President's Essay

Last February, prior to COVID, I was enjoying lunch at a restaurant when I observed a young mother with two preschool-aged children at a nearby table. The kids were talking, laughing and trying to get their mother’s attention, but she focused mostly on her phone, texting and scrolling throughout the meal. Of course, I had no idea what she might have been dealing with that day but observing her made me sad; she was missing the opportunity to engage with her children, to find out what was making them laugh.

I am certain that we are all guilty of this type of inattention. We break eye contact with a friend to glance at our phone. We scroll our electronic devices instead of engaging in interpersonal conversation. We fill unscheduled, unscripted moments with the constant checking of our social media platforms. We miss opportunities to experience life-giving human connection by spreading our attention thinly and only half-heartedly listening to our in-person companions. Is purposeful listening becoming a lost art?

In this issue of The Bridge, you will read about various elements and challenges related to listening. With so many “voices” vying for our attention, our lives seem increasingly noisy and chaotic. Sometimes, our response is to narrow our focus to a few select people and accounts, only to isolate into a space where our perspectives and opinions are echoed back to us by people who think just like we do.

I appreciate the way author Adam S. McHugh talks about the perils of the vastness of the internet. In his book “The Listening Life,” he writes, “The great hope of the internet has been that dialogue will prevail, that people with different theologies, world views and politics will log in to learn, grow and communicate with those who disagree with them. Yet it would seem that social media has helped people connect with like-minded people, and the unfortunate consequence has been the intensifying and radicalizing of beliefs and the deeper entrenchment of people’s beliefs. We settle into our own little truth corners.”

Too easily, we develop a personal echo chamber of carefully curated sources that reinforce our personal opinions, often at the expense of other valid perspectives. It is more critical than ever that we personally demonstrate and educate our students to engage all media with a critical lens and purposefully seek out factual information while respecting different opinions and perspectives.

Messiah University educators teach vital skills of critical analysis, listening and discernment through classroom and experiential learning. Developing devoted Christ followers who are thoughtful intellectuals and empathetic listeners is a desired outcome of a Messiah University education, and I am proud of students and alumni who model gracious communication as they engage divergent perspectives by dialoguing with civility.

McHugh goes on to say in his book, “We learn how to listen because we want to learn how to love.” Indeed, we cannot fully love our neighbors if we don’t willingly and wholeheartedly listen and engage in relationships with each other. I am convinced that seeking to be more committed and focused listeners will help to make us better friends, partners, parents, employees and community leaders. Without a doubt, people will be compelled to know us when they feel heard and appreciated in our presence. What a gift to give to a hurting world!