The Five Pillars

Dr. Charles Corwin

(2014.04)

The “Five Pillars” of a Tyrannus Hall are the five activities that define every Tyrannus Hall. They are the activities around which the discipling community gathers on a regular basis, usually weekly if not more frequently. These Five Pillars are (1) student-led devotions, (2) physical fitness, (3) outreach, (4) academic excellence and (5) theological lectures.

Pillar 1: Student-led Devotions

The historical roots of student-led devotions go back to the 19th-century student-band movement in Japan when young men gathered in dormitories, read scripture out loud to each other, then discussed certain passages. At that time there were virtually no Protestant pastors in Japan, only missionaries. And often those missionaries were not clergy but laymen like William S. Clark, former president of Massachusetts State College of Agriculture, invited by the Japan government to found an agricultural college in Hokkaido. Clark was an evangelical Christian. He only stayed 9 months, but his impact on Japan continues to this day, because of the students he brought to Christ. After Clark left, his students gathered by themselves in a storeroom of the college, sat on barrels, read scripture then commented upon it. They formed the so-called Sapporo Band and later became leaders in the New Japan, one of whose faces (Inzao Nitobe) was engraved on the Japanese 5000 yen bill until recently.

A propensity in Indian Halls today is to have the discipler lead devotions, not students. Halls slip into this pattern because committees feel students are untrained and simply do not know how to lead. Fair enough. But this merely perpetuates dependency upon clergy for spiritual nourishment.

The goal of TH devotions is first of all to begin each day "devoting" ourselves to God. The historic church calendar places great emphasis upon morning. That is when the resurrection occurred, and morning signifies light out of darkness. But there is no law against other times of the day, like evening. Even now I sit at this computer writing this before my own devotions because I want to get this off to you in time before you leave next week. Some days so overwhelm us we have to start the day running.

The important thing is that devotions be led by students themselves. They learn by searching commentaries for meaning, then leading a Bible study. Freshers have a hard time, that is why they are chosen last in the list to lead so they can get the feel of how devotions should be held.

Student leadership of devotions will not just happen. At the beginning of each semester, a student director of devotions is chosen by students themselves. He has the responsibility of picking the Bible book to be studied that semester and making assignments which are put on a list for everyone to see. That way a new student can see which scripture portion is to be read his morning, and ahead of time consult commentaries to develop a short homily. If he chooses to illustrate a point with anecdotes, make sure such anecdotes are personal, not about someone outside the room, and that the illustration does elucidate the passage. We've had boys in Tokyo talk about their grandmother tripping over a cat, but no one could see what that had to do with the passage before us. Illustrations should be like windows--not to fall out of to another subject, but through which we see the passage more clearly.

Student-led devotions have risks. For a while in Japan we called them "nebotions" "Nebo" is a word that means "sleep in." Students would doze while one of them rambled on and on. The first year is painful, 2nd year a bit better. By the 3rd year you'll find they get asked to lead devotions on campus at EU or in their churches. Why? They've gotten confidence.

Of course, the discipler should lead devotions at least once a week, to share thoughts about student life in TH and also be a model. But the rest of the devotions he should attend, and when a student does poorly, meet with him afterwards, asking "What was your point? What relation did your scripture reading have with your theme?"

A few points of caution. By trial and error we have found that three times a week is about right. The other days, encourage students to have private devotions. Thirty minutes is ample time; this should include a hymn sung and prayer. Have a timekeeper remind the leader 5 minutes before time is up. One more point of caution. The discipler or prefect gives announcements after devotions, and often they are negative, "You left the bathroom a mess, etc." Resist the temptation to do this; it spoils the point the devotions leader was trying to make. Make announcements at mealtimes.

Pillar 2: Physical Fitness

Physical fitness in the Hall context has two components: regular physical exercise and personal hygiene.

 (1) Regular physical exercise should be easiest to carry out because it is fun, but it actually becomes the most difficult in Asia because of the cultural propensity to devalue the body. Hinduism and its offspring Buddhism devote much emphasis upon emancipation from the body. The Greek cultural matrix of Christianity placed body and soul in conflict, hence it was difficult to teach bodily resurrection and produce symbols that dignify the body. But the New Testament is perfectly clear. The resurrected Christ was not a spirit but a body. The stress by Saphir Athyal at UBS in Yeotmal that physical fitness be as important as good academics was right on target. We too in the Halls must keep a solid balance between academic and physical fitness.

