Campolo College of Graduate and Professional Studies Eastern University Mission Statement

Eastern is a Christian university of the arts and sciences dedicated through teaching, scholarship, service, spiritual formation, student development and societal involvement to the preparation of undergraduate and graduate students for thoughtful and productive lives of Christian faith and service. We achieve our mission when our students develop a Christian world view; sharpen their understanding and skills of critical thinking, reflection, analysis and communication; demonstrate knowledge and competencies in the liberal arts, the natural and social sciences and their major fields of study; experience genuine Christian community in a supportive environment which enables personal and spiritual growth; participate in opportunities for meaningful service; and grow in their love of God and neighbors. The foundational assumptions with which we approach our tasks are: Our Commitment To Scholarship And Teaching We believe in the unity of God's truth, whether supernaturally revealed or humanly discovered, and we value the search for knowledge and understanding in all areas of life. We are guided by our faith in Jesus Christ who is "The way, the truth and the life." As an educational community we seek to develop leadership and innovation, sound scholarship, original research and publications, and appropriate relevance as we maintain a high priority on excellence in teaching. We value highly the integration of Christian faith and learning in all academic disciplines and in the development of a Christian worldview. Our Commitment To Scripture We recognize the Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, as inspired of God and as the supreme and final authority in faith and life. We submit ourselves to carrying out our mission under its authority and seek to apply biblical principles to all facets of human aspiration and action. Our Commitment To The Church We affirm our conviction that the Church of Jesus Christ, as a visible community of believers inclusive of persons of all cultures, races and nationalities, is central to faithful obedience in living the Christian life and advancing the work of the Gospel. We highly value our established relationship with the American Baptist Churches in the USA. We seek to maintain and strengthen this relationship while we also serve the larger Church in ways appropriate to our mission.

Our Commitment To Evangelism We affirm the importance of calling all persons in this country and around the world to personal faith and faithful discipleship in following Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We intend for every student to have a meaningful and appropriate opportunity to hear and respond to the call for repentance, faith and obedience to Jesus Christ. Our Commitment To Justice We acknowledge with sorrow the brokenness of the world at personal, national, and international levels, and we seek to work for justice, reconciliation and Christian transformation in all arenas of life. We particularly seek to work with and for poor, oppressed and suffering persons as part of our Christian discipleship. As part of this commitment, we seek to provide educational opportunities and financial resources to attend a private Christian college. Our Commitment To The World We affirm that Christ calls us to concern, understanding and involvement in the world, both near at hand in Philadelphia and the Main Line, and to far distant places around the globe. This includes work done in various careers and in volunteer service, in traditional Christian missions and in newly emerging forms of Christian service in a globally interdependent world. We seek to encourage each other as "ambassadors for Christ" and "agents of reconciliation" in a world torn apart by conflict and bound together throughout the world but also for the earth itself as responsible stewards of the environment and other physical resources. Our Commitment To Community We believe that the way in which we live and work together is important in fulfilling our mission. We desire a campus community of students and faculty, staff and administration which embodies values of caring and compassion, justice and integrity, competence and affirmation. We want to encourage the holistic development of our students intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. We value faculty-student ratios which facilitate personal and mentoring relationships. We seek an inclusive student body, faculty, staff and Board. We seek to treat each member of the campus community with fairness, dignity and respect seeking a spirit of unity and harmony as we join together to achieve our common mission. (Adopted unanimously by the Board of Trustees of Eastern University, September 29, 1989)

