Whitlock Delivers Powerful Convocation Message on Racial Reconciliation

August 30, 2017

OBU President Dr. David W. Whitlock delivered the annual Convocation address Wednesday, Aug. 30, to a packed house in Raley Chapel’s Potter Auditorium. His address was titled, "Seeking Shalom: The Christian University and Racial Reconciliation." Convocation marks the beginning of each new academic year on Bison Hill and is a time for students, faculty and staff to be inspired for the year ahead.

“As we commence another year of study together, I want us to focus our attention on the hard work of racial reconciliation,” Whitlock said. “I know some may argue that this problem will never be solved, and that focusing on such difficult subjects only exacerbates the problem. To those who question why, I want to be absolutely clear. I categorically reject the notion that this subject is too difficult to solve, or that we should ignore the subject because too much focus exacerbates the problem.”

“We must address this because reconciliation is at the heart of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. We cannot ignore this, because we are called to be ministers of reconciliation. We are called to address this because we are Christian scholars, equipped and prepared to think through, work through, and lead through the hard issues of our day.”