I am not going to lie, there has been the temptation to plug in the TV, mindlessly zone out, and go back to the since of normal after a long day, but the Lord has been good in helping us keep our commitment.
Now granted, there have been some blurring of the lines this past week. Watching just one too many “educational” YouTube videos for work, eagerly jumping on to Facebook for my allotted 5 minutes in the day, and 5 minutes at night (thank you WasteNoTime for your handy app to curb my time-sucking habits), and randomly checking basketball scores throughout the week have all helped temper the desire to watch TV throughout this week. We have gone out to movies with friends, and watched a basketball game at another friend’s apartment. However, even in those things, they were done in intentional community, and they were special for us as a family.
This week I have been more productive than I have been, more motivated, and my time with the Lord has grown in leaps and bounds. Time that Casey and I would spend watching television has now been turned into solid family game time, getting back into family worship, mowing the lawn, fixing the car, etc. etc. Coincidence? I think not…
However, it is a lot easier to do these things and be motivated when my wife is with me. However, when she is gone, the struggle begins. A deep rooted feeling that drives me to turn on the TV, and go back to watching other people live their lives.
It is the feeling of loneliness.
Isn’t that something? I spend all day around people, and when I get time to myself, I feel lonely when I can’t watch tv. Believe it or not, I am very extroverted when need be, but at the end of the day, I don’t mind being alone for a time to recharge. However, I began to struggle with real emotions of loneliness during those times when Casey was away. I began to ponder this:
How much of our hope and lives do we put onto the characters on a screen? How much stock do we put in our relationship to those long-distance characters, many who do not represent any type of reality in our lives? Why is it that we can sit on the couch, eat our food and watch other people on television?
I think a bleak reality is we have found our community with the television set. We have found something that doesn’t judge us (despite it’s unrealistic presentation of reality), entertains us, and distracts us from real and authentic relationships with other people (a lot of the time).
When I experience this deep sense of loneliness, where do I run to? For years, it has been the television set. Now what?
Jesus is calling me, and others, into real community. He is calling us to stop living other people’s lives vicariously through the television screen, and spend time with the One who matters most, who fills that longing and depth of loneliness. He is calling us to invest in our families, our friends, our neighbors, and our communities. He is calling us for more.
And we don’t have to feel lonely anymore.
“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20
Do you find your community in the characters of the television screen? Is God calling you to give up what is comfortable, in order to gain authentic and real community?
Jesus loves you. He wants you. His desire is to be with you. The cross is the message of how much God loves you, and wants you to be complete and whole, not lacking anything anymore. Jesus will forgive you. He won’t hold your past, your current, or your future mistakes against you any more. God will adopt you. Jesus will save you.
When we share the Gospel with people, these are phrases that we like to use to communicate key truths of the Gospel, and they are all right. They are beautiful, and accurate representations of what God’s plan and desire is for us as we believe the Gospel. They are precious truths to be believed, and precious truths to enable us for hope and security.
However, you can say all of these things and you will not share the entirety of the Gospel, because there is one key point that must be stated, the reality of the wrath of God upon unbelievers in Hell.
Does that make you uncomfortable? Do you cringe at the thought of sharing that comment with people as you talk about Jesus? Does it bring up images of the Westboro Baptist Church, with signs and attitudes full of legalism, hate, and maligning of the Gospel of Christ (editors note:They Don’t Know Jesus.)? Does it seem unfair? Does it seem narrow-minded, and harsh?
To be honest, there are times where I feel all of those things. I don’t like talking about Hell. I don’t like thinking about Hell. But I must.
But I must talk and think about Hell, and so must every person who claims to be a follower of Christ and lover of the Gospel. Because if we leave Hell out of our doctrine, then we don’t have the Gospel. In fact, without the reality of Hell, the Gospel makes no sense. All of our terminology, all of those beautiful images listed at the beginning of this blog have no weight, and no value. What does Jesus save us from? Why must we be forgiven? Why are we adopted?
The reality is, Hell is an integral part of the Gospel. Jesus saves us from the wrath of God, by taking the wrath of God upon Himself. Jesus forgives us, so that when we stand before the throne room of God, and the books are opened, are names are found written in the Book of Life. Sin is our problem, Jesus is our solution. If we don’t talk about Hell, we do not share the Gospel.
“Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
1 Thessalonians 1:10
The reality of Hell is bound up in our view on the holiness of God. We focus on so many different attributes of God, His love, His power, His grace, etc., and these are good things to focus on, but we cannot neglect His holiness! The God of the Bible stands in direct contrast to the rest of the world. He is pure light and pure goodness. There is not taint in Him. He is innocent to the extreme, and pure beyond all belief. He is absolutely perfect, clean, and sovereign. He upholds the galaxies and all that is within them by His perfect power and sustaining Word, every single second of every single day.
And we have sinned against Him. We have rebelled. We have broken His law.