EASTERN UNIVERSITY DOCTRINAL STATEMENT

Please demonstrate your affirmation of the Eastern University Doctrinal Statement by signing and returning this form with your employment contract. The following is the doctrinal basis of the University (from the by-laws): SECTION I We believe that the Bible, composed of Old and New Testaments, is inspired by God and serves as the rule of faith and practice, being the authoritative witness to the truth of God embodied in Jesus Christ. We believe in one God eternally existing as Three Persons. o We believe in God the Creator, author of all life and our salvation. We believe that God created human beings, male and female, in the image of God as an expression of Gods eternal love, to live in Gods perfect will. As such, human beings are called to be faithful stewards of Gods creation and to live in relations with God, each other, and the created world. o We believe in God the Spirit, Lord and giver of life, who reveals Jesus Christ to human beings to transform them through conversion and sanctification to full humanity as willed by the Creator. o We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is truly God and truly human. We believe that he lived a fully human life as Jesus of Nazareth, who walked with us, ministered to us, and proclaimed the Reign of God. Because human beings sinned and suffered the penalty of death, we further believe in the life and death of the Lord for our sins, in the resurrection of his body, in his ascension to heaven, and in his personal and visible future return to the earth. We believe that our salvation is received through faith by grace through Jesus Christ, the only and sufficient mediator between God and humanity. We believe that Jesus Christ commanded us to be baptized and to partake of the Supper in his name. o We believe that baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, signifying redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ together with the believers death to sin and resurrection to newness of life. o We believe that the Lords Supper is a commemoration of the Lords death until he returns. We believe that the Church is Jesus Christs body on earth, called to witness and proclaim the good news of Gods Reign and salvation to the world. The Church consists of believers, called by Jesus Christ to worship God, serve one another in a spirit of love and truth, and to proclaim Gods Reignnot only through word, but also through deeds of love and justice. As a witness to the Reign of God, the Church embodies Gods will to be one in diversity, to care for the least of these, and to proclaim hope. Therefore, the Church is a light unto the world at all times and in all places. SECTION II Every member of the Board of Trustees, every administrative officer of the Institution, professor, teacher, and instructor shall annually subscribe over his or her signature to the Doctrinal Statement, excepting only that a non-Baptist individual occupying any of the foregoing positions shall not be required to subscribe to that part of the Doctrinal Statement regarding the mode of water baptism. SECTION III Whenever a member of the Board of Trustees, administrative officer, professor, teacher or instructor is not in complete accord with the foregoing Doctrinal Statement, he or she shall forthwith withdraw from all connections with the University, and his or her failure to do so shall constitute grounds for immediate removal from such positions by the Trustees. ____________________________________________________ Signature ______________________ Date

EASTERN UNIVERSITY GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE FAITH STATEMENTS

One of the most strategic decisions an educational institution makes is the appointment of those who will teach and mentor its students. We believe that, faculty who inspire, invoke, confront and stretch minds are at the center of the educational process. The work that unfolds in and out of the classroom, with care and competence is unlimited in its potential. The process for recruiting and appointment of faculty has been carefully designed with each step in the process of critical importance. We believe the statements of candidates relative to their response to Easterns foundational documents are deemed critical to hiring decisions. Also, requests for current resumes and official transcripts are essential to determining the candidates qualifications for a particular teaching assignment. Please respond below to the three statements, which will be used in evaluating your candidacy.

1. Please indicate how you came to faith in Christ along with your current spiritual pilgrimage and your present involvement in the Christian community. 2. Describe how you integrate your Christian faith (beliefs, values, ethics) with your academic/professional discipline.

3. After reading the universitys mission statement (found at Easterns website:

http://eastern.edu/welcome/missionstatement.html) and doctrinal statement, (http://www.eastern.edu/welcome/doctrinalstatement.html), indicate your response to them and whether or not you can enthusiastically support the mission of Eastern University. You may wish to review the Foundational Assumptions found following the mission statement to better understand our approach to our mission. A simple statement of I agree with the mission, or I support the mission is not an adequate answer.

