College Students and Ministry

Just Hanging Out

2010-05-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm just old, but it really seems like college students today have an incredible array of relationships, differing levels of friendship, and a complexity to their interactions that I didn't have "back in my day." What I mean is that relationships and friendships for students now seem much more gray, and less black and white. One isn't always sure whether the relationship is dating, engaged, just friends, or what it exactly is. Because of this nebulous nature of relating, it is quite common for students to call for the big "DTR" talk (define the relationship) with one another.

One of the reasons for this is the major activity and popularity of "hanging out." Hanging out is typically sitting around with a group of people eating, watching movies, drinking, doing bible study, even studying. Its doing just about anything, but doing it together with others. Instead of dating, meetings between students often take place in a group, just hanging out. So, not a lot of definition takes place between two different people in the group. They aren't always sure of whether a relationship is casual, serious, or something in between, where a friendship stands or how to relate and interact with others. Few students seem to know when a relationship is romantic or not, or if it is an "open" relationship where two people are seeing other people. If this all seems kind of confusing, you are getting the point.

The DTR talk, in an attempt to settle the status of the relationship, rarely seems to work well. So, many students just go along and try to make the best of it by trying to figure out what is going on. Here is an opportunity for ministry, for we can help a student make sense of the nature of relationships. One of the things we can do is to really understand the reality of student relations. I often just "hang out" with students myself, with no agenda other than just being with them. The local Perkins restaurant in my town is at its busiest at midnight; it is filled with college students just hanging out. There are places in every college town where students go, especially the bar scene. Bars aren't just places to drink, but are locations of conviviality where students have the chance to be around one another in a kind of secular church where fellowship happens, looking for a chance to relate to the opposite sex. Students, like everyone else, desire intimacy and knowing that someone else cares about them. However illegitimately they might pursue this, the inner affection is very real, and very much a need.

One of the best ways to minister to students as a church or a ministry is to communicate to them that we "have their back", that we care, love, and like them. No one can sniff out a disingenuous attitude quite like a college student, so it has to be an authentic desire to be around students. Also, this does not mean we have to pretend to be like a college student. Instead, one of the greatest needs a student has is to be in a mentoring relationship with someone older and wiser who can help them navigate life and bring some sort of definition to relationships that they lack. There is also, then, an equal need for adults to be trained in how to be a mentor to a student. Maybe they could learn to "hang out" with students and find individuals for whom they can build a solid one on one relationship with. If students can have such relationships with adults now, it will serve them well once they leave school.

So, how about just hanging out with students sometime? Consider having your own redeemed version of the DTR talk with some of them, and lead by example in how to relate with others. Be a mentor, and walk alongside another with love, grace, and wisdom. If you were a missionary in a country of college students, this is what you would do... oh, wait, we already are in a country of 17 million college students, and we are the missionaries. Let's do the work of entering into their lives!

What Would You Do With $50,000?

2010-04-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

There are no strings attached. Someone sets your church up with $50,000 a year, with the only stipulation being that it must be used for college ministry. The only assumption here is that no college ministry is currently taking place. What would you advise your church to do with the money?? Lay the answers on me, I would love to hear what you think.

An Assault of Grace

2010-04-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

Getting a phone call at 4:00am is rarely good news. As a pastor and college minister I have had my share of them over the years and it has always meant someone is in trouble. Two years ago a young man gave us one of those calls. Something was wrong with his girlfriend (I will call her "Jane"), she was upset and hostile and could not talk to him. My wife and I got out of bed and came right over. Upon arriving we found a beautiful college-age woman sitting in the driveway crying uncontrollably. Coming up to Jane, she had the stale stench of beer and could not stand or talk, but could only heave great sobs of distress. We helped Jane up, got her into our car, and took her to our house. There Jane began to sober up and began telling her story: she had been at party near campus and got pretty drunk. At midnight she decided to go home, but made the decision to walk by herself across campus to try and make it back to her place. What happened next Jane could only remember in bits and pieces, and is perhaps every young woman's nightmare....

According to the American Association of University Women, somewhere between 20%-25% of college women are raped sometime during their college career; 65% of these attacks go unreported; and, alcohol is involved in 75% of the assaults. When a rape occurs, the victim should get to a safe place, resist taking a shower, get medical attention immediately, report the abuse, and receive counseling as soon as possible. Certainly, Jane made some bad decisions: excessive partying, having amorphous relationships (did no one try and stop Jane from leaving the party by herself?), and sexual license that was occurring at that party.

How should we respond and help in such a situation? Jane is not the only victim I have worked with, and I wish I could tell you that all the cases I have seen have a happy ending. Unfortunately, I must say that I have seen far too many believers in Jesus only add to the hurt by pointing out the bad decisions made on the part of the victim, as if they were not a victim at all but brought the assault upon themselves. Even in situations completely out of the victim's control, guilt is sometimes applied by probing what the victim could have done differently....

To put this in perspective, let me tell a hypothetical story. When my daughter was small she rarely walked, but ran everywhere she went. In public, I always had to hold her hand so she would not run off alone. As we walk down the sidewalk I tell her to hold my hand and not let go, but she pulls away and runs into the street, and is hit by a car. What will be my response? "Well, that's what you get for disobeying me!" No! Instead, I will have the reaction of much tears and doing everything I can to get her the help she needs, while all the time assuring her that I love her and will not leave her....

The way to handle a sexual assault of any kind is to turn it around and offer an assault of grace. All ministry is grace, and the grace of God is the thing that heals. The way people change is not through pointing out their poor judgments or finding out what could have been done differently, but through the grace of extending mercy and help in time of need, no matter the circumstance. In the novel, Les Miserables, ex-convict Jean Valjean makes the decision of stealing from the priest who extended hospitality to him. When caught by the police and brought to the priest, the man of God responds in grace by saying that the items were a gift. What is more, the old priest chastises Jean for leaving in such a rush the night before that he forgot to take the two silver candlesticks. This act of mercy and kindness changes Jean's life forever, and in turn, changes an entire town.

The cross of Christ is scandalous simply because of its radical nature of grace to all of us who are undeserving of it. So, if God can be gracious to people who are not even victims, how much more should we, as his followers, be about the kingdom business of extending vast resources of mercy and grace to genuine victims of abuse?

Are you prepared to respond to sexual abuse when it occurs?
--Have numbers in your cell phone of your campus counseling services, and of your local rape hotline.
--The Dean of Students on most campuses is ready and equipped to handle abuse situations. The victim will most likely need help filing formal reports.
--Many colleges also have women's services that have a comprehensive referral list of services to help the victim.
--The campus police are also ready to respond, even if the victim does not want to pursue criminal charges, through advising victims of their options and helping to create a safety plan for the future.
--Get to know all these people on your campus.
--Teach and equip our students in the way of grace in ministry through using the Bible to comfort a victim with assurance that God is close to the broken-hearted. Resist playing arm-chair psychologist and instead demonstrate grace through your presence and reassuring words.

Distractions

2010-04-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like working with college students is like trying to be with a group of people with a big dose of collective ADD. They seem to... "squirrel"... get easily distracted by the next thing that comes running along, and have a hard time focusing on the important things of life.

But before we get too perturbed with this reality, reflect on the nature of students' lives. They are pretty new to flexing their independent muscles and are learning a whole new skill set of handling a budget, paying bills on their own, balancing a bank account, buying a car, finding a mechanic to fix my car, developing new social networks, adjusting to a truly crazy schedule, finding and holding a part-time job, shopping for groceries, the tedium of studies, the daily grind of school, handling ornery profs and flaky roommates, and on and on and on.... It is easy in the daily demands of life to have Jesus squeezed to the margins.

Classes, writing papers, attending labs, and studying for exams are demanding tasks that require a good deal of thought and ingenuity in accomplishing, since this is not exactly a 9-5 job with a boss telling you exactly what to do and when to do it. And then there is social life and having fun, and this can really be distracting to the spiritual life. Parties, movies, weekend activities, hanging out, connecting via iPhone, Twitter, and Facebook can end up taking lots of time and distract a student from investing into the hard work of the interior life.

It seems to me that one of the best ways of handling this reality of working with college-age people is to model what it means to live the Christian life for them. We reproduce according to our kind. If we ourselves are forever changing and chasing the next shiny thing that comes along in ministry, and/or complain about our own schedules as if there are not enough minutes in the day to accomplish God's will, perhaps part of the distracted life of a student comes from, well, us.

Most of life, frankly, is lived in the mundane. How we live for God day in and day out, through all the details and tedium, speaks volumes to those for whom we minister to. Establishing solid spiritual patterns of life can be hard for adults - how much more for college students?

--Are we living in a consistent rhythm of life that reflects our most precious values?
--Have we learned to practice the presence of Christ in the mundane activities of life?
--Do I have healthy patterns of work, rest, and play that students can emulate?

One of the best ways of speaking into the life of college students is to show them what it looks like to live for God. I often do this by simply taking a student with me wherever I go, whether it is to the grocery store, a doctor's appointment, or getting the oil changed in my car. Not just bible studies, church, and large group meetings, but the mundane activities of life are our classroom, and the lab for which a student comes to know to be engaged, not distracted, with God in all of life.

Keeping My Options Open

2010-03-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

There is a mantra that I have heard many students repeat over and over when considering what they will be doing this summer, how the next academic year will shake out, whether they will stick with a certain relationship, how and when they may commit to any involvement, and if they might show up at a certain event or even church: "I'm keeping my options open."

Sometimes adults become frustrated with college students because they view them as unable to make solid decisions, are not committed to important things, or are just plain wishy-washy. But the thought in a student's head is typically one of not wanting to close doors that might be open to them, or to not burn bridges with anyone. They want to entertain as many promising options as they can, because they do not want to miss an opportunity, lose control of a situation, or get locked into something they aren't sure of. Thus, students are typically loathe to settling down on any one thing.

This is why it is commonplace for college students to try a wide variety of religious and campus organizations, and may never settle on just one. They move effortlessly between a CRU large group meeting and a Navigator bible study, and between a small traditional church and a big contemporary worship service. Spiritual experiences for them often take the form of freedom, exploration, spontaneity, and renewal.