“If you sin against a rock, you are not guilty. If you sin against another human, you are guilty. If you sin against an infinitely holy God, you are infinitely guilty and deserving of infinite wrath.”
David Platt
The Bible if full of the holiness of God, and the doctrine of Hell is at the core of the Gospel. Jesus spoke more about Hell than he did about Heaven. Jesus is the answer to the problem of Hell. He is the rescue from it. He is the way, the truth, and the life, who saves us from the wrath of God (John 14:6). That is the core of the Gospel message.
If you claim to be a follower of Christ, but you deny the doctrine of Hell, you are not a Christian, because you don’t believe the core of the Gospel.
You can’t believe that Jesus truly saves from sin. You can’t believe that Jesus is the perfect substitutionary atonement for the sin of man. You can’t believe that Jesus was necessary to bring us back to God. You can’t believe the necessity for sharing the Gospel with others. You can’t know the deep love the Father has for you in sending Jesus. You can’t know the security that you have in Jesus in this life, and the one to come. You can’t know the absolute holiness of God. You can’t know the greater calling that has been put on your life to make disciples.
These things simply do not make sense if they are not answers to the problem of our separation from God.
What I Am Not Saying
I am not saying that we only preach hell, fire, and brimstone to people, all the time. I don’t walk up to my friends from other religious backgrounds with, “Did you know that you are going to Hell?” Jesus didn’t do that (often). The apostles didn’t do ministry that way (mostly). There is a time and place for those conversations. People will not respond to this hard doctrine if they do not think that you care about or love them, and if we don’t show them the love of Christ. They will be even more turned off from these truths if we are not an accurate representation of Jesus to them. The Gospel is offensive, but we do not need to make it more offensive by our lack of relationship.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love. I am a noisy gong or clanging cymbal.”
1 Corinthians 13:1
We must talk about the love of God. We must talk about the faithfulness of God. We must talk about the joy that comes from knowing God. But we must talk about the reality of Hell, and the rescue that Jesus offers.
It is the reality of Hell that spurs us to go to the most dangerous places, to build relationships with other people, and to boldly share about the love of Jesus. We do not subscribe to fear-mongering, but we do subscribe to truth and an accurate view of God’s holiness and message.
Do you keep Hell out of your doctrine? Do you recognize that it is an integral part of why Jesus came to earth? Do you love someone enough to share with them about the rescue that Jesus has provided?
There is what I longingly look forward to at the end of a long, or stressful day. There is that thing which consumes my thoughts, makes me laugh, and on occasion, makes me cry. There is my time dedicated to with my wife. There is my distraction from the problems of this world. There is my information. There is my culture.
There is my television screen.
It is this screen that I have surrendered countless hours of conversation, time with Jesus, and productivity to. It is the screen that has taught me, and countless others, how and what to think about morality, culture, individualism, entertainment, and even God.
It is my television screen.
A few days ago, I woke up with a deep sense of depression and sadness. This is not entirely uncommon for me. I typically do not jump out of bed with joy in my heart. In fact, more often than naught, I have negative thoughts about myself, my relationship with God, and His care and concern for me. Every day, I wake up, take a shower, and remind myself of the Gospel and the truth that comes from Jesus and I experience and remember His grace and who how He has called me a child of the King. I take very seriously the spiritual discipline of Preaching The Gospel To Yourself. I walk out of the bathroom, or my house, empowered by the truth, and not owned by the lie. But this morning was different.
This morning, there was a deep sense of sorrow, and I began to ask the Lord what it might be. I asked clearly, “Is there something in my spiritual walk that is keeping me from experiencing Your joy that I need to repent and turn from?” The answer popped into my head unexpectedly.
“Stop watching TV. “
Instantly, I began to make excuses. In fact, I had wrestled with this for several years now, just ask my wife. Many times I would approach her and say that we needed to limit our time watching TV/Netflix, only to lead us to return to our old habits within a few weeks. I began to make any excuse I could think of. What about our Family Movie Night? What about the Olympics this summer? What about our shows that we enjoy watching together? What about sports? I began to reason with myself, “Maybe I just need to cut back a little bit more…and that is what God is telling me to do.”
But I knew that wasn’t the truth.
You see, God is not really interested in bargaining. He wants all of us, not just the areas that we feel comfortable giving Him. All too often, we say “Lord, I will gladly follow you this far, but don’t ask me to give up what makes me happy.” Ironically, I had just taught on two key things at our college ministry the past few weeks:
Following Jesus means abandoning your comforts (Lk. 9:57-62)
I knew that God was using the truths of Scripture to lead me to be obedient, not comfortable. I knew that in order to not waste my summer, I had to make some priority shifts. It is sad that I might label this a “sacrifice.” Right now, thousands of Christians are experiencing severe persecution for following Jesus. They are giving their lives, their jobs, their social status, and their security away to follow Jesus, and I have the audacity to complain that I can’t have my entertainment fix. Even though I preach against it, I have fallen captive to the American dream of comfort, pleasure, and security. After these realizations, I cancelled our Netflix account and unplugged our TV. Instantly, I felt a weight taken off of my spirit. The sorrow was gone, replaced by the joy of knowing that I had done what God told me to do.
