Dear Friends,
I was recently reminded by a friend of a message given by Charles Colson to a gathering in Indianapolis, where he referenced speaking to a group of United States Marines. At the end of the Q&A, one of the young lieutenants rose to his feet and asked what Colson described as the most salient question of our age: “What is truth?” That was decades ago, but I believe this remains the persistent question of our time.
Our daily life as a Christian university is dedicated to the pursuit of truth and the transfer of wisdom and knowledge to the next generation. There are, of course, a variety of ways to accomplish this task — from the open-ended Socratic method to detailed, documented scientific discovery — but, at Olivet, we understand all truth through the lens of the truths of Christianity and the divine revelations in the Biblical text. In addition, we stand in fidelity with the doctrines of the Church of the Nazarene as we seek to understand and impact the current world in which we live.
This commitment to truth-seeking becomes especially critical when we consider the deeply divided landscape our students are navigating. On issue after issue — from questions of liberty and governance to matters of human dignity and economic policy — our nation finds itself without unanimity, often without even the shared language necessary for productive dialogue. Into this fractured public square, Olivet offers something countercultural: a community where rigorous intellectual engagement and Christian conviction can coexist, where students learn not only what to think but also how to think.
We believe there is a place for thoughtful and even passionate debate around key issues. Our classrooms, residence halls and campus gatherings become laboratories for civil discourse, where students practice the difficult art of holding firm convictions while extending genuine respect to those who differ. This is not relativism — we are anchored in transcendent Christian truth — and we enter into the discussion with appropriate restraint and humility, recognizing that we are not God and our understanding of how that truth applies to complex contemporary questions continues to develop through prayer, study and discernment guided by the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Here, students learn that disagreeing agreeably is not a weakness but a strength. They discover that finding common ground amid ideological point and counterpoint requires both clarity of conviction and generosity of spirit. They see their professors model what it means to engage difficult questions with both intellectual depth and Christian charity. Most importantly, they learn that the pursuit of truth is not a solitary endeavor but a shared one, undertaken in the company of believers who are committed to following Christ together, even when the path forward is not immediately clear.
This is the education we offer at Olivet: not immediate answers to every question, but a framework for seeking truth, a community for wrestling with complexity and an unwavering confidence that Christ is, ultimately, the way, the truth and the life. In a world asking, “What is truth?” we point our students toward the One who embodies the answer — and then we walk alongside them as they learn to follow Him into an uncertain but hope-filled future.
Sincerely,
Gregg Chenoweth, Ph.D.
President, Olivet Nazarene University
From Olivet The Magazine, Abundant Life – Spring 2026. Read the full issue here.