Although it is important for students to learn the value of loyalty and developing consistent routines centered in spiritual disciplines, in their modus operandi they typically will not succumb to a dry faith that is done out of sheer duty or habit. So, instead of pressing or expecting them to be in our mold of devotion and faithfulness through closing doors and making consequential decisions, perhaps we ought to walk alongside them and join them in the journey they are on. The New Testament refers to Christianity as a road or a way, and the Christian life as a walk that we take with Jesus and the Spirit. It is in this walking together with a student that we can help them consider the options that are before them, and provide counsel, wisdom, and warning concerning the forks in the road and the exits off the path. Students can learn to forego certain options and commit to something particular when we take the time to journey with them.

So, rather than lament this generation's lack of focus and ever-present flakiness, may we understand their desire to have genuine relationships with God and others that does not miss out on a vibrant life.

-How can we be a help, and not a hindrance to students in their journey?
-What can God do for and with students who keep their options open?
-Where is the Spirit taking a student in his/her walk?
-What are your options in relating to particular students, and groups of students?

What Northern Iowa Men's Basketball Teaches Us About Ministry

2010-03-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

I fully admit that I have been giddy all week since the Northern Iowa men's basketball team "upset" #1 Kansas in the NCAA tournament. As a proud alumnus, it has been a thoroughly enjoyable ride to watch them this year. The win over Kansas, however, was no fluke. UNI is a well-coached, disciplined, and conditioned team who had the #2 defense in the country coming into the tournament. In short, they're good.

The elements that have made Northern Iowa successful are, I think, characteristics transferable for college ministry:

1. The UNI men transcend their personal limits by working incredibly well as a team. This is not a team of "stars", but a group of guys who have discovered that they can accomplish a high level of play through not being satisfied with sheer individual efforts. Their bench is deep, and Coach Ben Jacobsen has injected a high degree of cultivated team purpose into practices and game preparations.

2. Northern Iowa is focused on the positive. Rather than dwelling on shortcomings, weaknesses, and negatives, this group of men see each game as a challenge. They have been able to view mistakes as opportunities for learning and self-correction. The least surprised people after the victory over Kansas were the UNI men themselves. Their attitudes are directed at winning, and believe they can beat anybody on any given night.

3. UNI sticks to their game plan. They know what they want to do on the floor, and they set about executing their game. These guys don't try to be somebody they are not.

4. Here is an observation on the basketball team that impresses me the most: Northern Iowa has learned to overcome their fear of success and the unknown. These guys are in completely uncharted territory. No Missouri Valley Conference team since Larry Bird's 1979 Indiana State team has made it to the Sweet Sixteen. UNI themselves have never gotten to this level before. Not bad for a school with an enrollment of just over 13,000 students. Success is highly alluring, and when it comes there is increased pressure to compete. If a team (or a ministry) has not learned to cope with these demands, they may devise unconscious methods to sabotage themselves because it is just too much responsibility. Instead, UNI is a self-motivated team who is not dependent on others' expectations to keep them winning. This basketball team may lose their next game, but it won't be because they choked. They seem to have this liberating knack of enjoying what they're doing fearing neither success, nor failure.

College students are some of the most optimistic, enthusiastic, and enjoyable people to be around. The Northern Iowa men's basketball team exemplifies these traits and more. And when a group of students are gripped by the grace of Jesus, we have the delightful occasion of coaching and spiritually forming them into a group directed at working together in community, focused on their God-given gifts, living according to a Christ-like pattern of life, and unafraid of what is ahead through living by faith.

Go Panthers!!

Educated for What?

2010-03-12T08:02:00.000-08:00

Talking to students every day about their classes, degree programs, and plans for post-graduation is an important part of ministry. Helping them to make sense of their education is a significant opportunity to guide them in forming a healthy view of school and in developing a solid Christian worldview.

Students generally place a high value on college. The reason for this is that they tend to view their education as instrumental in getting a good job, and going to college as a place to have fun. So, it really matters to them to obtain the degree so that they can have a rewarding, secure, and comfortable life. It is not very often that I hear students talk about the intrinsic value of education, but only in terms of the advantages an undergraduate degree will have for them. Yet, a college education affords the chance to be shaped into seeing a broad perspective of the world and become productive members of society and responsible citizens. In other words, education has the potential to have life-long worth even if a student never attains a high level job.

More than just obtaining information, knowledge of a subject, and a certain skill set, a good, well-rounded education can instill necessary critical thinking abilities and an expansive understanding of the world that will serve a student for a lifetime. So, rather than school being only a series of hoops to jump through in order to obtain respect, security, and a comfortable lifestyle, it truly has value in and of itself.

One of the great privileges of working with students is helping them to think through the value of their education from a Christian perspective, to see how their major studies and degree programs used for God can impact the world, and how they can take all their acquired knowledge and make sense of it through biblical categories. In doing this, we can help redeem a college education from only being a means to an end in a pragmatic society.

Here are some questions I typically ask students concerning education and work:
--How do you understand the working world?
--Do you see being a student as a calling? Why, or why not?
--Do you view a "secular" job as a calling? Why, or why not?
--How do you, or can you, connect your faith and your education?
--What do you think is the meaning and purpose of work?
--How does being a student reflect the nature and character of God?
--How is God transforming you through being in college?
--Can you think the thought that God wants to use your job as a means of sanctification?
--What ethical challenges do you face as a student?
--How does your education help you to be a better person?

Transition and Change

2010-03-08T12:19:00.000-08:00

One of the most consistent aspects of college students, like no other group of people I know, is that their lives are consistently marked by constant change and transition from one thing to another. They leave home and come to college, they drop out and move back, and plan to move out again. They don't work, run out of money, get a job, quit that job, take another, and change their hours at work from week to week. They are convinced they want to be a social work major, but change to elementary education, and maybe turn a corner altogether and go for a nursing degree. They sign up for classes, drop classes, and sign up for others, only to get an incomplete so they can finish it next semester. They meet new friends, their old friends don't get along with their new friends, and they make even more friends and have 832 friends on Facebook. They have new roommates regularly. They move out of the dorm into an apartment, and then move into another apartment the next year. They have boyfriends and girlfriends and might "hook up" with someone they barely know this week only to hook up again with another next week. They may go to church, they may go to a campus ministry, they might attend a dorm bible study, or they might do all of them for a month and then do none of them the next month.

To put it in a college student's language, "I have a lot of stuff going on right now." If this all sounds crazy, flaky, and weird, its because it is. To be honest, some of the reason it is this way is because they themselves can be pretty flaky and weird. However, most of it is simply the nature of being a college student. The years of 18-24 are some of the most unique that a person will ever experience. Transition and change are all part of being in this age group, and students must navigate this college world every day with the ground constantly moving beneath them. Although they may take a lot of this in stride, and seem to be at home with much of it, in reality they are charting new waters in life and are experimenting with life and trying to find their independence and special place in it.

This creates unique challenges, but also extraordinary opportunities for campus ministry and the church:
--We have the opportunity to be a rock of a relationship for a student.
--We have the opportunity to come alongside a student and help him to think through his choices and decisions carefully and critically.
--We have the opportunity for presence in the midst of a student's broken relationships and difficult and changing circumstances.
--We have the opportunity of bringing the Christian resources of prayer and the gospel of grace to bear on the student who needs to make sense of her situation.
--We have the opportunity of providing a community different from the college culture.

What are some other opportunities we have that transitions provide in ministry to college students? How might we build ministry to address these opportunities and the culture of change? What do you think are some directions to take students who are constantly in transition?

Imitate Worthy Christian Leaders

2010-02-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

Once, several years ago, while driving through an intersection, a car turned right in front of me and caused me to slam my brakes. After getting on my way (and proud of myself for not saying a word) my young daughter leaned forward from the back seat and asked me, "Dad, is that guy an idiot?"

Kids often imitate their parents in everything, whether good or bad. This is no less true for adults. When it comes to Christianity, the faith is passed on not just from individuals reading their bibles in seclusion, but is handed down from person to person (2 Timothy 2:2). Certainly college students learn from leaders how the faith is lived out and practiced, and that is a subject worth pursuing. But I think that we must first ask the question: who do I imitate? For with what we learn from those who are our mentors, we pass on to those for whom we minister.

Consider just a few biblical verses on this: "Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us" (Philippians 3:17). "We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what was promised" (Hebrews 6:12). "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith" (Hebrews 13:7).

It is imperative that we, as those who minister to students and others, imitate those Christian leaders who have a proven character in persevering in the faith in the face of pain and suffering, and have done it with great humility. This does not necessarily mean that we emulate those who eruditely speak the Word of God, have superior gifts and abilities, and enjoy success in ministry. It does mean that we ought to imitate, and have as mentors, those persons who imitate Christ and are not self-promoting peacocks who go after being admired and praised. Paul chose Timothy to go to the Philippian church because Timothy had proven himself as being genuinely concerned for others, and not for making decisions that would simply further his ministry career (Philippians 2:19-23). Timothy had learned from his mentor, Paul, how to cultivate a life of service to others rather than to be self-serving.

We are to imitate those who have proved themselves in hardship. A Christian leader who has not undergone the purgative fires of trials in this life may more easily become seduced by their own importance. However, leaders who have seen their share of hard circumstances, pain, and suffering, and have come through it loving God and serving others out of grace and humility, are leaders worth imitating.

So whom will you follow?

What Christians will serve you well as good models of faith and ministry?

Be alert for Christian leaders who exemplify genuine meekness, selfless service, and are in the habit of being helpful and doing good. Imitate such persons.

If you do not have someone in your life you can truly consider a "mentor" in the faith, begin today to search for a person for whom you can imitate. The students for whom you minister to deserve it.

The "Missional" Christian

2010-02-10T12:34:00.000-08:00

How does a missional ministry 'work'? Missional is simply a term to describe "how to be" the church rather than "doing" church. It is a lifestyle, not a program. It is being the hands, mouth, and feet of Jesus wherever I am, and not a a part or compartment of my life in which I engage in ministry.

Today I had a fantastic time with a student over lunch. C.J. told me of a girl named Tabitha whom she had three classes with last semester. She had a lab group with her and talked with her almost daily about life and sought to genuinely be her friend. Their friendship eventually grew and deepened as C.J. would have her over for meals to her apartment and they would talk and laugh together. Turns out that Tabitha had never been to a church service in her entire life, and since C.J. regularly went, it was natural that Tabitha would go with her. That first experience drew a lot of questions and curiosity along with the comment that it all seemed like a "celebration". C.J. was there for Tabitha in helping her with school, in hanging out with her, and when her boyfriend broke up with her, C.J. cried with Tabitha. Tabitha says C.J. is her only true and genuine friend in the world.