I broke the news to my wife the next evening. No TV this summer. No Netflix. Limited computer/phone time. If we wanted to watch sports or enjoy a family friendly movie, it would be out in the community among friends, not isolated in our comfort zone. It was difficult for her, but she agreed.
We must understand media has bombarded and owned our lives, and it has believers widely ineffective and consistent in our walk with Jesus. Often times, the media we watch flies directly in the face of what we say we believe. It takes away from the time I am called not only to invest in my God, but also my family. It is the idol of the home, and we have written it off as a comfort.
What I don’t want you to hear me say is that all television is evil. It isn’t. I believe that it is completely possible to enjoy shows and sports that do not compromise your faith. I believe it is okay to have a family movie night. I believe it is okay to play video games. I believe all things are okay, as long as they are not idols in your life that do not compromise Biblical convictions or take away from your relationship with God and your family.
God has shown me, going into this summer, that there is more to life than TV. The time that was originally spent staring at a TV screen will be used for greater, more satisfying things. Things like intentional time with my wife, game nights, enjoying creation, community, reading books (both Christian and fiction), being more productive, and growing in my relationship with Jesus.
To those who cry “legalism”
Hear my heart. My desire is to be obedient to Jesus, and to not allow a stumbling block to be a part of my life. It is not imposing self-made rules or standards that lead to salvation or God finding “favor” with me, or anyone else who takes this route. Taking away TV does not solve the problem of idolatry or prioritization of the wrong things. If done with the wrong motivation, it will merely lead to replacing TV with something else (overworking, idolization of family, etc.) The problem is not the TV, but me.
My motivation is to be faithful to Jesus, and to be willing to let go of comfort to follow Him. Loving obedience is not the same as legalism, it is part of the sanctification process. There are times that God tells us to give up even that which can be good, in order to have what is great, Himself.
Will I fail? Possibly.
Is God’s grace sufficient? Absolutely.
Is this a sacrifice? Not really.
What about you? Does TV add or take away from your walk with Jesus? Honestly? Maybe God might tell you to do the same thing? Pray on it.
Summer is one of my favorite times of the year, coming in second only to the 3-4 weeks of fall in which football is in it’s prime, the air is getting brisker, and the colors of the leaves are changing. Summer is even better than before now that I live in Boise, thanks to the long days with the sun shining 98% of the time alongside the beautiful parks, hiking trails mountain camping, and free activities outdoors that are available to us.
In college, summer was my time of refuge from the heavy deluge of school and all the stress that comes with it. Late nights, sleeping in, mission trips, camping trips, and opportunities for spiritual growth characterized my summers. My hope, in this blog post, is to remind students (both college and younger), to not waste their summer. Each one of these points starts with the word “Plan”. If we don’t plan these things, the likelihood of them “just happening” is relatively small. Yes, I am very well aware that our plans never quite go according to plan, but I do believe God honors the intent when we recognize that He is the one in absolute control and surrender our plans to Him.
So, how can you not waste your summer? Plan for the following:
1. Plan To Rest
Students, you have just finished the gauntlet of research papers, end of the year exams, group projects (I shudder at the mention of these), and hours of sleeplessness (thank you procrastination). You are running on fumes. If you hope to not waste your summer, you need to make sure that you take the time you need to rest. Catch up on some sleep the first week after school. Find some things you can do throughout the summer that fill up your emotional and physical gas tank and take advantage of them. Don’t overstretch yourself.
2. Plan To Grow
Summer is going to accomplish one of two things in your relationship with Christ. Either you are going to grow in your relationship, or you are going to diminish in it. Which one do you want?
My challenge to my students, and myself, is to view Summer as an opportunity to grow in my relationship with God. Here are a couple of ways to encourage this.
A. Read Solid, Encouraging Books To Encourage Your Walk With Jesus For a list of books that I recommend to consider reading this summer, check out this link.
C. Focus On Your Prayer Life In the midst of the chaos of school, our prayer life often gets put on the back burner. Take the amount of free time available to you to take advantage of reconnecting with your prayer life. Find new and innovative ways to pray, and ask God to help make it a consistent routine in your daily life.
D. Focus On Your Devotions We’ve all heard it, be sure to have a “Quiet Time” every day with the Lord. These words are true, and the lifeblood of growing in your faith in Christ. Take the opportunities given to you to have a good, solid time of digging in the word every day. My advice, strive for at least 20 minutes of good time in the Word, with at least 10 minutes of prayer as well.
