Personal Faith in the Public Arena

On Sunday, May 2oth, Sean Keeler reported in the Des Moines Register that new Iowa State Head Football Coach Gene Chizik told a group that he was seeking a full-time Chaplin for the football team.

Keeler also reported that Athletic Director Jamie Pollard supported Chizik. Pollard also was quoted as saying that the Chaplin's counsel "will be provided to only those who desire it, by an outside agency, not a state employee." Further, Pollard said that "The position is being completely funded by donations made by private individuals."

The Des Moines Register's Sean Keeler then wrote, "You have to be careful. Faith, to many folks, is a very personal thing. Iowa State is a very public institution."

What Keeler does not understand is a concept taught to me by Doug Cecil, who headed the Alumni Office at Dallas Seminary (www.dts.edu) until recently. Cecil helped me to understand, and better be able to communicate that a Christian's faith is personal--but it is not private.

My faith or your faith or the faith of your forefathers is indeed a personal possession acquired through individual trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is not a group or family possession. And the stories of how different individuals came to accept and own that faith is as varied as can be. How you got to that place in your journey is indeed personal. It is not private.

If you have that personal faith, you are called to be a witness to that fact. In the Bible, Jesus tells those who have that personal faith, "You will be my witnesses..." Being a witness means to testify to what you have seen, experienced, or know to be true. If you have a personal faith in Jesus, it cannot be private.

I would hope that more writers would come to understand the semantic difference between personal and private. I also hope that more witnesses would be encouraged to share their personal faith in the public arena.