Explanation of Eastern Universitys Essay Requirements for Faculty Status: 1. The language in the personal faith statement might appear a bit confusing. What Eastern University seeks is simply a short narrative of your pilgrimage as a disciple of Jesus Christ. For Roman Catholic folk, this would be a short description of your Christian faith pilgrimage after your baptism. How are you growing and developing? Are there key growth points or memorable experiences in your relationship with Christ? How has your faith been nourished and cultivated over the years? Have there been particular Christian service organizations you have been involved with? 2. The statement of theological integration is a tough project for everyone. Eastern University is basically interested in how your Christian faith informs, under girds, and connects with your practice of your particular discipline. That is to say, are Christian faith and knowledge connected to the theory and practice of economic development? Human resources? In what way? How would a Christian world-view connect with or inform our understanding of these and other disciplines or fields of study and practice? 3. As for a written response to Easterns doctrinal statement, Eastern is simply concerned that those who teach for Eastern can affirm their adherence to classical, Christian orthodoxy. You might find Dr. Halls explanation of the statement helpful. Explanation of Easterns Doctrinal Statement: Doctrinal statements can be tricky affairs, particularly it seems, when Eastern employees are asked to sign a statement of faith when joining the faculty, staff, and administration of Eastern University. So best from the beginning to explain carefully what Eastern does and does not mean by the introduction to its statement of faith and by that statement itself. We begin with the latter. Eastern's doctrinal statement is a clear, basic listing of the heart of the Christian faith. There is nothing in this statement -- apart from its specific Baptist understanding of the nature of the Lord's Supper, and baptism and its mode -- that is new, unique, or different from what Christian folk have believed for centuries. Commitment to the authority of the Bible, the reality of the supernatural work of God in Christ and God's continuing supernatural activity today, the Trinity, the Incarnation, the personal nature of the Holy Spirit, the vicarious death of Christ, his bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, and future personal return to earth is standard, historic Christian belief. The doctrinal statement of the University under girds its entire life -- both in the classroom and out -- specifically because Eastern understands itself to be a Christian University. Because of the key role faculty members play in the life of the University, they are asked to sign the statement of faith on a yearly basis. This yearly, public affirmation of Christian faith communicates to the faculty and to the student body what we are about: We are a Christian University, dedicated to the life of the mind, teaching and living in community in the light of our Christian faith. Some confusion might result from the introduction to the doctrinal statement. There we read that, "Eastern is committed to an evangelical and theologically conservative position and is dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ." The words "evangelical" and "theologically conservative" are occasionally misunderstood. A word or two about each might prove helpful. "Evangelical" can best be summed up in three key emphases: 1. An "evangelical" position affirms the divine inspiration of the Holy Scripture and its supreme authority over the life of the Christian, the church, -- and in the case of Eastern -- over the life of the University. That is to say, an "evangelical" would affirm that once the meaning of the Bible

on a given doctrine or issue is understood, the Christian community is called to obedience. The Bible possesses an inherent authority over the community, specifically because of its divine inspiration. When it speaks, God speaks. 2. An "evangelical" position affirms the importance of a personal commitment to Jesus Christ through faith. Or, as the doctrinal statement phrases it, the University affirms "that salvation is received only through faith in Him." 3. An "evangelical" position affirms the importance of evangelism and mission to the broader world. "Theologically conservative" requires some unpacking. We begin by emphasizing what "theologically conservative" doesn't mean. "Theologically conservative" is not a political statement. "Theologically conservative" people can be found across the political spectrum and such is the case at Eastern University. "Theologically conservative" does mean that Eastern University is concerned to preserve a Christian orthodox perspective. We belief that the core of the Christian faith -- Christ has come, Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again -- has been faithfully passed down through the years by the Christian community and that we are called by Christ to preserve faithfully that gift and heritage. While the University rejoices in its Baptist heritage, faculty, administration, and staff come from across the Christian spectrum -- Baptist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Roman Catholic, Independent, Eastern Orthodox, Methodist, Assembly of God. What binds us together is our commitment by faith to the person and work of Christ and to the authority of Scripture over the life of the community. Within these boundaries we experience great freedom and rejoice in that liberty. Indeed, the diversity we experience in our community feeds our life and expands our horizons. Dr. Christopher Hall Chancellor Eastern University