3. Plan To Reconnect
It is so easy to get bogged down in school and miss out on the relationships that matter most to you. Take the time available during these summer months to connect with the following:
A. Your Local Church Family Don’t have one? Find one, and then find ways to get involved. Schedule a coffee meeting with your pastor or mentor in the church to reconnect and catch up. Make it a priority to value your local church, and to establish clear ways to stay involved once the school year starts again (if you are still in town). If your campus ministry is still meeting throughout the summer, continue to connect with them, but not at the expense of plugging into your local church.
B. Your Biological family For most of you, your family loves you and misses you while you are in college. Even if you are living at home, it is way too easy to put the family off to the side while in the midst of the academic year. Take time to reconnect with your parents, siblings, and other relatives this summer. Invest in them, and allow them to invest in you. Go on vacations, have family games nights, watch movies, and spend quality time with them. You don’t have as many years left to spend with them as you like, so take advantage of these opportunities.
Note: For some, family is not a safe place to encourage you in your walk with God. Know that it is ok to set appropriate boundaries to guard yourself and your relationship with Christ, but also look for ways to intentionally invest in them and share the love of Christ throughout the summer.
C. Your friends This doesn’t seem to be a problem for most college students, but it is still needs to be a focus while on summer break. Spur one another on in your faith. Reconnect with those who have gone off to another college or the workplace. As noted before, recognize that you might need to set some boundaries with old friends who don’t share your passion for Jesus, but still continue to invest in them and show the love of Christ. Be intentional.
4. Plan To Serve
Serving Jesus doesn’t take a break during the school year, and it shouldn’t take a break during the Summer as well. Look for opportunities to serve Jesus in your local church, community, and among your family. Don’t be so inward focused that you forget that Jesus modeled servanthood for us (Mk. 10:45).
5. Plan To Go
Summer is an awesome time to serve Jesus through intentional outreach/mission trips. Look for opportunities to participate in a short-term mission project domestically or overseas. Consider partnering with your local church or a ministry in the area to do some evangelistic work in your community or state.
As I tell my students all the time, there really is no better time than when you are in college to do missions. If you can’t do it this summer, start considering what you could do next summer through organizations that gear mission trips for college students like the IMB or NAMB, among countless other solid organizations.
6. Plan to Fight
The enemy of our souls does not want us to pursue Jesus or experience the joy that comes from following Him. When you return from the business of school and the experiences that you have had in college (both good and bad), expect the enemy to bring about old temptations, distractions, and people in your life to try to steer you off course. Make a plan of action to set good boundaries, establish solid community, and recognize the areas that you are weak in to overcome and fight temptation. Stay in contact with those who have helped strengthen your faith, and look for ways to see Jesus get glory in your interactions and life back home.
God’s desire for our summer is for us to grow closer to Him. So the question remains:
If there is one thing that I struggle the most with in my job in ministry, it is asking for money. I am your typical “pick yourself up by your boot straps and get it done yourself” mentality when it comes to finances, as well as many other things. I don’t like relying on other people for support. However, due to the nature of my job as the Director of a college ministry, and all that it entails, I am constantly having to ask for people to partner with me in ministry on a financial level, because, let’s face it, reaching people for Jesus takes resources and money.
I struggle with fundraising because I feel guilty and embarrassed each time I have to have that conversation. The feeling of being a burden on someone by always asking for finances to support our ministry is a huge challenge for me. The worry of what people might think of my work ethic or financial stability has also played across my mind more times than I can count. But what if these thoughts, which I would suggest most people experience in this area, are not really biblical? What if pride and arrogance is more to blame for my reluctance than anything else? What if it is an American mindset that keeps us from inviting people to partner with us in reaching the campuses, or reaching the nations, more than any Biblical conviction that we have invented?
As I have reflected on the roles that God has called me to in this life, I am reminded that God delights in using people’s finances to further HIs kingdom. I am also reminded that as God delights in this area, so do those who partner with us. Like God, we don’t expect or want ungrateful or gifts that are given begrudgingly (2 Cor. 9:7). It is an honor for people to give sacrificially out of their blessings to reach people that they could never reach. People are not giving financially to me, but to the mission of God that I just so happen to be a part of.
As I have wrestled through this subject, God has been so faithful to show me that it is completely biblical and expected that fundraising and support be a part of HIs Kingdom plan.
“Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching in teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”- 1 Timothy 5:17-18
“For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.”- 3 John 1:8
God’s intent for funding His Kingdom work is through the generosity of His people. His desire is for the Church (local and universal) to be the financial driving force behind missions across this world. It is His design that our pastors of our churches be well taken care of, not living on the scraps of the church budget. See blog. He has put some in a full-time, or even part-time ministry capacity to reach and disciple people in the faith, and He has called those outside of those ministerial professions to support them in that work. When I ask for funds for our college ministry, or a mission trip, I am inviting people to join in with what God is doing through us by providing finances, as well as much needed prayer! My commitment with those finances that are given is that I am going to use them in whatever capacity I can to follow Christ and make disciples in the most effective ways I know how.
