Kerux: a portfolio of Calvin Theological Seminary - Volume 41.2 - 6 October 2006

Right idea, wrong execution

Service Learning Day addresses some problems, creates others

by Kevin C. Vande Streek, Contributing Editor

Calvin Theological Seminary held its annual Service Learning Day last Thursday, Sept. 28. Service Learning Day is an opportunity for students to do acts of service for ministries in downtown Grand Rapids. In reflecting on my experiences from that day, I have come to believe that Service Learning "Day" is too limited a format for promoting a ministry of service at CTS.

The day began with a focus on educational awareness. For this, there was a video shown on the topic of racial and economic awareness, as well as a stirring personal testimony given by Laura Carpenter. However, an hour is far too limited an amount of time to do much with such hefty topics as racial and economic awareness. This material needs to be more fully addressed throughout the whole of the CTS curriculum.

Another indication of the limitations of Service Learning Day is the amount of time that we students actually spent "serving." After a morning chapel service, students took buses to their sites, arriving around 11:00 a.m. After a brief tour, an introduction to the ministry, delegation of duties, and a proper setup, it was close to 11:30. Lunch was eaten from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m, and by 2:45 or 3:00 p.m., it was time for cleaning up, debriefing, and travel back to campus. The total amount of time spent serving was around three hours; hardly a Service Learning "Day".

Frustration over the short duration of actual time spent "serving" was a reoccurring theme with students. "The day seemed so artificial, so fake, because it was so short," said one student. "We cancelled all our classes, went to a really long chapel service and so on, for such a short amount of service?" said another.

This attitude among students seemed to arise from an understanding that service is an important need in ministry. Not having the means to fulfill that need produces frustration. There were remarks from students to the effect that the ministries students worked with on Service Learning Day "did all they could to enable us to do service; I'm just upset that I couldn't do more."

It is important to note that this frustration is not a disagreement with the motivations behind Service Learning Day, but rather a disagreement with the way that service was implemented. What can be clearly heard in these comments is a sentiment that Service Learning Day is far too limited of a venue in which to adequately learn the spiritual discipline of service.

At the same time, working for twelve hours instead of three would have made no difference in the merit of Service Learning Day. The issue is not how many hours students spent working, but rather a concern that there is only one Service Learning Day throughout the course of the academic year.

Because of these things, Service Learning Day actually creates more problems than it seeks to serve. Doing acts of service for people of different ethnicities, for instance, creates a ripe environment for a "savior" complex. Furthermore, there is a greater chance for misunderstandings and resentment to occur both on the part of the servant and the served.

We, the Calvin Theological Seminary community, are sending a very poor message when we do acts of service for only three hours one day a year. This is clearly an inconsistency in our lives and ministry: we talk about service being important, yet we don't really do it. If CTS is really committed to teaching students how to love and serve God by using "head, heart, and hands," then service needs to become a disciplined routine in the life of students.

To those who would argue that using your "hands" is really the place of the church, and therefore should not be an overt part of the CTS curriculum, I respond that if that were true, CTS should simply focus on developing the "head and heart" of its students. "I understand the importance of service, which is why I already work in a church for countless hours a week," said one student who participated in Service Learning Day. I understand where this student is coming from and praise God that he is doing work in a church community. Yet there is a fundamental difference between working or doing field education in a church and doing acts of manual labor at a local ministry. One is within the church, while the other is an extension of the church in the world.

The seminary would be better off reforming Service Learning Day or dropping it completely. If CTS really is "always reforming" and truly does want to emphasize the importance of service as being "head, heart, and hands," then this emphasis needs to be worked into the overall curriculum. Service days once a month for seven to eight hours at a time in the same location would be a good place to start. If this were done, students would be able to invest more into their experience and, more importantly, into the lives of those they are serving. It would create a much richer opportunity for service to become a part of the student's life. To be sure, this scenario would generate its own problems, such as the overworking of students. Then again, dealing with one issue and all of its related effects is what it means to be "always reforming."

If Service Learning Day cannot be changed in the near future (say the next two to three years), then it should be dropped from the CTS experience. The current Service Learning Day is a good starting point, and the motivation behind it is sorely needed, but to maintain it the way it is now would be an embarrassment.

We are not called to serve once in a while, nor are we called to serve with high praise; we are called to do much more. It's time to start serving like it.