But this will not happen unless there is a structure. That structure begins with electing a sports chairman among students (usually a sportsman himself). He then determines the resources for student sports. If there is a soccer field open nearby, he then gets a soccer ball with needle and pump (they always lose air pressure). But that is not enough. He then fixes afternoons when most students are available and then schedules a soccer, basketball or volleyball match. Unless there is agreement among students to be there at pre-arranged fixed hours, no actual matches take place. Even then students are not motivated to show up on time or skip sports altogether. That is why there is a reckoning each week, asking students to raise hands if they have put in 2-3 hours of exercise in one form another. Those who do not raise their hands are then assigned an extra assignment. In Tokyo they had to jog with me at 6:30 the next morning. No one wanted to do that, so they were careful to fulfill requirements.

There are dangers when this pillar is neglected. One is that students lose resistance to colds and the discipler has a sick Hall on his hands. I reminded students that the Hall has no attendant nurse, they have to keep healthy through fitness training. Another danger is that students vent their emotions in arguments rather than on the playing field. Mrs. Kito in Tokyo insisted that a gym be included in the new Hall built in 1998, even though we felt we did not have enough room for it. She had experienced the downside of a Hall that neglects physical fitness. The Halls that have done the most in this area are Ahmedabad and Pune. John Kant developed a weight room for the Ahmedabad boys. Pune boys have full access to UBS athletic fields.

(2) Personal hygiene. This includes keeping living quarters and bathrooms clean. The original Pune TH in Salisbury Park had a fee structure posted on the bathroom door that levied fines for leaving the bathroom a mess, not flushing toilets, etc. Crossy Urtekhar had a poster up that said, "Beauty is the radiance of truth." When John Kant's father inspected that Hall years ago, he said to me, "We must have a Hall in Ahmedabad."

Cleanliness launched a Hall! Cleanliness will not happen by constantly nagging at the boys. It will only happen when there are weekly inspections of rooms, and a penalty given for the worst room each week. In Tokyo, worst room students must report for an extra cleaning chore (20 minutes) in the common spaces like dining room or bathrooms. That means every week there are some students doing extra chores.

For a Hall to hire someone to clean up after the boys is the worst solution. We want our students to go out to India and clean up wherever they go, just as we stress in Brothers of the Common Life [Corwin’s physical fitness and campus cleaning initiative at Union Biblical Seminary]. They begin in their living spaces. Ahmedabad TH has been clean since beginning 15 years ago. When a Tyrannus Hall sinks into squalor, it becomes irrelevant in India society regardless of high theological discussion going on between dirty walls.

Pillar 3: Outreach

From the outset outreach has been a strong component of Tyrannus Hall life. Jesus himself sent disciples out before their faith was strong, for outreach stretches faith. In Tokyo at the interview with prospective students we let it be known that each student is required to go out on some form of mission lasting at least one week every summer. For this they must prepare: practice music and testimonies ahead of time, and block out the week that has been scheduled. About 3 or 4 teams go out each year, their travel financed by donations of "old boy" graduates who send in when they are told destination cities.

It is important that in every interview with perspective students that this pillar be mentioned with specifics. Better to give them every opportunity to back away before admission than have them later take this pillar vaguely and leave the Hall for vacation when other boys remain behind to do evangelism.

Because of financial constraints in India we have not focused so much on traveling to distant places, but more on service in local churches or with the Evangelical Union. However, one Hall--Delhi--has set an outstanding record by taking boys to remote places like Leh or Sikkhim. On the last trip to Leh, Delhi TH students river-rafted down a river at 10,000 feet elevation. This is all done by Ricky Medom who as a conference speaker is invited to distant places and takes DTH students with him. One year they went to Tokyo and gave programs at THI-related churches. A discipler taking students with him on ministry is an excellent way to get close to them while giving them new experiences.

In new Halls like Bangalore and Chennai, it is more realistic to get students involved in their own denominational churches, teaching SS or leading youth groups. However, some students like to break away from their denominational churches and attend charismatic ones singing contemporary music. In Dimapur when I asked students where they went to church, they said, “At a large charismatic one nearby.” “What is your denomination?”  “Baptist.” “Is there no Baptist church nearby?” “Yes, but small and we like the charismatic one.”

We face the same dilemma in Tokyo. Boys from the country like the thrill of new experiences and avoid predictable churches. We then coined phrases like, "Ours is not to criticize Japan’s weak church but to strengthen her." Or, “If you find a weakness, work on it, and leave that church stronger than when you found it.”

Thus, once a student is admitted, it is helpful that the student committee go over church options with him, but suggest he try his local denominational church first. If he is unhappy there and can find no outlet for service, let him try others.

It is a discipler's tendency to pounce on committed college boys for SS teaching, etc. John Kant is establishing a pioneer church in Ahmedabad, using the entire TH group as help in ushering, singing, etc. All the boys seem happy with that outreach.

But that can backfire if students feel they are being used. Some churches in Japan wait eagerly for TH boys to show up for their summer mission year after year. Why? The boys do house-to-house visitation with tracts, a task the local church folk dread. That is why it is crucial for the discipler to ascertain the nature of the task to be assigned before committing TH boys to it.