If you are reading this and are a church planter, missionary, pastor, ministry leader, administrative assistant, or any other type of vocation geared towards a Kingdom mindset that results in making disciples outside of the secular workplace, know there is no shame behind raising support for your work.
It is commanded in Scripture. It is approved by God. It is an opportunity for people to join you in praying for and being a part of making disciples across a variety of contexts that they could never have the opportunity to do themselves. It is humbling. It is rewarding. It is expanding God’s Kingdom. It is growing Your faith and trust in the provider. Own your vision, make it known, and ask!
If you are reading this, and you are outside of the vocational ministry field, look for opportunities to give generously to furthering the Kingdom. Don’t allow our “American” mindset to undermine the Biblical model for God’s people supporting His workers in these fields. When asked to support financially, ask God what He would have you do. You are not called to give to everything, and sometimes you can’t, but honestly ask God “Why should I not give to this Kingdom-minded ministry?” Realize that even if you are not going on the mission trip, or working in the ministry field, you are just as much a part of what God is doing through that person or organization. Don’t feel guilted into giving anything, but rather examine your heart and give joyfully as God leads you, knowing that you are sowing into eternity. Remember the words from Paul:
“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”- 1 Tim. 6:17-19
There is a deep satisfaction in the moments where we see the fruits of our labor.
A high grade on a paper that you spent countless hours studying for,forgoing your social life and Netflix addiction.
The satisfaction when you begin to see muscle tone for the first time after consistently working out for 28 days.
The joy of seeing your college diploma hanging up in your office, which you earned studying your tail off while living off Ramen noodles and enduring 5-6 years of academia (let’s get serious, the reality of most college students graduating in four years is a myth).
We have within us a drive and desire to see the fruits of our labor. This is not a bad thing. In fact, I would argue that it is a good thing, when we understand that it is not always the case. There are simply times when we don’t get the opportunity to see the fruit of our labor. In those times we remember:
“And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
That is the promise from God. Our labor is not in vain. The results will be seen. We will receive the crowns for our faithfulness and trust in Jesus in this life . Hold on to this.
However, by God’s grace there is opportunity in this life to see the fruit of our labor, and find great joy and hope in it, especially in regards to discipleship!
“For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 3:8
Paul, as he recounts all the suffering and persecution that has fallen upon him and his comrades for his commitment to Christ, reflects here on one of the major factors that kept him going day-in and day-out. Amidst the pain and sorrow that has come upon him, the great hope that fuels him on is that those whom he has invested his life in are continuing in their faith and pursuing Jesus!
For those who have taken the Great Commission seriously, and are actively discipling and making disciples, this verse resonates as the heart cry of your soul. There is great joy, and pleasure, when we see that those we invest our lives in are pursuing and walking with Jesus. We feel the surge of pride and awe at the work of God in someone’s life. We know that the countless hours, sacrifices, and patience pay off. We see and taste the fruit of our labor, and it is blissfully sweet.
Yet, on the other side, our commitment to investing in others can lead to the bitter fruit of disappointment, betrayal, and heartache when those we have invested in stumble in their walk, or even at times walk away from the Lord. The pain is deep, for we you cannot disciple without investment of your self. Discipleship can be messy, but we cannot, and must not, close our hearts from loving and discipling others after we experience the heartache. Too many, crippled by past experience, close themselves off from the calling on every believer’s life. They resonate well with C.S. Lewis:
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
To disciple without love is not discipleship. When we pursue the joy of discipleship, we must do so with abandon.
So what brings me the most joy, apart from serving Jesus, as I work with college students?
The joy that is added to my emotional bank account as I watch them pursue and love Jesus above all else.
This is what brings me, and any other Christ follower, a high yield of joy. I love investing in students and seeing them grow and mature in their faith while in college. I love watching as students leave the college campus and continue to serve Jesus across the world by being faithful to the areas and situations that God has called them to. I love seeing students continue to pursue Jesus using the teaching and instruction that they received through our ministry and their home church while in college.
My question for you is, who have you invested in? Who are you discipling to be more like Jesus? Are you finding your joy in seeing others walk in the truth? Are you willing to put yourself out there, to be faithful to the Great Commission, and to commit your life to what can ultimately bring you the greatest pleasure?
This calling, and opportunity, is not only on my life as a minister. But any person who claims to be a follower of Christ. Think on it.
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” 3 John 1:4
In a follow up to my post on “Why I Do College Ministry“, I wanted to focus on why I don’t “do” youth ministry.
