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6 Essentials of College Ministry

Working in college ministry for over 2 years now, I could not agree more with these 6 essentials. Especially with #1, Jesus cannot be overlooked or understated in college ministry. He is our source of life, redemption and eternal joy, we cannot act like He is just a means to an end or that Christianity is about moralism and duty.

From The Resurgence:

1. Don't confuse the gospel with religion
To prevent doing this, talk about Jesus (who he is and what he has done) all the time. If you don't, students will think Christianity is really about something else, like morality, philosophy, piety, social justice, or a religious experience. If you start talking more about what they should do instead of what Jesus has done, you're preaching another gospel (Gal. 1:6-9), which is to put heavy burdens on them (Matt. 23:2-4).

2. Learn about sexual assault
The prevalence of sexual assault is staggering. At least 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men are or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. And the numbers are much worse for college students. These young women and men feel crippling shame, deep guilt, and painfully alone because of what has been done to them.

3. Teach students how to read and interpret the Bible for themselves
This means being clear on the relationship between the law and the gospel. The law is "perfect, true, and righteous altogether" (Psalm 19:7-9) and "holy, just, and good" (Rom. 7:12), but it does not effect what it demands (Gal. 3:21). The good news is that on the cross Jesus took our penalty of law-breaking and fulfilled the law, so he could give us his righteousness. God then works in us to will and to do his good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). The very law that condemns us becomes the very thing that God fulfills in us through the power of his Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:18-23), not through our effort (Gal. 3:1-3).

4. Be prepared to comfort students because of divorce and death
College students are at a phase in life where their parents seem to get divorced, if they aren't already, now that their children are leaving home. This is also the age when grandparents begin to die.

5. Study apologetics
Many students still have brain cells left, and they've been reading and thinking about their world. They have legitimate questions about who Jesus is and what he did and why he isn't just a good example. They want to know why they should trust the Bible as reliable. The immense suffering in the world makes them doubt either the goodness or power of God or both. They think Christians are hypocrites and bigots, so why should they become one?

6. Be prepared to counsel students about what they're really facing
You must be prepared to counsel about eating disorders, pornography, cutting, abusive relationships, and the lingering damage of sexual sin. College students tend to be the shock-absorbers of the myths our cultural sells. Idols are brutal slave masters.

Has Conservatism Become An Idol?

Before I get any deeper, I want to say I am not political, I do not talk about my political views or leanings. I do not watch C-Span, Fox News, MSNBC and consider myself neither to be a red state or a blue state person. I love Jesus, He is my King and He is my message,hope and life. So to quote Mark Driscoll, "I vote for Jesus!"

With that said, Jon McIntosh, has started a new website and ministry called ReThink Mission. In it he talks about cultural engagement, church planting and gospel centric living. Recently he blogged about how Conservative politics has in many circles (especially the Bible Belt) become synonymous with the Gospel.

I could not agree more with Jon's cautions and exhortation to not confuse a political position with the gospel of Jesus Christ. So often today Jesus is not a stumbling block, because the "moral majority" has already tripped up and angered people.

If you have ever used the words "Jesus" and "Republican" in the same sentence please read Jon's cautions, as well as a 2nd clarification post he offers.

Below is a excerpt of his post:

When political conservatism is confused for Christianity:
1. It creates false assurance: many who are not Christians wrongly assume that they are simply because of their conservative vote.

2. It makes enemies out of friends: Christians forget that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood” and make enemies out of anyone who disagrees with their political ideology.

3. It becomes a barrier to mission: political liberals who are not Christians are given the idea that to embrace the gospel of Jesus means to become a conservative. Naturally they pass on this. But the wrong “gospel” has been presented to them – thus many haven’t even rejected the gospel at all, only a highly politicized version of it.

4. The wrong gospel is passed to the next generation: In training our children to be good conservatives instead of grace-filled believers, we help harden their hearts to the gospel. I grew up in a church that did a better job teaching me to be a political conservative than a lover of Jesus Christ. That was a church that was easy to leave.

Read the rest here..

Also read his clarification to some of his original points here.

Creativity and Joy All Point Somewhere

...why is this so cool?

