At my secular high school, I was a lone wolf. I remember sitting in my economics class with the buzz of the air conditioning drowning out my fear of seeing the clock strike 12:20. My knee would be bouncing as I held my G2 ballpoint pen in one hand, and it would constantly be pulled with me as I turned to glance at the clock again as if I could stop it from moving forward. 12:15 p.m. No. No. No. It was getting closer to lunch, and I could not bear to ask another group if I could sit with them for the time being. I felt alone. A part of me was okay with it, but another part longed for a community of believers to surround me.
So for me, the “bubble” (more explanation below) has blessed me with that community.
So, what exactly is the Union bubble? The Union bubble is a student-developed (or student-perceived?) concept in which the Union community on campus is thought by some to be sheltered from the hardships of reality. The world is secular, but the community keeps to themselves.
The way I see it, the Union bubble resembles a literal bubble. Let me explain. Picture yourself playing with a child on a bright summer’s day in the park. As you frolic around with this youngster, they hold the long bubble wand while you hold the tube with the soapy, sloshing water. Once the child pulls the wand out after having soaked it, he or she spins around holding the wand at arm’s length to create various bubbles, all different sizes and all with different life spans.
That’s the Union bubble for you: it is as prevalent as you make it. It can be big or small. It can hinder you or it can help you, all depending on how you look at it.
However, either way, the Lord has brought you here, and He will use it, like He used it for me.
With that defined, I want to show you the different sizes of the bubble from three unique individuals with three unique stories.
Atalie McGillivray:
Atalie McGillivray is a junior nursing major who was born and raised in a Christian community. She was homeschooled and then transitioned into a private middle school and high school before attending Union.
When I asked her about that transition from being homeschooled to attending private school, McGillivray expressed that it had its challenges. Instead of being in a community that represented Christ, McGillivray experienced an institution that presented justice as a slap on the wrist, since the student’s parents had the money to cover up any mishap that occurred. It was exposure to the real world.
“Private school to Union has been refreshing,” said McGillivray. “Union actually lives out what it believes, making all that they do Christ-centered, so I feel like I can grow spiritually a lot more at Union than I ever did at my Christian private high school.”
While at Union, McGillivray has been involved with Global Leadership Teams, which is an organization on campus that aids in students’ relationships with Christ. She was also a part of the Central Asia GO Trip team this past summer, where she was challenged to foster relationships in the community, share the gospel and boldly proclaim her faith to nonbelievers.
She loves the Lord and strives to live it out in all that she does.
How has the bubble impacted her life?
“Union has prepared me to go out into the world because it has helped me to really, really have a foundation in Christ and have a family of believers to lean on,” said McGillivray. “Also, like in nursing, we talk about the hard things. We go to clinicals where people are not exposed to Christianity a lot of times, and we deal with hard situations there, but we are able to come back and talk about those things, kind of like the church would do.”
We continued to discuss the ways the bubble could be a hindrance, since as a community we are not accustomed to people who are open to different lifestyles.
“Nothing is gonna be perfect because we live in a fallen world,” McGillivray explained. “But I think that’s probably the one way I feel hindered is just that I do not have a lot of friends that look different than me, but if I tried a lot harder, I probably could.”
But despite that, McGillivray emphasized the growth that has occurred over her time at Union.
“I don’t think people who created this institution intended to just keep us in a bubble but are really trying to prepare us for the world and to talk about every situation in a way that will glorify and honor Christ,” said McGillivray.
Erin Crew:
Erin Crew is a sophomore management major with a minor in biology who also plays on the women’s soccer team at Union. She is from Darby, England, where she lived in a secular community all of her life before encountering the Union bubble.
“I knew what I was coming into coming here. Sinky told me that it’s a Christian university, so you are expected to go to chapel and things, and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I can handle that,’” said Crew.
Crew emphasized that she feels a person’s beliefs are based on their upbringing. Her father was raised Catholic but had not attended the church, and her mother has had no affiliation in the church.
Until she came to Union, Crew did not regularly attend church either.
She has been fascinated by the different backgrounds of her peers and feels she has a greater understanding of who they are because of it. Crew sees both perspectives.
