{"id":415,"date":"2022-07-03T08:47:04","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T15:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/spufacultyaction\/?page_id=415"},"modified":"2022-09-09T21:25:16","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T04:25:16","slug":"spu-statement-of-faith","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/spufacultyaction\/spu-statement-of-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"SPU Statement of Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SPU’s Statement of Faith<\/a> with its four pillars–historically orthodox, clearly evangelical, distinctly Wesleyan, and genuinely ecumenical<\/strong>–has been central to shaping the character of the university since it was approved by the Board in 2004. The roots of the SoF go back even further (see its 1998 precursor<\/a>), suggesting that these principles are woven deeply into SPU’s DNA, even as they are held in constantly negotiated tension with one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All prospective employees–staff and faculty–are asked to affirm and interact with the statement as part of the application process. Faculty continue to engage with the statement in the New Faculty Seminar in their first year and at various stages of promotion throughout their career, exploring how it connects to their vocation and their work at SPU; these faculty essays on the Statement of Faith are part of all tenure and promotion files reviewed by the Board of Trustees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a detailed discussion of the original intentions, continued purposes, and current debate over the pillars of the Statement of Faith, see the “Primer<\/a>” written by Professor of Moral and Historical Theology Richard Steele and presented to the Board of Trustees on May 19, 2022. For an argument as to how keeping the employee conduct policy violates the spirit and substance of SPU’s Statement of Faith, see the message<\/a> to the Board from two professors in the School of Theology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 2022: Original Preamble Restored<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The description of the four pillars in the current version of the SPU Statement of Faith on the SPU website<\/a> (as of July 2022) remains identical to the 2004 version. The original preamble, which had been altered in recent years, has been restored, except that it no longer alludes to SPU’s mission statement (see 2004 version<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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