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perspective

Steps and stumbles on the journey

by Josh Chittum

The following was an e-mail thank-you to Bethel faculty and staff from 2009 graduate Josh Chittum.

Several years ago I left Bethel in the middle of the night and moved to Atlanta, Georgia. It turned out to be an unwise decision and I came back two weeks later. But now that I’ve officially graduated (7½ years after my college career began), I’m having to give an official farewell, one that doesn’t come in the middle of the night. Before actually saying those words, though, there are some other things I want to say first:

To start, I don’t know when or even if I would have ever finished college if I hadn’t found a place like Bethel. We all know there’s something special here and I will continue to do my best to spread the word.

Second, while earning a degree is tremendously important, it is the comprehensive Bethel education both inside and outside of the classroom that will have a lasting and profound impact on my future.

It is here that I found unparalleled opportunities for leadership. It is here that I learned more about interacting within and better understanding the dynamics of a community. It is here that I was given the space to not only explore issues of social justice but was also encouraged to work for tangible change, even though that at times meant challenging the institution itself.

These processes resulted in some successes and a multitude of personal stumbles. But those stumbles couldn’t have happened at a better place.

Finally, as I pack my personal belongings, there aren’t as many answers to take with me as I thought there would be upon graduating. But I do take with me the invaluable questions that were formed as a result of spending 3½ years in this specific place. They are questions I want to keep asking myself and others. Questions that have helped me narrow my ideas on how I want to live and interact with the global community. Questions that will only lead to more lighted inquiries and thus a better understanding of a vast number of Things, with a capital T.

So to everyone, thank you. Thank you for not only maintaining but adding to this place called Bethel, this house of God, that was first built so long ago. I could ramble on about what our name means to me for far too long and so I’ll simply say that I don’t know if it is God I found here. But I do know I found something that is distinctly “beyond” – and perhaps “beyond” is the closest understanding of God I can bring myself to accept.

I will be moving to Kansas City, working as an educational facilitator at the Kansas City Zoo. So if you ever come up and want a tour of the zoo, let me know. Goodbye. And take care.