This time with guest speaker Phaedrus! Except not really...
In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the narrator talks about his "ghost" (to put it semi-simply), who at one point became frustrated with his university. The people weren't understanding the point of the school or what would happen if they were de-accredited. Phaedrus tries to explain it by example of a bar occupying the building a church once occupied. The building itself was no longer the church. As Lecrae puts it, "she [the church] ain't just bricks and buildings, she's all of God's people: men, women, and children." Similarly, a university shouldn't be defined by the buildings and class schedules. It consists of the people and the spirit behind it all, the desire, need for, and suppliance of education. At JBU, this has another dynamic: we want everything to be centered around Jesus. Thus, the "real university" isn't the Walker student center, or the cathedral, or even the campus area... it's the people and why they're here. We could all pack up and relocate, but if everyone was together and still seeking the same thing, with the same leadership & history & guiding principles, we could still refer to ourselves as JBU.
This makes me wonder about how much I respect the institution. I mean, i think I owe JBU more respect than I give it-- by doing my work more faithfully, maybe, and taking it more seriously? ugh. that's not a fun thought. just bein' honest, guys.... I don't like work. I guess i might be human or something. #gonnaworkonthat
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