Someday I am sure Tabitha will come to have Jesus as her best friend along with C.J. Being a "missional" Christian does not mean that you wear a 'put Jesus first' bracelet on your wrist, have spiritual bumper stickers on your car, or yell Bible verses through a bullhorn. What it means is an invitation of another person into your life. Allowing people into what we are already doing, and entering into their lives as well, is the opportunity for a relationship. And it is through relationship that another can see Jesus and how much he means to me. This doesn't suggest that I have my life all put together to impress someone, it is just a willingness to journey with another through the stuff we all face on a daily basis. When Christ really means something to me, it comes out in my actions and my words.

Will you invite someone into your life who does not know God?
Are you focused on "doing" things for God, or "being" a Christian wherever you are?
Can you let God transform the things you do on a daily basis into opportunities for spiritual encounters with others?
How about praying toward the end of being a "missional" Christian, and mentoring and modeling to students how relationships work?

24/7 Prayer

2010-02-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

One of the most exciting things a college minister ever gets to be a part of is a genuine spiritual awakening among students. Last semester my abiding prayer, along with others, was that God would save a whole bunch of college students, bring them into intimacy with him, and into the life of his church. In fact, I prayed this so much that I almost felt embarrassed at times for always bringing it up to the Lord and to others.

Over the winter break a group of students became convinced and determined that they should have 24/7 prayer on our campus. To make a long story short, it is happening and God is doing what he does best: transforming lives for his glory and expanding his kingdom. It is as if I am sitting in a boat and watching the wind of the Spirit fill the sails as we move across the water.

I write this simply to let you know what God is doing, as well as to encourage you to pray. Yeah, we all pray, but persevering in prayer is sometimes another thing altogether. Let the stories of students and movements of the Holy Spirit inspire you to continually be about the business of prayer. We have students who are asking God to save 6,000 people on campus. It is a crazy prayer. It is an impossible prayer. But then again we are not really talking about any of our abilities to pray, but the God who specializes in doing what we cannot.

To follow what is taking place on the I.S.U. campus, visit iowastateawakening.blogspot.com

May we all join together in prayer to see the advancement of the gospel, and the will of God done here on our campuses as it is in heaven.

Ministry from the Heart

2010-01-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

We minister out of the overflow of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Loving college students and others results from the fact that God has first loved us. Since this is true, it is vital that we meet with Lord and allow him to care for our souls. Plans, strategies, schedules, evaluations, and the demands of life and ministry are the reality for the Christian servant. To neglect my own soul is to fall into the demonic trap of believing in my grandiose thinking instead of trusting in God for the ability to engage in ministry to others. The snakes of self-reliance and pride slither about our feet looking to strike at any time.

In order to be an effective minister, I must take the journey into self and discover the union that exists between me and God through Christ. Intimacy with the divine is the whole purpose of the Christian life. The practicality of reaching this is through the ongoing process of detachment from worldly allurements and a growing attachment to the things of God. Prayer is the vehicle by which we wean ourselves from trust in our intellects, abilities, personalities, and pet theologians and learn to become an intimate friend of God.

Prayer, then, is not primarily the means of getting what I want and promoting my ministry agenda as if I were making some sales pitch to a skeptical buyer. It is the place of meeting with God and experiencing the union for which Jesus Christ died to procure for us. God himself takes delight in dwelling within the innermost sanctum of my heart, as if I was his temple.

If this is the goal for me, then it is also the aim for the students for whom I minister. To lead them in the path of intimacy with God, with knowing Christ better, is our highest and most joyous call. What do I model to students around me? Is my agenda really God's plan for my campus? Does the journey of spiritual formation I lay out lead straight to the heart of God in a vital union with Jesus? How do I engage in the role of spiritual director with students? What am I saving them from?

If our college campuses are to be turned upside down for God, it must begin with me. There must be a healthy rhythm in my life of detachment from the world, attachment with Jesus, and then an engagement with others. To have engagement without detachment and attachment is to do nothing but perpetuate the brokenness that already exists in this decaying world. Instead, may you find in these next months the garden of paradise in the soul where God meets with you, that you might minister out of the overflow of a union with Christ.

Simplicity

2009-12-30T12:38:00.000-08:00

Well, its that time of year again where all us college ministry dudes use the Christmas break to reflect on the past semester and make any necessary changes for the next. As I have spent the past few weeks in prayer and pondering, it seems to me that we must always come back to what is important to God and not make ministry such a complex beast that overwhelms us.

Jesus told us to seek first the kingdom of God, and when we pray to ask that God's kingdom would come and be manifested on this earth. That is, since the fall of humanity, this world has been under the realm of Satan. God, however, is in the business of restoring his rule and reign. So, my ministry must have this controlling agenda.

The kingdom of God is established and expanded through proclamation of the gospel in Word and sacrament. In other words, the means of God's grace to us is through communication of the Bible and its central message of the redeeming work of Christ. There is now reconciliation between God and humans through the death of Jesus. God has united us to himself in order that we would enjoy him, and he us. As Teresa of Avila has said, "the soul is God's paradise, being made by God and for God." Intimacy with the divine is the purpose of our existence. Therefore, prayer is the primary means by which to commune with God and is not optional equipment for the Christian but vital to seeing the kingdom expand in my heart and to others.

We must come back to the simplicity of this ministry. It is easy to become sidetracked from this and be content with erecting massive ministry structures, programs, and events that may please other people and feed my ego, but do little toward accomplishing what was important to Jesus and is necessary to seeing the kingdom of God realized on my campus.

So, then, maybe we need to ask ourselves such questions as these:
1. Is the kingdom of God a controlling goal for my ministry, and do I even understand what it is and how it works?
2. Do our ministries truly develop intimacy with God?
3. Is prayer necessary and central to everything we do?
4. Are our ministry structures simple and contribute toward the kingdom of God, or cumbersome and divert students away from this focus?

Just as football teams must never forget the fundamentals of the game in order to win, so we need to come back to what is important as defined by Jesus, and let this be the evaluative grid through which we look at all of ministry. Ministry may require hard work and sacrifice, but it need not be complex. Simplicity toward doing what is essential is required. May you experience joy in ministry as you see the kingdom of God come in all its power and grace.

The Gospel is for Everyone

2009-12-11T07:35:00.000-08:00

One of the finest ways of sucking the joy right out of the Christmas season is to subtly refashion the gracious "good news of great joy to all people" announced by the angel to the shepherds at Christ's birth into the Scrooge-ish bad news of great judgment to all people who aren't like me and who don't think like me.

The church of Jesus Christ has struggled through its history to uphold this basic message of the gospel of grace for everyone. From the Council of Jerusalem in the book of Acts that met to decide whether one ought to become a Jew first in order to be a Christian, to the with-holding of membership to African-Americans in certain churches in the 20th century, to the just plain ignoring of the poor and marginalized among us, we must be intentional and deliberate about reaching and ministering to all people. The joy of salvation is that I do not need to jump through certain spiritual hoops to enter into Christianity, nor be a certain kind of person. The church is not an exclusive club of one particular sort of people based in race, gender, ethnicity, class, spiritual pedigree, or even certain preferences on issues. Through repentance and faith in Jesus, all may come to God.

All people have intrinsic worth as individuals created in the image of God, and therefore need the attention of Christians in bringing the gospel to them. It is much too easy to ignore people we do not understand and who are different from us, or to look down on those who do not agree with me on disputable matters. When it comes to the good news of Jesus, having people out of sight does not mean we keep them out of mind. College students are too often off the radar of many churches for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is because they are far from being the power brokers in a congregation. To intentionally reach and minister to them is to cross generational lines and is seeking to develop programs that do not just meet my own needs. The fact that nearly 70% of all college-age persons leave the church between the ages 18-24 testify that we are not serious about reaching them in the greatest change moment of a person's life.

Jesus had a big enough inner space to accommodate prostitutes, drunks, tax collectors, and a whole variety of sinners. How big is your inner space? Is it big enough to allow people in your life who are not like you without you feeling threatened and insecure? The Pharisees feared being contaminated if having table fellowship with such people; the Sadducees were afraid of losing their religious power over people if the status quo was changed in ministering to such low-lifes; and, the Zealots feared continued Roman domination if Jesus kept up spending his time in graciousness to all kinds of sinners. So, all the religious people killed him.

We celebrate this season the incarnation of Christ; the Son of God was born in order to die for us. The gospel of Jesus is the good news of great joy for every person who will look to him. We are to work together to propagate this message by having the shared purpose of evangelism to everyone, including all kinds of college students, without discrimination. When we together engage in this critical endeavor, there is tremendous joy, and the giant sucking sound of the joy going out of the season is gone. May you find the joy that is yours in Christ. May your heart rejoice and be glad, for salvation has come to every person who believes.

Good News of Great Joy for All People

2009-12-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

When the angel came to the shepherds to announce the birth of Messiah Jesus, he told them not to be afraid because this was an occasion of good news of joy for everyone on the face of the planet. In a day when churches and college ministries often define themselves with short, pity phrase-statements of mission, this would not be a bad one at all. Is the group you are a part of full of joy? Is joy in the DNA of your ministry?

It doesn't take long in looking at joy in the New Testament Epistles to see that joy is closely linked with the unity of Christians expressing their common obedience to Jesus. To this, the book of Philippians speaks a clear word. The theme of joy runs deep through this letter, but the occasion for Paul writing was the issue of unity. In other words, when unity is pursued, practiced, and realized, joy is the inevitable by-product so that the pursuit of joy in and of itself is not the issue but believers working together in the gospel is.

The book of Philippians, then, is a apropos model for both evaluating and constructing any ministry and developing a group of students in the good news of the incarnated Christ. Unity is realized through: the shared purpose of evangelizing the lost together (chapter 1); the shared attitudes of service toward one another (chapter 2); the shared values of loving Christ above all (chapter 3); and, the shared suffering of walking with each other through the hard circumstances of life (chapter 4).