Let me preface, this is not a knock on youth ministry. It is not an attack on whether youth ministry is viable or important, I believe that it is. God impacted my life through youth ministry, and I am continually amazed and blessed by youth ministers I know who genuinely love youth and seek to help them in their walk with Jesus Christ. I am blessed beyond comparison to have a youth ministry at my church that is led by a Godly family who are more concerned about seeing their students walk with Jesus than being “cool” and tarnishing their own walk with Jesus, and I have watched as God has blessed and grown that ministry because it is built upon the right foundation.
The point of this article is to challenge the well-intentioned idea that college ministry fits within the category of “youth ministry”. Here are a couple of reasons why I disagree.
1. College Students are Young Adults, Not Youth.
No college student wants to be called a youth,and for good reason. Youth ministry has the connotation, and rightly so, of the ages 12-18 years old, where you are still going through puberty (yes I said it) and navigating all the changes that are beginning to happen that are leading to the next season of life. When a student graduates high school, they are ready to move on to the next stage of life, in their mind, they have moved on from the youth group and the title “youth ministry”. This is a good transition, and we need to honor that new season of life for them and model our ministry to that next season.
2. College Students Have To Make Adult Decisions
“Who will I marry? What major will I choose? How will I pay rent? When can I move out?”
These are questions that are asked by youth and adults alike, but it is only the latter that actually have to make the decision. In youth ministry, many of these are theoretical questions, in college ministry they are an ever-present reality. Youth ministry prepares the heart for these questions, college ministry walks through the decision making.
We seek to see students molded into followers of Christ. Training them on what it means to follow Jesus, be involved with a church, sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Gospel, and prioritize their lives in the right order.
3. College Students Are Responsible for Their Actions
I’ll never forget when my college pastor allowed my team to walk around Thailand by ourselves, at night. Of course, it wasn’t a dangerous area, but it was still a foreign land where we didn’t speak the language. His reasoning? You are adults, you can make your own decisions and bear the responsibility for them.
One key thing that I am obligated to teach my students is that they are responsible for their actions. I give them room to fail. I let them take initiative by themselves to try new things and deal with the consequences. Yes, there is guidance, regulation, and correction along the way that is fitting with any spiritual leader, but there has to be room to grow and own their own decisions. In youth ministry, there is so much more red tape and caution that must be taken.
I send college students by themselves, or in teams, to other countries (sometimes dangerous ones), to go and serve Jesus. They understand that their mommy and daddy are not responsible for that decision, they are. They recognize that they can give their lives to go and serve Jesus because they are adults.
4. College Students Are More Mature (mostly)
Yes, college students do stupid things. They stay out too late,skip class, make questionable decisions (and by questionable, I mean dumb). They are figuring out how to “adult” life, and they stumble along the way, but they are still adults.
If you compare a high schooler’s maturity level and a college student’s maturity level, you are going to find, by and large, a huge difference. College students have been hit in the face with the reality of the real world. Difficult roommates, paying bills (or not being able to pay bills), secular worldview being boldly proclaimed and enforced in the classroom, cooking for yourself, the need to discover your own faith, and other major life decisions force some sort of maturity that most high schoolers do not have to face.
It is amazing to me to watch a wide-eyed freshman come onto a college campus the first day of school, and then witness the same freshman at the end of that first semester. Often times, a complete shift in their mindset and attitude has begun to happen. College forces maturity into adulthood in most students, and we are there to walk with them along the way.
5. College Ministry Is A Lot More Fun
Ok, I admit, this is a biased one, and I am sure that other’s might disagree, but college ministry is a blast! Changed lives, collegiate worship nights, camps, deep conversations, late nights, engaging the culture with innovative strategies, weekend retreats, small groups, domestic and international mission trips, BBQ’s, weddings, football games, intramural sports, lifelong relationships, and more with young adults is a rewarding and fun experience.
I love the fact that I have students who I build friendships with, genuine friendships that last. I love that we are involved in their lives, and they are involved with ours. I love the fact that I have free babysitting pretty much guaranteed when we have children!
So with all that being said, please, don’t call what we do youth ministry. It is so much more than that. We are training young adults to shake the world with Christ in their adult lives, and we love what we are doing.
I have been dreading this moment. This moment where I finally open my Bible and allow the Lord to speak to me personally through His word after the chaos of the last two weeks has passed, and to deal with the grief that has come with a failed adoption match.
It has been a hard two weeks. If you followed our fundraiser for our adoption, you can watch the process unfold from beginning to end. My faith in God’s sovereignty has not wavered, but the pain and methods of handling this difficulty has reminded me of how weak in my faith I can be at times.
For the past two days since we have returned from Haiti, I have been withdrawn. My wife, Casey, accurately summed up our approach to life the past few days in her last blog post. I took two days of off work, to not only recover physically, but also emotionally. I have not wanted to be around any other person, besides Casey. I knew that I must recover spiritually, but I have been resistant to open that part of my life up with the one who created and sustains my soul. I have resisted prayer, and intentional time in the Word, because I knew that it would expose my selfishness and pain. But God is faithful, He would not allow me to rest and have peace until I spent time with Him.
