De Visser said she brings a “receiver’s perspective” to the job. Her goal is to raise cultural awareness on campus, highlighting both the brokenness and the beauty of other places, and helping challenge people with other worldviews.

“I come here out of sheer brokenness and weakness and it is the Lord who has given me the vision,” she said.

Payton challenged De Visser to consider how she would bring her different perspective to bear on SMU in practical ways as president, a position which involves mostly delegation. De Visser said she would choose staff members who have had cross-cultural experiences, would encourage international students to get involved, and would infuse the campus with cultural events which will help Biola students stretch their view of the world.

Seeking God in the here and now

Relevant to any discussion involving the Student Missionary Union is what it essentially means to be a missionary.

Brian said his vision is to encourage students to seek God in the here and now. Most Biola students won’t be able to experience cross-cultural missions during their college career, Brian said, despite President Corey recently stating this as one of his objectives.

“How do we still seek God in missions here and now?” Brian asked.

Brian emphasized the incredible opportunity SMU has to impact students in profound ways in the four years they are on campus, and not only through the limited number of two-week short-term trips that are sent out every year. Discipleship, Brian said, is the key since it is a personal love for Christ that leads into missions.

Brian’s slogan “His kingdom, your SMU” aims to stir student initiative and communicate the freedom inherent in every person serving God with their unique major and talents. Since he defined the main job of the SMU president as investing in the staff who will then go out into the campus and the world, Brian said he will bring “people of specialty” onto SMU staff and seek to enable them to fulfill the Great Commission through their positions.

“I want to see discipleship that leads to vision,” Brian said.

Payton challenged Brian not to let his desire to empower students to follow their dreams come at the expense of fulfilling the Great Commission in their lives, a point Brian met with a restatement of his goal to disciple people by meeting them were they are in their journey and covering the entire process in prayer.

People over programs

Keeping the focus on the Great Commission’s call to make disciples should be the central role SMU plays in the Biola community, Johnson said, sharing his dream to see Biola become more unified as the body of Christ.

“The Lord’s given me a vision for something bigger than short term missions, and even the missions genre which can become a label,” he explained.

Johnson’s slogan “We are the Movement” captures his desire to see students with revival on their hearts and a passion for God even before missions. Johnson emphasized putting people above programs, and encouraging better communication for greater kingdom effectiveness.
Johnson said he sees a disconnect between campus ministries and SMU, and is already meeting with various groups to discuss the problem and how to overcome it. He envisions returning to Biola in five years to see a campus network of leaders connecting, working and praying together.

Johnson said would count that as success, and work towards that goal even if he is not elected president. Both of the other candidates expressed that they will be satisfied with any outcome in the election and will continue to carry out their visions in their personal spheres of influence.

Student response to the evening

Laura Gifford, a fourth year nursing major, said the evening was helpful as she tried to decide who to vote for. “I didn’t come in with specific questions, I just wanted to further hear their hearts and this was a great platform for that,” she said. Gifford, who knew two of the candidates already, said the discussion helped her reach a decision about voting.

Senior elementary education major Taisik Lew said he has been unsure who to vote for since the campaign week began, but that the evening was “definitely clarifying about the characters of the three leaders, what they’re aiming for and where their hearts are.”

Lew said he sees each platform as very distinct, and that each candidate brings very different experiences and skills to offer. “I believe they’re all focused on the Lord, but their approaches are different and they’re different as people,” he said.

The evening cleared up confusion for Lew, who said that he had pretty much made a decision about his vote.