This commonality in the gospel of Jesus Christ is how the church is to work out its shared salvation together. A simple observation of Philippians is that it is filled with plural pronouns, not singular ones. Ministry is not to be done in isolation, but in community. When this fellowship in the gospel happens, the result is a joy and a deep satisfaction that God is at work, with all kinds of people impacted for Christ.

If we would like to keep the "Christmas spirit" alive all year round, we will need to put effort in working together at practicing the message of Philippians so that we can see good news of great joy for all people permeate this world. Where is the joy in your ministry?

A Disciple's Lament

2009-11-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

Lord God Almighty, I praise you for stepping into my life, opening my eyes, and bringing me new life in Jesus Christ my Savior. I was adrift, without hope, and without God in this world. Yet, you became my heavenly Father, the One who intervened and brought love and grace to me and grafted me into your church, bringing to me relationships that spurred me on to love and good deeds. Not only did you, Holy Spirit, come alongside me and teach me your ways, but you brought me spiritual fathers to help nurture me in the truth of your Word.

I was a clown, a really weird kid when I became a freshman in college. There was one, however, who saw through all the craziness, who looked and believed there was much more there than a good laugh. Tom could see a heart that loved God, and potential in loving people that no one else did. Now, my spiritual father, my friend, my mentor of nearly thirty years is gone. In the flicker of a moment he was taken, like Elijah in the chariot of fire with Elisha looking on. I am lost, with the encourager of my soul snuffed out in an instant like some common sinner. Where is the justice in this? How does this bring glory to your name, O Lord? To whom shall I pour out my complaint over this travesty? Who will now give me the encouragement and direction that a disciple needs? Having touched perhaps thousands of lives, a man of God has been taken, and I am without my spiritual father.

Yet, in the pain of this deep wound, I confess my trust in you, my heavenly Father, who transcends all earthly relationships and extends grace for the moment. Despite the loss on earth, heaven just got a lot more fun with Tom now in the presence of the cosmic host. Your providence, blessed triune God, will prevail; your plans and purposes shall be fulfilled. Although I cannot see the reason for the death of a saint, I will live my life by faith in the Son of God who gave his life for me. Just as Jesus died and gave his life for many, so may Tom’s passing impact lives for years to come. People need the Lord, and may this event usher hundreds into the kingdom of God.

God Almighty, help me to take up the mantle of Tom’s ministry of grace and love, and do what he did. Let the Word of God dwell richly in me that the boldness and confidence of a life lived in Jesus might bring new disciples and fresh converts to your church. Give me, God, a portion of Tom’s spirit; grant to me a piece of his life that I might teach others and pass on what was given to me. Let me be a father to the fatherless, and may my spiritual children increase. And, may my girls live to serve you as Tom’s family has given their lives to you.

You are the God who hears, and I place my hope in you, my Father. I praise you, O God, for you have turned my mourning into joy, my despair into gladness, and my weakness into strength. May you be glorified forever and ever. Amen.

The Church is My Mother

2009-11-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

Is church essential to your life? Statistics continue to pour out from groups on how nearly two-thirds of college students simply drop out of church between ages 18-24. This does not necessarily mean that young adults are losing their faith; they simply do not view church as vital to their lives, and so with the pressures and deadlines of school, making church part of the fabric of a student's life becomes optional. A student, instead, may rely on intermittent personal devotions, community through existing networks of friends on campus, and connecting with others through technology rather than face to face meetings and encounters.

The issue here is not one of church attendance; it is the reality that a whole generation of young people are choosing to put themselves outside of the means of grace given by God for their own benefit and spiritual formation. There is a profound lack of understanding concerning the nature of the church, as well as a paucity of significant relationships between college students and the rest of the Body of Christ. Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her so that she might become pure and holy, and become one with Jesus in practicality, as she is in reality through the cross (Ephesians 5:26-27). The church is God's ordained means of bringing growth in grace to any person's life; to neglect her like ignoring your mother.

Like a mother caring for her children, the church is to be a nurturing community for the exercise and development of faith and perseverance. Without her, the believer is at risk of being like an orphan, cut-off from the life-giving Spirit of God who uses the Word of God in preaching and sacrament to edify and feed. John Calvin has put this in rather vivid terms:

“For there is no other way to enter into life unless this mother (the Church) conceive us in her womb, give us birth, nourish us at her breast, and lastly, unless she keep us under her care and guidance until, putting off mortal flesh, we become like angels. Our weakness does not allow us to be dismissed from her school until we have been pupils all our lives. Furthermore, away from her bosom one cannot hope for any forgiveness of sins or any salvation… it is always disastrous to leave the church.”

College students need to both experience and recover what it means to be the church. Church leaders need to think in terms of grace and nurture with ministry to those students. The goal is not simply to get young adults to stay or come to a church service; the purpose of ministry to college-age persons is to enfold and engraft them into the life of a local body of believers in relationships and ministry so that they might grow in faith and use the means of grace that is available to them. This formative experience in the college years provides a foundation for a lifetime of walking with God and steels them for the years ahead in their engagement with the world. So, how do you view "church"? What adjustments to your life must you make in order to experience the grace God has for you through his Body?

The Problem of Isolation

2009-10-31T08:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a what a Boston Globe article from a few years back had to say about some local neighbors:

"It can never be said that Adele Gaboury's neighbors were less than responsible. When her front lawn grew hip-high, they had a local boy mow it down. When her pipes froze and burst, they had the water turned off. When the mail spilled out the front door, they called the police. The only thing they didn't do was check to see if she was alive. She wasn't. On Monday, police climbed her crumbling brick stoop, broke in the side door of her little blue house, and found what they believe to be the seventy-three-year-old woman's skeletal remains sunk in a five-foot-high pile of trash, where they had apparently lain, perhaps as long as four years. 'It's not really a very friendly neighborhood,' said Eileen Dugan, seventy, once a close friend of Gaboury's, whose house sits less than twenty feet from the dead woman's home. 'I'm as much to blame as anyone. She was alone and needed someone to talk to, but I was working two jobs and I was sick of her coming over at all hours. Eventually I stopped answering the door.'"

Yeah, we might think this would not happen in our neighborhood, or in a student dorm, but the problem of isolation is a profound reality. Do we really know the people located all around us? For the present iGens generation of people, relating electronically far outweighs knowing the individuals that pass me by every day. Even in an actual conversation with another, there can be multiple technological relations taking place through cell phone texting and/or tweeting on the computer.

Although technology serves a purpose and helps connect us in ways previously unheard of, it is now possible to have five-hundred "friends" on Facebook, but have no one person to share the secrets of my life with and express the vulnerability needed for close relationships. There may be, geographically, people all around me, but I can live in virtual anonymity and loneliness in a modern day prison of isolation of self, pretty much keeping to myself and only letting people see a few electronic phrases.

College students are highly relational creatures, but those relationships can easily be a mile-wide, and an inch deep. If students, and all of us in this present electronic age, are going to find fulfillment in a search to belong, we must find a small band of people who spontaneously go in and out of each other's lives, are actually available to relate face to face instead of being so busy, frequently see one another and spend time together, and share meals and lives often.

The irony of our age is that we can have hundreds of acquaintances, and not one intimate friend. Technology is not the real culprit, but only serves to allow us pseudo-relations that protect our obsession with work and time, and guard us from the inevitable pain and hurt that can come with true relationships. Grace and love are much harder to offer than a tweet. We are to love one another deeply, from the heart, and experience the true community that shows the world that we are Christians (1 Peter 1:22; John 13:35).

A dead woman may not be next door to you and me, but the spiritually dead reside all around us. May we simplify our lives and allow the grace of God to touch us, that we might, in turn, be available to offer grace to those who are isolated and cut off from the love that could be theirs in Christ and Christian community.

The Testing of a Student's Faith

2009-10-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

I recently read a study that found that 65% of American evangelical students lose their faith while attending college, and that only 20% of students who were highly churched as teens remained spiritually active by age 29. In my own experience, these statistics ring true. It is not uncommon for Christian students entering the university to drop out of church altogether, become disconnected from faith, and eventually adopt a more secular worldview so that Christianity has no real bearing on their lives anymore by the time they reach their 30's.

There are a host of reasons for this arresting phenomena, with no simple answers. I think, however, it may be pertinent to observe how God is using university life in a person's life: he is testing a student's faith.

When the ancient Israelites came out of Egypt, and passed through the Red Sea, God took them out into the desert in a very roundabout way to the promised land. Through the new, different, and hard circumstances the Israelites faced, God was testing them to see if they would pay attention to him and obey his commands. Through this it became evident that the majority did not have a genuine faith in God and their hearts became hard (Exodus 15:25-26; Hebrews 3:7-19).

Jesus, when beginning his ministry, was baptized in an identification with the ancient Israelites in their baptism through water, and was immediately sent into the desert. While there he was tempted, tried, and tested in order to prove the genuineness of his Sonship and that he was doing what the Jews could not and did not do for themselves. Through Christ's championing of faith in his life, and in his redemptive events of cross and resurrection, he is able to give us the faith that we need for life.

As believers in Jesus Christ, Christians undergo entry into faith, and are tested in their devotion to God. This testing is important for each person, so that it may affirm belief, and bring needed endurance and maturity to live for God throughout the entirety of life (James 1:2-4). For the Christian life is not a 100 meter dash, but a marathon that must be run over the course of a lifetime.

Going to college is a sort of rite of passage into adulthood in our American culture. As students enter into university life, God is using the new, different, and hard situation to test the faith of the Christian. Those who allow their faith to be stretched and grow come out of school as being one of the greatest formative experiences ever in their lives. But those whose faith has not been found as genuine allow their hearts to become deceived and hard.

Knowing this reality, we must endeavor to be an authentic community of redeemed persons who provide a loving and nurturing place in which to grow amidst the rigors of college life. We must also strive to wrestle in prayer for students on a regular basis, that they will be challenged in their faith and come through affirmed and strengthened in belief instead of jettisoning their background in the church. Furthermore, we must also seek to be mentors who walk with students through the desert so that they are not alone in their journey. May college be the desert place of spiritual formation into knowing God. Amen.

Maturity

2009-10-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

It maybe goes without saying that a genuine Christian wants to follow Jesus. We all may have various ideas of how to do this, or differ on what the goal of spiritual growth is. Yet, maybe we need to ask what God wants and what his goal is for his followers? Maturity is where it is at, man, and we all need it, including college students. It is not unusual for me to have a conversation with a student who is hot for God, and bemoans some problem in the church or world, but lacks the maturity to go with the fire. I usually say something to the effect, "yeah, well, you can post your 95 Theses once you own a door to put them on."