...why do we get excited when there is something creative and full of energy and joy, like this video?

It is because we are made in the image of a creative God who even in our sin we have traits and pointers in how we create and express ourselves that showcase Him.

Don't fool yourself by thinking this is just a cool "routine" or this is for the church of Oprah, God's common grace is being seen in His creation and He receives all glory for this. We may surpress the Truth of this, but there has to be a higher reason why there is something that finds beauty, joy and excitement in displays of creativity. Random chance and molecules cannot explain it away...


Props: LosWhit

Welcome to Macintosh Trailer

This looks interesting, and yes I am a big fan of the Mac.

Props: Matt Carlson via Twitter

Preview of Luke Series for Mars HIll

Mark Driscoll, pastor at Mars Hill Church, will be starting a series on the Gospel According to Luke. Part of the series has been filmed in the region of Israel and Palestine that Jesus actually walked and did ministry.

If you are interested in check this coming sermon out check out Mars Hill Albuquerque, where this series will be seen via video.

Truth On Campus

From Think Christianly:

“There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative.”—Allan Bloom

“To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what it is not that it is not, is true.”—Aristotle

“…You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”—Jesus

“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth—only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair”—C.S. Lewis

Serving Is Not An End

At times we can get caught up with how serving and doing this or that for the cause of Christ is the end. John Piper shares how it is not the end, it is a means to grow deeper in the knowledge and fear of the Lord, and the dangers that exist if we make it an end.



Props: Desiring God

The Motions

I am praying that this song, The Motions by Matthew West, is our anthem for The Well. As we fight just going through the motions of ministry this year. That our all-consuming passion is Jesus, to love, follow, obey and make His name known to the city and campus. That our lives would be lived in such a way that He is all people see with how we risk and love.

That's my prayer for 2009-2010, I don't want to look back in May and say, "I wasted it."

Listen to this song, the story of Matthew West is a story of God's grace and love.

I was so stoked on this song that I bought his album, Something to Say, which is really good and worth a purchase. My buddy Zach also used to play with Matthew so that helped me like it even more.

Click here to purchase via Amazon

Also Check Out Matthew's Myspace

Matt Chandler on The Gap of Eternity

Matt Chandler, Pastor of The Village Church in Dallas, talks about our yearning and falling short of the eternal. Sports, money and fame all fall short and leave us thinking, "there's gotta be more".

For full message from Resurgence's Text and Context conference, click here.

This Tuesday At The Well

Preview for The Well Aug. 25 2009 from Carlos Griego on Vimeo.

Listen to The New Imogen Heap Album Here

Imogen Heap is for sure one of my favorite artists and her new album will be coming out August 25th, but you can listen to it today right here:

Props: Zach

Pics From 4th Anniversary Trip

On July 30th Lauren and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary. It has been an amazing ride and I am so blessed to be married to such a woman. Below are some pics from our overnight trip we took to Santa Fe. We stayed in a really cool, historic hotel right on the plaza and had an awesome view from our balcony

Also there is a pic of 2 little blessings that have come from our marriage, and yes there is a 3rd one on the way :)

New "Where The Wild Things Are" Trailer

Yes, I am stoked for this movie!

Props:Collide

Learning To Be Still...

I am not a fan of being sick, who is? It is not the feeling of being sick that makes me dislike it so. It is not even having to go to the doctor. What I hate most about it, if I am honest with myself, is that it slows me down.

I am a worker, I am task driven person, I like to be doing projects, I like to work. Being sick impairs that. Being sick gives me days like today where the day consisted of a doctor’s visit and time in bed. This is not good for a busy, important guy like myself. I am supposed to speak at the DSC’s men’s retreat on Saturday morning and staying in bed all day does not help me prepare.

Then I read a tweet from John Piper:

“God will be up all night tonight keeping watch. And he never gets tired. Not even a little bit. (Psalm 121:3).”

Conviction.