“I am not against it at all. People have asked me, ‘Do you believe in God?’ But I’m not against it at all, although I don’t really believe in him. I have other people here that do not believe in God either, so I can talk to them about it and be like, ‘What do you think?’ but I can go to the opposite end and be like ‘You believe in God, what do you think?’”
I asked her if it has been hard adjusting to a new culture, especially being fully immersed in Christianity for the first time, but having both sides of the spectrum at Union has allowed her to feel more at home.
“Other internationals that have come from the same backgrounds have made it easier,” said Crew. “I think with Sinky as well coming from Scotland and definitely not being a Christian, he made it easier.”
Crew’s secular upbringing has collided with the Union bubble as her boyfriend of a year is a Christian. When she has questions about Christianity, she will go to him. But from her encounter with his family, it was evident that the bubble can extend further than the Union community.
“His mom said that she was interested to meet me because she has not known anything different, and I was fine with that, but that was weird to hear that she has not known anything different beyond going to church every week,” said Crew with a puzzled look on her face.
When it comes to faith, though, Crew can see there is a difference between professing the way of the Lord and the way people live.
“I have seen two ends of the spectrum in terms of Christianity. Like I have seen people that go out, drink, swear and I have seen people that wouldn’t even think about that, and I was like, I don’t really understand which way. It is kind of confusing, really.”
Candace Haney:
Candace Haney is a junior education major who was brought up Christian and homeschooled. She is on the women’s soccer team as well. From the outside, it would seem she is the epitome of the “Union bubble” by not having ventured into the secular realm. However, that is not the case.
“I think you create your own Union bubble,” said Haney. “If you want your circle to be just the solid Christians, you create that. You can have that here on campus, you can find that, and you can be limited to just your people. But if you want to find that crowd that is not like that, you can find it. You find what you are seeking.”
Haney wanted a solid Christian community around her to build her up, challenge her in her faith and create a sense of familiarity. But she knows she is not called to be confined to her core friend group. She knows she is called to reach the lost.
“We have people that are lost. We have people that can talk the talk but do not walk the walk. We have the whole range of people here at Union, talking spiritually,” said Haney. “I am not completely shut off from the real world.”
With regards to the “real world,” I asked Haney if she felt Union has prepared her for the secular environment, and she feels for the most part that it has.
“It’s not just us, just the solid Christians,” said Haney. “Like, I go to class. I play soccer. You know we got the whole range, and I am not immune to seeing that. So it is not like I have never met a nonbeliever. I walk and talk with people that do not believe what I believe.”
If anything, Haney fears that the nonbelievers in the Union community are sometimes encountering a false persona of Christ.
“There are those [who claim Christ] who party and drink and do whatever they want throughout the week and then go to church on Sunday,” said Haney. “I would not say that has hindered my own faith, but that is something I am concerned about hindering other people’s faith.”
The name of the Lord is held very highly to Haney. She wants those around her to know that the truth of the gospel transforms lives. It is not something that can be preached but not practiced in everyday life.
Haney wants to represent Christ in all that she does, and not just so people see the truth, but so the Lord is glorified as He should be.
“[Union] has given me that foundation,” said Haney. “Especially with education, looking at our careers as ministry opportunities and looking at them through biblical lenses is something that is super unique. I think that has really helped build the foundation that people do not see it the way you see it.”
***
Each of these individuals comes from a different background with a different story, but despite their differences, each of them is at Union by God’s sovereignty. By grace, we are placed here for a purpose.
The bubble can be big, medium or small, but in each case, a believer will encounter a nonbeliever on this campus and vice versa.
So, with that being said, how are we representing the Lord in a community that vastly proclaims the name of Christ? Are we taking the bubble for granted and tainting the name of Christ, or do we see it as a ministry opportunity?
Our perception of the bubble should not interfere with what we are called to do.
If you remember earlier, I showed you a glimpse of my high school self. I feared sitting with the wrong crowd because I was unsure if I would be able to stand up for myself and what I believed. But the Lord has shown me so much grace in that. Today, I am surrounded by both, a body of believers and a body of nonbelievers. I have people pouring into me, and I have people I am pouring out on. And because of that, I am grateful.
Photo by Union Photo Project