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians telling them his aim: "Him (Jesus) we proclaim warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ" (1:28). He echoes this again with the Ephesians letting them know that the process of maturity is to not be done in isolation, but together as a community of believers, so that no one is left out or behind in God's goal of seeing a well-rounded church, fully developed and equipped to follow Jesus in every circumstance of life (4:13). Our Lord himself exhorted us to be mature, just as our heavenly Father is. Since God is mature, we are to reflect him in all of our relationships by handling them in a mature manner (Matthew 5:46-48).

The author of the book of Hebrews tells us that those who are mature have developed a keen sense of discernment in distinguishing between good and evil (5:14); and, Paul told the Phillipians that maturity brings a proper perspective from which to view hard situations and allows one to endure suffering (3:12-15).

Maturity results from spiritual growth which occurs over an extended period of time in the context of community. Maturity can neither happen with only growth, nor with just time. Both are needed in order to reach a mature state. The process of growth over time is of vital importance to Jesus, who knows that this is the manner in which one bears fruit that will last (Luke 8:9-15).

Are you spiritually mature? If so, how did you get to this point? If not, how will maturity be realized? Does my ministry and church have maturity as a goal? Why, or why not? May God be gracious to work in us and instill in his children his own mature nature, that we may be like Jesus in all we do and say.

The Kingdom of God

2009-09-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, in response to a lack of faith manifested through worry: "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness...." I suppose Jesus could have said a lot of things to seek first. Seek salvation, seek love, seek justice, seek the church, seek me. Yet, the kingdom really encompasses all that and more.

The kingdom has to do with the rule and reign of God in this world. It is distinguished from the church in that the church has to do with the people within God's rule. The church, then, might be said to be the means to the end of establishing God's kingdom rule. The kingdom may be said to be a broader concept than the church because it aims at nothing less than the complete control of all manifestations of life. It represents the dominion of God in every sphere of humanity.

The church proclaims the gospel and brings people into the church. They then begin to enjoy all the blessings of God's kingdom rule in their lives: victory over sin and the availability of the power of the Holy Spirit. If we lose sight of the kingdom of God, we become insular and think that our particular church or ministry is the goal of ministry, and that issues outside our ministry have no real merit for our attention. Apart from the kingdom, the systemic problems surrounding justice, racial reconciliation, and poverty all take a backseat to personal expressions of faith in my limited sphere.

When it comes to college ministry, if we have a kingdom mindset, we desire to see God's reign expand across our campus and we will work collaboratively to see this realized. Then it does not become my ministry and your ministry, but our ministry. It is no longer you and me, but we as kingdom minded people. This takes time and effort. But after all, our focus is to be in seeking first the kingdom as priority for ministry.

How do you think a kingdom mentality would change the face of your life and ministry?

Who Am I?

2009-08-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

I grew up in small town Iowa and lived in the same house until I went to college. One of the things that fascinated me as a freshman was that no one knew me. Since I came from a place where everyone knew who I was, and I never knew anything different from this, coming to a new place where everyone was a stranger was very weird. One of the things I did, out of my natural ornery self, was create new identities with the various groups of people around me. So when I introduced myself as Numbala Goldstien, African-Jew, no one questioned who I was.

All weirdness aside, one of the things that incoming students to college experience is being in a completely new place with lots of people. Who they were before, from whatever place, is now in the past. Some students don't handle this well. For example, if someone was identified as popular in high school, and now are in a much bigger pond where their popularity no longer defines them, it can throw a person into identity shock.

Our culture sees our identity as an amalgam of all our past deeds and experiences, making us who we are. The Bible, however, takes a different approach to identity; it is not found in my past but in Jesus Christ's past. Our truest self is defined not by what I did in high school or in my hometown, but by what Christ experienced and accomplished for us on the cross. Just as a student lets go of the old life, and reaches out to a new life in college, so we must all let go of old ways of living in sin and brokenness, and embrace being a new creature in Christ based on what he did for me. This is, in fact, what baptism is: that one engages in a ritual in which I am now publicly identified as belonging to Jesus.

We are not defined by our skills, abilities, and past actions. My identity, as a Christian, is in relation to Jesus. As a new academic year starts, it is vital that we all see who we are through the lenses of Scripture: a person known and loved by God through Jesus. With this identity, there is never a reason to create a new one.

The Importance of Church

2009-08-12T06:06:00.000-07:00

Getting grounded in the local church is important. Really, it is. Over the years I have seen something of a pattern with college students. The students who have gotten involved in church, built relationships, and become part of the life of a local body tend to graduate from college and go on to become a significant part of a church wherever they go. On the other hand, those who float in and out of church, or don't become involved at all, tend to graduate and never know how to become a part of a local church. There is, of course, exceptions to this. It has just been my observation that this is the general trend with students. Even those who are fully engaged in a ministry on campus, but not in the church, tend to tank after graduation. The reason is simply because there is no campus ministry after college life.

If that were the only reason to become involved in church, it ought to be compelling enough, but there is a more biblical reason to enter into the life of the local church: it has been established by God to be the continuing presence of Jesus in the world. The Church is ordained and instituted to be a community of redeemed people who celebrate the hospitality of God in the gospel, extend the grace of God's forgiveness through the fellowship of communion, confess their sins to each other, and share in life together as salt and light in the world. Through the preaching of the gospel and the sacraments, God's forgiveness and reconciliation become actualized in our lives. That is, the Church is God's, and it is his means of transforming people and using them to penetrate the world in love and grace.

It would be good, then, to ponder the reality that the Church of Jesus Christ is not optional equipment for the Christian. The Church has been blessed by God to be a blessing. This is a teaching that has been handed down to us from the apostles, throughout church history, and needs to be recognized and recovered by us. Cyril of Jerusalem, a distinguished scholar and church father from the 4th century, said we should take note of the Church because it extends over all the earth. "It teaches universally and without omission all the doctrines which ought to come to man's knowledge... and it brings under the sway of true religion all classes of men, rulers and subjects, learned and ignorant; it universally treats and cures every type of sin, committed by means of body and soul, and possesses in itself every kind of virtue which can be named, in deeds and words, and spiritual gifts of every kind."

See you Sunday!

Prayer and Providence

2009-08-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

Why do you pray... or not pray? The more I talk with students, and others, I see a lot of desire to pray. Yet it seems we sense that we don't pray enough or as much as we want. The issue is not that we don't pray; the problem is that we don't persevere in prayer. Instead of taking the legalistic route of exhorting you that you should stop being so lazy and get on your knees (not very inspiring, is it?), let's consider God for a moment.

Our Triune God is the Creator of the universe. Everything is his, and his is sovereign over all. His relationship to his creatures is what we call "providence." God's providence means that he is intimately involved in the world he has made. The Lord sustains and governs all creation. We, as the apex of his creation, are totally and completely dependent upon him. All creation was pronounced "good" because it came from God, who himself is good. Events, then, that happen in God's world are neither random and by chance, nor deterministic and by fate.

The providence of God is working to fulfill his good plans in the world. God is, therefore, concerned to use human prayers to accomplish that plan so that intercession is integral to God's design, and not in contradiction to it. God is present and active in human lives. Question and answer 28 of the Heidelberg Catechism states, "How does the knowledge of God's creation and providence help us? We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing will separate us from his love. All creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved."

Want to pray? Think about who God is, and be inspired to pray because of our great dependence upon him for everything, and since everything God does is good. Please join with me in prayer this academic year that God would save a whole bunch of college students, and bring many of them into the life of our church. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

True Freedom

2009-07-29T14:04:00.000-07:00

Everybody, it seems, likes a good trip to the Zoo. My favorite stop is the tiger cage. I must confess that when I look at those majestic animals I envy their lifestyle: eating and sleeping all day and hanging with Mrs. Tiger, if you know what I mean... But I don't look at them and say they are "free". They are behind bars. Freedom for them is being in the jungle. Tigers like having a large territory to roam and to hunt. The Zoo isn't freedom for them. So, isn't it funny (not funny "ha-ha" but funny "uh-oh") that we think doing whatever we want, like being able to skip school and eat and sleep all day, is real freedom. Tigers are free when they are able to be tigers. Humanity, likewise, is free only when they are being what humans are supposed to be.

So, what are humans supposed to be? We are people created in the image of God for the purpose of glorifying God and enjoying him forever. Whenever we stray from this, we have become objects in a Zoo for others to gawk at. We will only find our true happiness and freedom in fulfilling our God-given humanity. Life, for us, does not consist in how much money we make and how much stuff we have; it is defined only in our relationship to the Creator of the universe. What is the direction of your life? What direction are you leading others toward? Are your ministry efforts reflecting real humanity and true freedom?

Created in the Image of God

2009-07-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

All humanity is created in the image of likeness of God. This means our existence, and our varied human experiences, are all inextricably and vitally connected to God. We are dependent upon him, and absolutely need him. This also means that since all persons are image-bearers, every person on this earth is to be accorded respect and help simply because they have intrinsic worth as people created by God.

It is much too common that we divide people into certain groups based according to race, class, gender, ethnicity, good and bad, pretty and ugly, saved and unsaved. Yet, the biblical reality is that all humanity shares the solidarity of, well, being human beings created in the image of God.

This has immense implication for ministry. It seems, in my judgment, that we can sometimes dress up our ministry decisions with words like "target audience" and "reaching the leaders" and "family values". Sometimes what we mean by this is that we would like to exclude having to deal with certain persons and would really rather not have them in our community. But the image of God will not let us get away with such behavior.

Every person in our community, every college student on our campus, and every individual that God providentially sends our way is worthy of being loved, helped, and recognized. This is called grace. While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us, gave us a new life, and modeled for us what the true image of God looks like. If we find ourselves practicing the violence of exclusion, the remedy is found in the cross of Christ, where we have the privilege of applying the good news of Jesus to the malady of our hearts. For we shall only find true happiness in living consistent with who we are: people created in the image of God.

The Church

2009-07-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

A classic definition of the church that has existed for most of its history is that the church is the continuing presence of Jesus in the world, called and blessed by God to be a blessing to one another and to the world. The church is not a voluntary society of like-minded individuals that have come together for their own interests and happiness. Instead, the church is a group of people who have been called by God and joined to Christ with the Spirit's direction and enabling.