Through His sovereignty, God reminded me of this passage of Scripture tonight as I opened His Word. A verse from this passage had been popping into my mind throughout the day, but I did not allow myself to meditate on it, for fear of what it might bring about. However, the Holy Spirit is insistent, and I am grateful He is.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too….Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5,9-11
This passage has reminded me of several important truths and promises that I can take away during this difficult time.
God is the ultimate comforter when we choose to allow Him to open up the wound and work healing into it.
God allows us to experience this hardship, so that in the future we may walk alongside others who go through similar experiences like we have.
God will use this to refine our trust and love of Him in a deeper way than we every thought possible.
If God can raise Jesus from the dead, He can work this situation out for His glory, and our good.
We are dependent on the prayers of God’s people, most importantly our family and friends. They are invaluable to us and the healing process that will take place.
This is a painful process, and Casey and I are reminded that we cannot face it alone. We appreciate all the prayers, phone calls, texts, and messages that you have left for us. Please continue to do so, and throw some hugs in there while you are at it! Ask us how we are doing, and continue to walk with us through this time.
Jesus is worth serving. He identifies with us in our weakness, empowers us for His work, and comforts us in the chaos. This is all a part of the great story He is weaving in our journey towards adoption, and in the process of being made more like Him, and for that I will continue to say:
“Never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did you leave us all alone. You are faithful, God you are faithful!”
I am a college pastor, and have been serving in my role as Director at Foundation College Ministry, formerly named Baptist Campus Ministry, since January of 2011.
There are good days, and bad days. Great weeks, and not-so-great weeks. There are highs, and there are lows. There is rejoicing, and then there is deep sorrow. So why do I believe, and do, college ministry? The list is exhaustive, but I will hone in on just a few reasons why I love, and live, college ministry.
1. God Changed My Life Through College Ministry
To be honest, college ministry is at the forefront of my life because of the personal impact that it had upon me during my years at Texas Tech University. Going into a college, I was a Christian, but I did not understand the calling on my life to live a holy and set-apart life which results in making disciples. I went into college with a heart of the American Dream, alongside making choices that I thought would make me happy, without laying those decisions at the feet of Jesus.
Through my college ministry, God began to mold me into who I am today. He showed me how to become an active follower of Jesus, not just a sideline Christian. He used this ministry to expose my deepest sin and selfishness, and then used the same ministry to show the love of Christ through Christian community, Biblical teaching, and exposing my true purpose.
I dealt with almost every struggle your typical college student would go through.
Personal sin,
Major changes
Relationship changes
Career questions
“Is it worth it”? questions
“Is Christianity true” questions
I hate college moments
I love college moments
College ministry helped me find those answers, and guided me through some of the darkest and pivotal points of my life.
2. College Campuses Need the Gospel.
I view college students as a distinct “people group” that needs to hear the Gospel. There is no other place in the world where you find such a strategic group of people who have the same interests, ages, goals, questions,experiences, community, and proximity than when they are in college, and this “people group” needs the Gospel.
They need to know that Jesus loves them, that Jesus is better than anything the world has to offer, that Jesus is worth leaving everything before, and that Jesus alone can give true direction and purpose.
It is projected that there were 20.2 million students that attended college this past fall.
20.2 million.
20.2 million future leaders. 20.2 million people asking the big life questions. 20.2 million, with the vast majority without a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
3. College Ministry is Strategic, and Effective
College students have more time to pursue their faith, serve, and be involved in Christian community than at any other point in their lives. They are already looking for their purpose and direction, and when they discover Jesus provides those things, they are eager to grow and serve. Where you find passion and movement among the social justice spheres, you will often find myriads of college students leading the charge, because they have found something to believe in. Likewise, when college students come to terms with who Jesus really is, and they trust in Him, you see college students leading the way in evangelism, missions, and discipleship.
Christian college students are actively engaging the culture and the lost on a daily basis, and have opportunities to reach the world in unprecedented ways. They have opportunities to speak truth in a context in which the Gospel is maligned and mocked. There lives are built around relationships, and these relationships can be leveled to show the love of Jesus to all around them. In fact, a vast majority of revivals that have happened across the world in the last couple of centuries are a result of college students being ignited to live out the Great Commission.
College students will one day graduate and go all over the world, carrying the Gospel with them. Some will become CEO’s of major corporations, others will work in blue-collar environments. Most will become future spouses and parents. a. The truths and changes that happen in their Christian faith during college will directly impact the rest of their lives.
4. College Ministry is on the Frontlines of Cultural Engagement
Day after day, I have to wrestle with how I can share the Gospel in a continuously changing cultural context. Too many churches have had to close their doors because they have not been able to keep up with the rapidly changing culture.
