Open Letter to Malibu and the Pepperdine University Community
written by a member of the WCB
“Greetings from the Heart of the Bible Belt
Dear Friends in Malibu and the Pepperdine University Community,
I write to you today not with grievance but with hope, not with division but with an earnest desire to build bridges across experiences that may seem worlds apart. As a community college student from a small Southern town, working minimum wage to fund my education while staying true to the values instilled in me through family, faith, and community, I feel compelled to share some reflections on our shared humanity and different paths.
Grace of Simple Living
The mornings here begin with dew-dampened grass beneath worn work boots. Before classes, many of us rise with the sun to put in hours at local businesses, family farms, or construction sites. My own day begins at 5:30 AM at a local diner, where I serve breakfast to farmers, teachers, and factory workers before rushing to my 10 AM English Composition class. These early hours aren’t merely economic necessity—they’re part of a heritage that values honest labor, regardless of its prestige in the world’s estimation.
There’s a quiet dignity in work that dirties your hands, that leaves you physically tired but spiritually satisfied. When Scripture speaks of earning bread by the sweat of our brow, we don’t read it as punishment but as purposeful design—a reminder that contributing tangibly to community is itself a form of worship.
Our campus lacks ocean views and Mediterranean architecture. The buildings are utilitarian, the facilities modest. Yet within these simple structures, I’ve witnessed tremendous sacrifice and determination. Single mothers studying nursing after putting children to bed; middle-aged men retraining after factory closures; veterans finding new purpose through education. Their stories rarely make headlines, but their quiet perseverance reflects a profound form of courage.
Simple Joys That Sustain Us
Perhaps what distinguishes our community most is our celebration of life’s uncomplicated pleasures. Sunday afternoons gathered around grandmothers’ dining tables, where fried chicken and cornbread become sacraments of family communion. Summer evenings on porch swings, hymns and stories flowing as naturally as the cicada chorus in the background. The satisfaction of growing vegetables that feed neighbors and friends. The fellowship of Wednesday night Bible studies where academic credentials matter less than authentic faith seeking understanding.
These simple joys aren’t merely cultural preferences—they’re the practical outworking of values that prioritize relationship over acquisition, community over individual achievement, and faithfulness over fame. When Jesus spoke of considering the lilies of the field, I believe He was inviting us to this very contentment—finding abundance in simplicity rather than complexity in excess.
Institutional Reflections
The institutional dynamics between our educational worlds merit thoughtful consideration. Pepperdine’s mission statement beautifully affirms that “knowledge calls, ultimately, for a life of service.” This resonates deeply with our Southern understanding that education’s purpose extends beyond personal advancement to community betterment.
Yet I wonder if we might together examine how educational prestige sometimes creates unnecessary divisions in Christ’s body. When Paul wrote that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, I believe the contemporary application might include “neither Ivy League nor community college.” Our different educational paths need not create spiritual or social hierarchies.
The institutional challenges we face in the Bible Belt are substantial. Many of my classmates are first-generation college students navigating systems designed for those with generational academic knowledge. Our region’s economic transitions have left many families struggling to envision futures beyond what they’ve known. Our schools operate with limited resources but unlimited heart.
Humble Appeal
With genuine respect for Pepperdine’s Christian mission and academic excellence, I offer these reflections not as rebuke but as invitation. Just as Christ humbled Himself to share fully in our humanity, might we all practice the spiritual discipline of seeing value in experiences different from our own?
To those who may have inadvertently embraced attitudes of educational or coastal elitism: please know that I extend grace, understanding such perspectives often develop unintentionally. On behalf of those who may have responded with regional defensiveness or dismissiveness toward your community, I offer sincere apology. Neither response reflects the unity to which Christ calls us.
I wonder what might happen if Pepperdine students spent a semester in our community colleges, worshipped in our country churches, and worked alongside us in fields and factories? Likewise, what might we learn from experiencing your coastal community, engaging with your academic traditions, and witnessing your expression of faith in a different cultural context?
Closing Prayer
May we together seek the wisdom that recognizes God’s image in every student, whether studying under fluorescent lights in a community college classroom or beneath palm trees on a blufftop campus. May we honor the dignity of all honest work, whether it commands high salaries or minimum wage. May we find unity not in identical experiences but in our shared devotion to Christ who transcends all cultural, economic, and educational divisions.
For as the Apostle reminds us, “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
With brotherly affection and hope for deeper understanding,
Southern Brother in Christ”