Here are some important implications of this definition:

1. It is God who makes a person a member of the church, and not my individual choice.
2. People often leave a particular church because they see it as a voluntary society which is not meeting their interests and making them happy.
3. The church exists to further God's glory and interests, not mine.
4. Jesus wants his church to continue his ministry and presence outside the church walls and programs.
5. The gospel is the good news of God's hospitality (literally "love of strangers") toward us.
6. The church is made up of called and redeemed people who are to be a community of hospitality, extending grace because we have first received it from Jesus.

The list could go on and on, but the point is that the church exists not for me, nor to promote itself. The church is to have an outward focus of extending forgiveness and reconciliation in the world. The questions to ask, then, are "how can we be a blessing to others?" and, "what does it mean to be the presence of Jesus?" Not, "what's in it for me?"

What do college students learn from church? That it is a voluntary society, or those called by God for his kingdom? Here is an opportunity to become part of the Spirit's work in the world, and to locate the center of our lives in Christ. May it be so.

The Daily Office of Prayer

2009-07-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

The reality of many of our lives is that our daily schedules tend to revolve around, well, me! As believers in Jesus I think most of us would like to have our everyday center in Christ. But it does not often happen for a host of reasons, not the least for all the many responsibilities we have.

Now, hang with me for a moment. I think one of the great tasks of all churches, ministries, and individual Christians is to be both indigenous and catholic. What I mean, is that we are to live our lives in such a way as to express our faith in ways that are realistic and consistent with the society and culture that we are in, but to do it in such a way that connects us with what Christians of all times and all places have done throughout history and do now all across the world. It is to this last point that we tend to woefully fail and find ourselves living a bifurcated existence with no relation between our faith and our work and school.

One of the things that can help connect us to Christ each day, that has been done through all of church history, is what is called the "daily office." This is a routine and rhythm of short prayers throughout the day that center in the life and death of Jesus. Hippolytus, a third century father of the faith, instructed Christians to pray immediately after waking up for God's presence through the day, at nine in the morning remembering that Christ was nailed on the cross, at noon because of the darkness that fell over the earth, at three in the afternoon to mark the death of Jesus, and before bed to give one's life over to God (Hipploytus, The Apostolic Tradition).

The idea here is to always have Christ in your mind so that you do not succumb to temptation and live according to God's will. No matter where you are, at set times in your day, you can pray in your heart or out loud remembering Jesus and offering yourself to him, pressing the effects of Christ's redemptive events further and deeper into our hearts. Why not give it a try? The only thing to lose here is a few ungodly thoughts and selfish decisions in your day. May you find peace in the cross of Christ.

The Trinity and Life

2009-07-14T06:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we may shy away from the term "theology" because we think of something either too deep or too irrelevant for my life. Yet, a genuine study of God is always connected to daily life because God is concerned to reveal himself to us. What is true about the divine is that he is One God in three persons: the Trinity.

Just a cursory look at the triune God communicates to us something of how we are to live as beings created in the image of God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit operate together in perfect cooperation and unity, are egalitarian and in perfect equality with each other, and have self-giving love within the Godhead.

We are to reflect these attributes of God by each day making a contribution to the life of my community, upholding the worth of all people by avoiding exploitation and manipulation of others, and loving others through grace and mercy by regarding the welfare of people as important.

Therefore, a fruitful study of the Holy Trinity results in fruitful human relations. How God interacts with himself in love, mutual submission, and unity of purpose is to be the pattern of how we are to interact with one another. Is this the character of your small group, your circle of friends, your family, your church? How can we work to foster the triune God in our spheres of influence? If we were to center our ministries in the Trinity, what would they "look like"?

John Calvin

2009-07-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

A big 500th happy birthday (posthumously) to John Calvin today. His legacy is firmly ensconced in both history and even in today's church. Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion still stands out as one of the best and most important works on theology the Protestant world has seen. Calvin's purpose in writing it, in the preface to his books, was "solely to transmit certain rudiments by which those who are touched with any zeal for religion might be shaped to true godliness." This volumes permanence lies, then, not only in its comprehensive discussion of Reformed doctrine, but in its direction of wanting to bring believers in Jesus to maturity and true piety.

All who are desirous to know God better will benefit immensely from wading through the Institutes. It may not be bedtime reading, but it is well worth a careful look. Enjoy!

Aliens and Strangers

2009-07-06T12:14:00.001-07:00

Recently I have been scanning through several books and resources on college ministry. There are two absences from the literature that rather disturb me. I will mention one here: in talking of ministry to college students, everyone seems oblivious to the persons who are "different". That is, the stranger, those that are not in the mainstream. It may be the depressed and withdrawn college student, the gay and lesbian, the one who is shunned for not being cool, or is just not "right in the head" in some way, the ones who dress differently, and, of course, the unattractive, the not very smart, the inarticulate, and the social misfit. Even married students often are marginalized, along with the handicapped, and just about anyone who is not a more "traditional" student. The list could go on. My point here is that in building a ministry, these people are not included. After all, they have nothing to offer us.

This is, quite simply, contrary to the gospel of grace that we preach. A persistent theme throughout Scripture is that of the alien. God told the Israelites to remember the stranger because they once were aliens in Egypt (Exodus 23:9; Leviticus 19:33). Jesus ups the ante by telling us to actively love such persons (Matthew 5:43, 22:39). Paul takes this further by exhorting believers to show hospitality, which is, literally, the love of strangers (Romans 12:13).

Here are some questions that ought to penetrate our ministry paradigms: Am I in touch with my own strangeness and alien nature? Do I have the capacity to see the image of God in others very different from me? How can I become a voice for the voiceless? Will we struggle to be hospitable to all people?

James said that true religion consists of caring for orphans and widows (James 1:27). The reason he points these two out is that, when we minister to these type of people, they have absolutely no means of reciprocating and giving back. So, here is grace at its finest; just as God in Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, so we may mirror the very character of the Lord in extending ministry with no strings attached to those who are in need.

Perhaps we need a different evaluative grid of our personal and corporate ministries. How about if we base our measurements in grace? Who are the strangers God has placed in your life? How may you show hospitality to them?

The Ministry Model of Jesus

2009-07-02T11:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my head spins with how complex we, as Christian folk, make ministry. It certainly is hard work, but a rather simple pattern is observable with Jesus. He gathered some men together in a close discipleship relationship, taught them, and sent them out to gather followers themselves. I think this may be what Jesus had in mind with the Great Commission of Matthew chapter 28 when he said to go and make disciples of all nations. That is, he is telling us to do what he did.

Historically, we know that this model was practiced by the Apostle John who gathered a group of disciples of which Polycarp was a part (Bishop of Smyrna and an early martyr of the the faith). Polycarp formed a group of disciples of whom Irenaeus was a part (a huge figure in the early church whose theological impact is still felt today). Irenaeus formed a group of whom Hippolytus was a part (another Big Dog in the early church). And on it goes...

This approach is simple, but requires a lot of relational work. Church folk can be involved in mentoring, or gathering a few together as “disciples” in the same fashion as Jesus did. The intention is to bring students to spiritual maturity, and equip them to form their own groups and mentor students themselves. This has the advantage of students moving in both worlds of the church and the campus, becoming mature believers in the context of the church and making an impact in their community of the campus.

There is a rhythm here of gathering and sending. Getting into this groove is to find the sweet spot of ministry, and reproduce the model of Jesus himself. What do you think?

Back Home

2009-06-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

I'm finally back home after spending the month of June away. Here are just a few of my general impressions, having interacted with leaders from all over the country and even around the world: first, "successful" ministry is really rather simple in its approach, that is, for all of our meetings and strategy sessions, nothing replaces gathering a few disciples around to pour your life into and make a difference (kind of like Jesus did!); second, ministry is not something we do, but is an expression of who we are as we genuinely incarnate ourselves into the lives of others; and, third, from having a broad view of the ecumenical church, it seems to me that we are just downright spiritually spoiled and often act like brats. While grinding poverty, horrific circumstances, and oppression occur daily among many believers, we complain about every little thing we don't like in the church.

My prayer is that the heart of God would become the reality of our lives. Pray for me, that college students would know Jesus and know God's grace through our ministry. May the fellowship of the Spirit be with you!

A Tale of Two Churches

2009-06-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I visited two churches on the same Sunday morning. The first church I attended was rather "traditional." The architecture of the building was splendid and immediately gave me a sense of the sovereignty and majesty of God. The sanctuary had a capacity of about four to five hundred, and it was full. It was evident to me, as the service began, that the congregation had a strong sense of community and deeply cared for one another. Moreover, as the liturgy unfolded, there seemed to be a clear connection with the worldwide church and an understanding of its historic character as a Reformation body. Yet, through all this it lacked one thing: relevance. It was just plain boring. Despite the fact that it recognized and affirmed the confessions and creeds of the church, they were presented as wooden and disconnected from contemporary experience as if they were some sort of relics on display in a museum. The gentleman sitting next to me simply fell asleep, and for good reason.

Upon leaving this church, from which I sat and looked at my watch most of the service, I drove ten minutes to another church. This was a large non-denominational church with several thousand persons and multiple services. The church clearly existed to remedy the ills of the congregation from which I had just come. The service was simple and straightforward: 45 minutes of singing, and 45 minutes of preaching. Ironically, some of the same hymns I had just sung at the previous church I now stood and sang with a different kind of arrangement and enthusiasm. The preaching was biblically solid and hit me directly where I operate in my day to day spiritual life. There was, however, something missing: the historic creeds and confessions of the church. In the absence of these, I had the sense that the church was somehow adrift with no historical moorings to hold it. The building I entered was nothing more than a warehouse full of people which could not be distinguished from any run of the mill conference I had ever attended, or any concert I had seen. It appeared that in its zeal to distance itself from the musty nature of traditionalism, the church had thrown the baby out with the bathwater. A vast collection of people seemed utterly disconnected from both each other and from history altogether with no real guidance other than the practical.

I tell this tale, not to exhaust you in reading, but to posit: why does it seem that these two kinds of churches are mutually exclusive of each other? In looking for a church, and connecting with a local body of believers, we ought to be able to retain what is good in both churches. It is my prayer that Bridgeway college students will experience church both as a place of relevance and enthusiasm, while maintaining a solid rootedness to our rich history and faithfulness to scripture. Let us worship in both spirit, and in truth.