Re: outreach commitments year-round, it is ideal, for example, that Chennai TH boys help out with the STECI church meeting on the compound, but only if it is a free, non-coerced choice. Re: Bangalore TH, the ideal would be that since the local NCF youth are in abundance, the BTH boys be commissioned to help other churches.

Finally, we encourage all TH boys to get involved with EU, schedules permitting. Following outreach activities, it is good to set aside a night for the boys to share victories and failures.

Pillar 4: Academic Excellence

One of Japan's most famous Christians, who worked with college students 100 years ago, said this: "No one is more unreliable than a college student." By this he meant that during college years students live off the goodness of parents far away without being accountable and fall into the trap of irresponsible behavior.

Boys joining Halls often sacrifice the very reason of their being in TH (getting a good education so they can compete for jobs) to on-campus involvement with college ministry or with churches far from home. Granted, one pillar of the Halls is outreach. But if the discipler does not enforce the "lights out" regulation, toward the end of a semester he sees students roaming around through hours of the night, cramming for exams, skipping Hall activities, or just going through the motions to avoid expulsion. What is worse they get sick--all because they have diverted precious time needed for study to evangelism or fellowship. If students fail courses, the Hall policy in Tokyo (it should be everywhere) is they must leave the Hall. Why? I ask them, "As your parents work hard to send you to college, what is in their minds about you? Do they have any idea that instead of studying you are deeply involved in campus or church ministry? No, they don't. Tyrannus Hall life has become a means by which you dishonor parents."

Every Hall has its strength and weakness. In Shillong it is academic excellence. In fact, that pillar is a distinct contribution of STH to all Halls. Every year there is a special assembly held in the Hall honoring students who excel on campus and were rewarded with honors by the university or college. STH then confers its honor upon those students with another presentation and celebration of thanksgiving. That program has done wonders. Each year STH students get 1st or 2nd place class honors at North East Hills University (where Mrs. Gandhi once served as principal).

Pillar 5: Theological lectures

Twenty or thirty years after leaving Tokyo Tyrannus Hall, former students, when asked which pillar helped them most, to a man they answer, “theological lectures.” “Why?” “They strengthened my faith. I still have those notes.”

Theoretically, disciplers believe theological knowledge is important for students, but implementation difficult. When the 5th pillar was first invoked in Tokyo 47 years ago, students threatened to leave the Hall: “We don’t have time.” “But,” student leaders replied, “You have all kinds of free time. You get involved in campus clubs. This is your opportunity to devote free time to theological studies.”

How to make lectures interesting enough that students look forward to theological lecture night? How can I compel students to set aside one evening a week to hear me lecture? I can’t. Instead, in Tokyo we sought out qualified Japanese instructors. Not only that, we found the standard honorarium for such lectures and upped it slightly. We got top educators.

Not only proper remuneration but student attitude is crucial. Before the instructor arrives, all students are seated, with blackboard and chalk in place. As he walks through the door, all students rise. At the command of the student leader, they bow. After the lecture, he escorts the professor to the door, and turns over a formal envelope in which is the honorarium collected from student fees. To the 50th anniversary celebration last April, one of those original professors came. His church still sends new recruits to the Hall.

Through the years the theological lecture format has changed. For one, student leaders now, at the beginning of each semester, ask students what topic they would like to cover: Apologetics? Church and state? A book of the Bible? New approaches to evangelism? Counseling? Problem of evil? Nicene Creed? Based upon majority student choice, student leaders contact professors they want and make a verbal contract over the phone. Instead of one semester at a time, now they get availability dates for different Tuesdays each month, and schedule at the professor’s convenience. Theological lecture content should not duplicate motivational messages heard every Sunday; instead, they should be academic exercises in unknown fields taught by competent scholars of those fields.

Student compliance. How? As soon as a Hall develops a cadre of commitment, the rest is easy. That cadre interviews every student before admission and spells out what is required of him, including attendance at theological lecture night. “But I have a schedule conflict on campus. I can’t come that night.” “Okay,” student leaders reply, “then reapply when your schedule permits attendance.”

If a student skips a lecture due to unavoidable circumstances, he must listen to a tape recording of it and make a brief report in writing to a student leader. If absences persist, the student is warned. And if behavior does not change, at year’s end he is asked by student leaders to leave the Hall. There is no greater discipler among students than an upper classman fully committed to Christ.

Finally, SATHA [THET] realizes student fees are insufficient to cover honoraria. Bonny Resu is working on a plan whereby theological lecture topics are expanded to meet local felt needs, hence encourage participation by the greater church lay-community. He will be in touch with all Hall disciplers within a few months. But for now, let’s begin putting this pillar in place.