Does this mean that we alter our message or Biblical convictions? Absolutely not.\
Does it mean we alter are methods to communicate this message? Absolutely.
How can I apply and live out the Gospel message to every part of my college experience in a postmodern world? That is the question college ministry seeks to answer. We disciple students to engage their peers, to love them, to build relationships, to avoid cultural Christianity and adopt mission-focused Christianity. We, like Paul in Athens, look for ways to use the culture that is around us to point people to the truth, found in the person Jesus Christ.
5. God Loves College Students
Lastly, I do college ministry because God loves college students.
God loves the college student who is entrenched in sin and buying into the lies that the world has fed him on the college campus.
He loves that student that sits alone in their dorm room wondering, “What is my purpose?”
He loves the international student from a different faith background who is looking for friendship.
He loves the girl who thinks that partying and sleeping around will cause guys to value her.
He loves the bisexual, transgendered, queer, and gay students who advocate for equal rights.
He loves the Christian college student who is wrestling with their own faith.
He loves the college student who finally gets that this life is not about them, but about making God’s Gospel known throughout all the nations.
It has been a long time since my last post! Too long in fact. For those who have been following our adoption process on my wife’s amazing blog, you know that we are still eagerly awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promise to us to bring us our adopted babies.
However, even as we await His promise to be filled, it is our joy to serve Jesus in everyday life. One of the ways that we are serving Him is that I will be co-leading a team of 9 people to serve a girl’s home in Port Au Prince, Haiti alongside my dear friend Paul Thompson, pastor of Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, ID. Paul is a wonderful man of God who helped found this girl’s home a few years ago. I would highly recommend checking out Paul’s blog to have your spirit encouraged and be challenged in your daily walk with Jesus.
I went to visit the girl’s home in January of this year on a vision trip to determine if this would be a good opportunity for college student’s from across Utah/Idaho to fulfill the Great Commission and challenge the American materialism that so many unknowingly hold on to. After spending several days with 28 Haitian orphans, doing some light construction, making connections with local pastors and ESL teachers, and being extremely uncomfortable (both physically and spiritually), I returned home to ponder what God would have me do.
The trip was more difficult for me than I had anticipated. I have been to underdeveloped parts of the world before, but there was something different about Haiti. The comforts and materialism that I unknowingly held on to in my American mindset were exposed and my spirit was troubled as I eagerly anticipated returning to my life of comfort. I was hot, tired, and broken. I recognized my deep seated selfishness and materialistic mind, and I didn’t like the person that I was in that moment. I was ready to go “home”.
However, I soon learned upon returning home that a large part of my heart had been left behind among the people of Haiti. The girls at the home, the leader of the home and his family, and other friendships that I established leave a deep longing in my heart to return. Their faces and smiles are seated deep down in my heart, far more prevalent and important than my physical comfort and selfishness.
I love Haiti.
It took me a while to figure this out, but I love Haiti, and I cannot wait to return.
Jesus has continued to show me that serving Him and loving Him are what will sustain me through the hardest parts of my life, and my visit to Haiti impressed upon me to love Him more and to love every tribe and nation as He does.
My prayer for the team that I am co-leading (made up of 6 college students and three leaders), is that God would give us a deep seeded love for the nations, a dismantling of the American Dream in our own hearts, and deeper love for Jesus Christ. Over the course of this trip, we will be doing the following:
Visiting orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27)
Teaching and encouraging the children to know and love Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20)
Visiting Hospitals and Prisons to bring food and water to those within (in Haiti, you are considered “guilty until proven innocent” and if you are in a hospital or prison, you are completely dependent on outsiders bringing you food and water)
Completing some light construction like hanging doors, building bunk beds, working on a well, and other small projects around the girl’s home
Taking the girl’s out for a day at the beach
Worshipping alongside the church in Haiti, and possibly partnering with a church planter in Haiti for some light construction
Teaching ESL and sharing the Gospel in the classroom
My heart is full as I eagerly make the the plans for our team to travel to Haiti July 7th-14th.
Would you join me in praying for our mission team as we prepare to go?
Pray that God would:
Allow for every girl in the home to know and experience the love of Jesus Christ, that they would have a saving relationship with Him in which they make many disciples
Challenge the materialism we hold in our own hearts
Give us opportunities to preach the Gospel outside of the girl’s home to those in prison or the hospitals
Allow our travel plans/routes to be uninterrupted by the enemy
Allow our team to not become sick
Supply the finances still needed for our team to accomplish all that we would like to accomplish
Encourage the leaders of the girl’s home in their own spiritual walk
Transform each one of our team into passionate disciple makers obsessed with glorifying God.
If you would like to give towards our trip, you can send a check addressed to “Foundation College Ministry” to:
Foundation College Ministry, 5350 N. Pierce Park Lane, Boise, ID 83714
fightingthenoise 