Where Are We Going in Ministry?

2009-06-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

What exactly is the direction we ought to be taking in the Christian life? How do we know when we are on the right path? At Bridgeway Church, we are all about connections - with Christ, each other, and the world. Is there a measurement for this?

Here is a “take” on measuring connection. Article 29 of the Belgic Confession of 1566 states that we recognize the distinguishing marks of Christians “namely by faith, and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness, once they have received the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. They love the true God and their neighbors, without turning to the right or left, and they crucify the flesh and its works. Though great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their lives, appealing constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus, in whom they have forgiveness of their sins, through faith in him.”
I would say this is the outcome we want to see with students.

It seems to me that the true evidence, from a historical perspective of the church, whether students are heading in the direction is if they have a posture of humility toward the preaching of the Word, the practicing of the sacraments, and obedience to church discipline (I’m not talking about punishment here, but having a submissive attitude of accepting spiritual practices that will foster Christian maturity, e.g. prayer, fasting, and giving). These, then, are the appropriate measurements of genuine Christianity. The evaluative grid is one that seeks to understand if individual believers are vested in the outward forms from deep inner conviction. The end of this is a changed life, which becomes evident to all. May it be so!

Relationships

2009-06-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

I am away from my family for the entire month, and have a renewed appreciation for why college students are such relational creatures. In the absence of the family that others may take for granted, they are pretty much on their own developing friendships and connections that become vital to their lives.

This is why the church is so important. Historically, the church has been defined as "the continuing presence of Christ in the world." First, then, it is necessary to be connected in close relationship with Jesus. Second, out of this flows the connections and relationships with others that are needed in the Body of Christ. Thus, in a day when ministry has become some sort of science to dissect and understand, we need to recover the simplicity of cultivating relationships and plowing into people's lives as far as we can. Proclamation of the gospel, biblically, is not only a verbal activity done from afar, but is highly relational and is deeply invested communicating Christ through myself using the means of grace and the Spirit.

Yeah, I'm missing my family big time. But there are lonely people all around us, many of them students, who need a relational incarnation from another in close relationship. This is the stuff of true discipleship, and the basic activity for which we need to recapture to see lives changed.

God is Huge!

2009-06-10T07:31:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last week and a half on Lake Michigan. It has been several years since I've hung out on the beach, so to see how big the lake is again keeps me reminded that God communicates who He is through creation. I am continually confronted with the immensity of God and the smallness of my own problems. Thanks to all who are praying for me. May the Lord of the earth reveal his huge-ness to you, as well!

A Son's Lament

2009-06-03T16:02:00.001-07:00

A very biblical thing to do is to practice lament in situations of hurt or loss. The following is a lament I wrote today in response to the death of my Dad:

I praise You, Father God, for intervening in my life and adopting me as Your own and becoming for me the father I never had.

My Dad is gone, he is dead, and with his passing is the death of a relationship that could have been, but never was. I feel like a child who did not grow up because his Dad was emotionally distant, and did not give support, guidance, and the connection I so desparately needed, who in his last words on earth said to me, "I cannot talk about it."

Yet, in the pain of my father-wound, I place my trust in my heavenly Father to do for me what I cannot do for myself, and to enter into deep relation with me as the ultimate father of grace, mercy, and unending love for his son.

May You heal me, O God, and give me the wisdom, the courage, and the power to navigate this depraved world in the absence of my own flesh and blood. Would You help me to be a father to my own children as You have been a father to me. May You use Your church as my family.

You are not called "Father" for nothing, for what human father would give his son a snake when he asks for bread. I know that Your plans and direction for me are good.

I sit in patience, for You will make me the man you want me to be. I praise Your name, which is Father, for you have turned my mourning into joy, and my despair into gladness. Amen.

Hospitality

2009-06-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

I am here at Camp Geneva, and the food is incredible. The hospitality I have experienced is second to none. I have already eaten more in two days than I did all last week. Maybe you would call me a glutton. If so, I am in good company since the Pharisees labeled Jesus as a glutton and a drunkard.

A simple observation of Jesus is that he gained this reputation as a friend of sinners through continually eating and drinking with them. In the ancient world, having a meal with someone was more than simple eating; it was a spiritual activity that communicated care and acceptance. So much did Jesus do this that it seemed to the religious establishment that he was out of control with his appetites.

What kind and degree of practicing hospitality would it take for us to be identified with Jesus himself as a glutton and a friend of sinners? If we truly seek to follow in the Master's footsteps, then incarnating ourselves in the lives of sinners through table fellowship is a must activity.

No one likes a good meal quite like a poor college student. Reaching out to them in this hospitality of love is the Jesus way.

Solution-Focused Therapy

2009-06-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

One of the many things I am learning this week on the shores of Lake Michigan is solution-focused therapy. The basic idea, as a counselor, is to not be the problem solver and fix the person or the situation, but to help the counselee build their own solutions and see the hope and resources they have to deal with their circumstance. It is easy to slip into overfunctioning and do the work for another that they should be doing themselves.

Here is one technique to spur the process along and be a facilitator in helping: this is called the miracle question. Suppose while you sleep tonight, a miracle occurred. You don't know it because you were sleeping, but miraculously your problem has been removed. When you wake up in the morning, how do you know the miracle occurred? What is different now? How have you changed? This is an exercise is using imagination to think through what I might do that could create the changes I want.

Well, that's my tidbit for today. Thanks for you prayers in my time away. Sweet dreams!

Martin Luther

2009-05-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, I admit it. I'm a theology geek. I have been recently meditating on Romans 6-8 and have found myself drawn to Luther's Heidelberg Disputation in my bedtime reading as a result. In my opinion this is one of his greatest works. In it he contrasts what he calls a theology of glory with a theology of the cross.

By theology of glory, Luther means adhering to the law. A theology of glory considers grace as a supplement to whatever I cannot accomplish by my own willpower. The problem with this is that the law and our efforts leave us unable to really change and deal with our brokenness. We take a low view of sin and its corrupting power, and too much stock in our own abilities. What is more, Luther views our good works as evil when they are done apart from God. Thesis 8 states, "by so much more are the works of man mortal sins when they are done without fear and in unadulterated, evil self-security." In addition, he states in thesis 16, "the person who believes that he can obtain grace by doing what is in him adds sin to sin so that he becomes doubly guilty."

The answer to this is the cross. "It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of Christ" (thesis 18). We must know the God who has suffered. It is only through Christ's work that we are able to do any good work. Good works, done as law on our own, are addictive. Thus, the addict needs an intervention to change, and that intervention is the cross where God himself crucifies our desires, even the good ones when thought of apart from God. It is, then, not what we do but what we believe.

Sometimes we can shy away from delving into thinking on these things. Attending the next event or meeting is no substitute for reflection on the God who saves. But it is only through a robust theology of the cross that we will find true power and success in ministry. We will do well to think on these things.

Summer

2009-05-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Summer break is here. Some students stay and take classes, but most take off for home, summer job, or a myriad of other places. During this time it can be easy to drift from the routines established throughout the year of attending church and campus ministries, engaging in bible studies, and personal disciplines of prayer. Community, so important in the academic year, sometimes takes a break leaving us spiritually famished by the time the Fall semester rolls around. Let me encourage you to spend time this summer getting to know the bible book of Romans, specifically chapters 6-8. This passage will help in these next months to keep us grounded in the gospel of Jesus and ready to take on the next year.

The gospel is the work of God to restore humans to union with God and communion with others, in the context of community, for the good of others and the world. No better place than Romans 6 is there to stay personally on track, overcome my bad habits, and help others we meet who don't know what to do in their problems. As you read this chapter, notice that Paul wants us to: know the gospel by understanding our union with Christ; believe the gospel by reckoning it as true in your life; and, live the gospel by offering yourself to God as an instrument of righteousness.

Spend time each day thinking about these things and you will not only have a summer break, but a time of knowing Jesus, others, and yourself better. May God bless you as you seek to glorify him.

Vision Statement

2009-05-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

Next week I will be going to Michigan for the month of June. God has given me a great opportunity to take some classes and interact with lots of people in various ministries as well as college ministries. I hope to keep some regular updates while there on what I am learning. For now, I am including here the short version of our recently developed college ministry vision statement. Please feel free to tell us what you think about this, that is, what you like, don't like, what you would add, subtract, or edit.

"We, as Bridgeway Church, declare that we love college students and the campus community. It is our desire to be a blessing to them through: helping students come to grips with how they fit into Jesus Christ and God's world; building and nurturing relationships with students in the church; and, encouraging and equipping students to contribute to furthering God's purposes on earth."

"Connecting college students to Christ, each other, and the world."

The Place of the Sacraments

2009-05-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

Some have responded to an earlier post on Baptism and the Lord's Supper by wondering if I really believe the sacraments can play such a crucial role in the formation of a Christian worldview for college students. The short answer to that is "yes". Here is the longer answer, and I will frame it by asking two questions: what place do the sacraments have in the Christian life? and, why do we even need them since we have the preaching of the Word?

We get something in the sacraments that we don't get by sermons alone. The sheer physical presence of the elements of water, bread, and wine engages the whole person in sight, touch, and smell and not just through an engagement with the mind through the ears. The sacraments present the good news of Jesus to us, along with the Word, more clearly. Perhaps all of us have had the experience of receiving an e-mail with an attachment we cannot open. We may gain a certain amount of knowledge and understanding from the e-mail itself, but without the attachment the communication is insufficient and lacking. Holy communion and baptism are the attachments opened to us revealing the presence of Jesus among his people and showing us the incredible union we have with God through Christ's redemptive events.

We need more than just talk in communication of the gospel. Just as lovers need more than just the words "I love you" (sermon), they need an embrace, a kiss, some action that reveals and seals the words as real. This is the role of the sacraments in the life of faith, that they assure us, in a material way, of the great love shown to us in Christ (VanderZee, Christ, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, pp.191-2). They lift us to heaven where Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and help us to know the reality of grace. The Belgic Confession says this of what we are speaking:

"We believe that our good God, mindful of our crudeness and weakness, had ordained sacraments for us to seal his promises in us, to pledge his good will and grace toward us, and also to nourish and sustain our faith. He has added these to the Word of the gospel to represent better to our external senses both what he enables us to understand by his Word and what he does inwardly in our hearts, confirming in us the salvation he imparts to us."

It is a misguided belief that college students only need (or want) a worship service with praise choruses and a lively sermon. Two thousand years of church history testifies to the importance of the sacraments in the life of Christians. We push them to the periphery at our own peril. They are meant to seal the message of union with Christ to us with greater certainty. When they are practiced with the attention they deserve, along with the preaching of the Word, it provides a solid foundation from which to construct a decidedly Christian world and life view of human need and divine redemption. So, how do you view your life and the world around us?

Faith and Work

2009-05-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

I have had a lot of jobs in my life, from white collar to blue collar, from the exciting to the repetitive and the mundane. I wish I could say that I have always had a positive attitude about all my jobs, but the reality is that I have had jobs I hated, and have done work that left me feeling completely dehumanized. College students get their education anticipating entering the "real world" of a career and a job. Making that transition from school to the working world is important. Here are some things I have found to be helpful in making the transition successfully.

First, a Reformed perspective on work has been tremendously helpful for me. The Reformers, like John Calvin, eliminated the long held medieval distinction between sacred work and secular work. They elevated all vocations into a calling blessed by God. All work is significant because God himself engaged in the work of creation. Work also involves, for the Reformers, worship. That is, we worship God through obedience to him in our jobs; our attitude makes work meaningful. Work, furthermore, provides a context for our continual learning about God. Our job, if we let it, can cultivate godliness, moderation, perseverance, and self-control. Thus, any job has the potential to transform us.

Second, we have opportunities to integrate our faith and work so that we don't end up having a working world and another world outside of work where the two never meet. David Miller in his book God at Work offers four ways of bringing our faith and our jobs together: connecting biblical ethics to concrete applications in the marketplace; seeing the workplace as a mission field to reach the lost; finding meaning and purpose in work through a Christian worldview; and, using my job as a means of personal change through working with others in community and fellowship.

Yes, all work involves a certain amount of toil and difficulty. But seeing it as the possibility of sharing in the work that God wants to do on this earth can help us in those times when we feel like we are going nowhere. In a day when the level of satisfaction for so many in their jobs is low, we need to recover looking at our vocation from a more biblical point of view. If college students can gain this outlook now, it can the means of transforming society for the better.

Sacraments and Worldview

2009-05-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

A great task of the church, and a necessary pursuit for any college student, is to continually come in line with a Christian world and life view. Our postmodern and post-Christian society works against becoming spiritually formed according to biblical categories. The university, as important as it is, can be the vehicle of promoting a rival worldview to Christianity. More than one professor in my undergraduate experience told me that they enjoyed shocking freshman students into thinking in more secular terms and away from their "narrow" thinking about God and the church. Although that has been a few years ago, I still speak with students who feel like they are swimming upstream of the prevailing attitudes on reality in our society and university culture. One of the most significant means that the church can help inform students and promote a Christian worldview is through the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Western society, and sometimes even the church, tends to hold to a cleavage between the spiritual and the material in an inherent dualism inherited from ancient Greek categories of thought. Yet, in the sacraments these two elements are firmly united. The good news of Jesus is not just proclaimed by stating propositions of truth, but, as Frank Senn has said in his book Christian Liturgy: Catholic and Evangelical the forgiveness of sins is declared "by sentences joined to a bath, the laying on of hands, and communal eating and drinking" (p.31). God is the creator of all things, both visible and invisible (Colossians 1:16). The incarnation is where the invisible God became a visible human. There is no dichotomous reality here between material and spiritual, but an essential unity. Leonard VanderZee has said that this unity makes the sacraments "a place where God meets us and where the spiritual and physical come together for our wholeness and healing" (Christ, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, p.28). Now that the Lord Jesus has accomplished his great redemptive events of cross and resurrection, the sacraments serve as material signs to us of the now invisible Christ. John Calvin called this a "visible word" that declares God's saving work in Christ on behalf of every human being.

There is certainly a profound place for didactic instruction in the church on a Christian worldview, and I would argue that it needs to take place. But this is insufficient. God himself has instituted baptism and the Lord's Supper as means of proclaiming forgiveness and declaring the unity of reality, and the great union we have with God because of Jesus. When we partake of this, we are doing much more than remembering; we are providing and re-enacting a view of the world that is in contradistinction from prevailing notions outside of Christendom. Here is where college students can find a place of seeing life from God's pespective.

Mentoring

2009-05-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

In my recent conversations with college students, there is a comment that has risen to the surface. When it comes to having relationships in the local church nearly every student I have spoken to in the past month has expressed a desire to have a mentor(s) who will come alongside and walk with them through the uncharted territory of life. This is not only an admirable yearning, but a biblical one as well.

Of the many Old Testament passages that could be examined (including the relationship between the prophets Elijah and Elisha) there is one that is of interest. Isaiah 61:1 (which Jesus applies to himself in Luke 4:16-21) states that "the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor" (emphasis mine). The Hebrew language is one in which there can be multiple meanings for one word. The phrase "preach good news" is one word, which also has the meaning "flesh" (Brown, Driver, Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, p.142). In-other-words, preaching good news is not only a proclamation of certain propositions about the gospel, but is to be an "enfleshment" of the preacher to the person. To put it another way, a true form of preaching good news is in a mentoring relationship in which the mentor shares his/her life with the apprentice in coming alongside and helping in both word and deed.

This is exactly what Jesus did with his disciples, and is what true "discipleship" is. It is not simply getting through a three-ring binder of Christian doctrine and practice with a student, but a genuine investment of blood, sweat, and tears over time that forms another spiritually in knowing God. Paul also had mentoring relationships in mind when he urged Titus to teach the older believers so that they can, in turn, train the younger believers in godliness (2:1-8).

Reaching college students and seeing their spiritual formation realized is dependent upon our willingness, as people in the church, to be mentors. Students can also take initiative to approach others for whom they have found respect and maturity, and ask them to come alongside in a special relationship centered in Christ. But we in the church must not wait to be asked. The onus is on us to identify students in need, and offer a hospitable life which can nurture another into Christian truth and life. In this, we will pass on the love and grace of God to the generations to come (2 Timothy 2:2). May the Lord be honored in our efforts to do his will.

Church Renewal

2009-05-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

In nearly 30 years of ministry as a pastor, layperson, and college minister, I have received enough letters, e-mails, and advertisements on church renewal to wallpaper every room in my house. Programs, conferences, Sunday School curriculum, and an endless stream of Christian literature all promise me and my church and ministry that if I just subscribe and adopt to their particular event or agenda that my congregation will be transformed. I won't take the time here to expound the theology that is behind this, and the biblical doctrines that are ignored in their presentations. Instead, I want to state why the churches I have been a part of have experienced renewal and transformation in two words: college students.

There is nothing that can bring new life and vitality to a church than the presence of college students who have taken hold of the redemptive events of Jesus, experienced the touch of the Holy Spirit, and see the sovereignty of the Father in directing their lives. They are truly a unique breed of people who, with their boundless energy and optimism born of their walk with God, proclaim to us Christians in the church that the Lord of Creation is still active and involved in doing what God does best: changing lives for his glory and honor. College students bring a spiritual dynamic to a local congregation that encourages an examined life of prayer, confession, repentance, and obedience. It is no wonder that the revivals and renewals of church history have been influenced and numbered by college students and twenty-something believers. George Whitefield, perhaps the greatest revivalist in history, was 19 years old when he began preaching and leading hundreds to Christ. Even a cursory look at the scriptures point to the vast contribution of young men and women to salvation history. David, Daniel, Mary the mother of Jesus, Jeremiah, Stephen, and Timothy were all young people who were mightily used of God and had a piety far exceeding the older religious establishment.

It would behoove us in the church to place less hope in our programs and plans and to be intentional about giving greater attention to reaching college students. In a later blog post I will address the importance of mentoring students in the church. But for now, consider the vast possibilities and opportunities the church has in students, and make every effort in prayer and ministry to spiritually form them in Christ. If we are looking for renewal and revival in the church, we need look no further than the 17 million college students currently enrolled in universities around the country, and rely on the Holy Spirit to change them and use them to their full potential as believers.

Death

2009-05-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

We typically don't deal well with death in our American culture simply because we don't like to think about it. Yet, it is a reality we all must face. Couple this with the fact that suicide is a leading cause of death for college students, and we see that death is topic we must confront. Just last week I buried my Dad. He passed away on a Friday night, a visitation was on Sunday, and the funeral on Monday. Bing, bang, boom it was over. Typically we give three days for the process of grief. Most employers give only three days of bereavement pay. Most professors still want the work in on time. The expectation is that we get this grief thing all over with and move on with our lives as if nothing has happened.

Biblically, grief unfolds over a much longer stretch of time. It takes time to come to grips with what has happened and come to a resolution of the reality of the loss. Emotions need time to come out and be expressed through talking about the deceased, through lots of tears, and through listening to the stories of others about the loved one we no longer have. When, in the Old Testament, Jacob died, an extended time of bereavement occurred where the body was embalmed (a long process in Egyptian culture), a funeral procession ran from Egypt to Israel, and, once at the burial site, a period of thrity days was observed in mourning. Constrasted with our bereavement rituals, it is no wonder that college students often exhibit long periods of depression and anger months, sometimes even years after a death of a friend or family member.
Sometimes they may drop out of school altogether and are never quite the same.

Our well-meaning words to the bereaved can also add to the suppression of emotions. When words are offered that God works for the good of the death, that we can be joyful despite our loss because of heaven, or that it is time to move on and put the past behind us, we can unwillingly short circuit the needed process of grief, leaving the bereaved feeling guilty for not being able to cope better with the loss. Everyone's grief is personal, and everyone must have another who will offer a listening ear. Deeds often say much more than words for the bereaved. Bringing meals, helping with the dishes or laundry, or taking the dog for a walk are all examples of mercy and love that speak volumes to those experiencing loss.

So, let's not avoid death. Let's embrace it. Let's feel the full range of pain that is inevitable in such a loss. For, through the process of grief we can better experience the solidarity of identifying with the suffering Savior of our souls, and we can be agents of God's grace to the hurting. It is through these needs met that students come to know Jesus and the power of salvation.