I don’t like being sick cause it reminds me I am not God. I am a creature who is fully dependent on God. I am a weak, broken creature who is more broken on the inside from sin than any illness that medicine can fix. I need to learn to “be still” and know He is God, and that I am not. And because God loves me, and is near in times of joy and pain, He helps me at times, by bringing sickness so that I stop, listen and rest in the love and care of Him. In those times He reminds me who He is, and who I'm not. As Piper said, He stays up, doesn't get tired, not even a bit. He is sufficient, He is my rock, He is my redeemer, He is sure!

So do I like being sick, nope. Do I see God in the sickness, yep. Can I praise God for this time to be quiet and trust in Him and Him alone, by His grace, yes!!

Piper: What should a married couple do after a spouse has cheated?

John Piper answers a question that is becoming sadly more and more common today, what to do after an affair? Notice how Piper does not talk about divorce, but instead emphasizes reconciliation and restoration. Plus I really appreciate Piper's description of the difference between forgiveness and regaining trust. It is realistic and not sugar coated, in other words healing will be hard, but the gospel redeems and restores us from even this dark sin.

For more John Piper resources click here

A Guest of Vitamin Z

This week Zach Nielsen (Vitamin Z) will be at Worship 09, a conference for music ministers and pastors. He has asked me along with several other more qualified people to be guest bloggers for his blog. I would encourage you to check out his blog, Take Your Vitamin Z.

Summer Camp for Atheists

From Jonathan Morrow:

Atheistic summer camps? Yep. Check out this short 2 minute video clip. One thing stuck out to me that I whole heartily agree with: "students should be taught how to think not just what to think." How do you think the students in your youth group would fare in a conversation with the next generation of atheists? Are they being prepared?

Unlikely Disciple, Unlikely Experience

What is it like to be a liberally minded, ivy league student in the middle of one of America’s most conservative, evangelical colleges? That is the question Kevin Roose took on in his book “The Unlikely Disciple”. In the book Roose describes his semester attending Liberty University and posing as an evangelical Christian. It is a story of someone from the “outside” invading the right-wing, Fox News watching, purity ring wearing, alcohol abstaining world of Jerry Falwell and the so called “Moral Majority”.

Kevin Roose is not an evangelical, in fact he attends Brown University, which is a liberal, ivy league school, where even talks of Liberty and Falwell bring about cringes and talk of in-toleration. Roose described his expectations of attending Liberty with thoughts of the stereotypical conservative Christian personas. What he found was unexpected.

Roose did find those who were very much against gay marriage and abortion. That much he expected. What he did not expect was to find a community of people who had struggles with faith and with living a life that was pursuing purity and was God honoring. Nor was he expecting to find a community who loved and cared for each other, who shared each others burdens and faced persecution and mocking on the beaches of Daytona as they talked to people about The Gospel.

Kevin Roose is a very talented writer and this book was very compelling and hard to put down. As an evangelical Christian who came from much of the same background as Kevin, minus the ivy league status, I understood a lot of what Kevin was experiencing. The Christian community at times is confusing, it is hard to understand why people would live like they do, struggle like they do, and even face mockers like they do, unless you see what it has as its’ foundation, Jesus Christ. At the end of the book Kevin does not become a Christian, he is not now on tour with Mercy Me, but he is praying, albeit to an unknown god. He did go back and confess his deceiving ways to his dorm-mates, only to find love and forgiveness... hmm they must have some sort of role model who is good at that.

I would recommend this book to Christians and urge the reader to try to put themselves in Kevin’s shoes. It is at times easy to get defensive about some of the things that Kevin writes, but overall this book is not a slam on Christianity at all. Kevin even talks about some of the unease he experienced when being questioned by his lesbian aunts, who were worried about him being brainwashed.

Kevin also shares a side of Jerry Falwell that many who only know him as a bigoted, intolerant man would be shocked at. Kevin actually got one of the last interviews before Falwell’s death. In the interview, Kevin saw a loving, caring and calmer side of Jerry that seemed to shock him and help tear down some stereotyping. That seemed to be the biggest theme throughout the book, tearing down stereotypes.

All in all the book is a great eye opening view of how the world views Christians, especially fundamental, conservative ones. I found myself praying for God to change Kevin’s heart and that Kevin would see that Christianity is not about morals, or intolerance, but about Jesus. About a God who does not demand sacrifices, but became one for us, took our punishment and died as a criminal the way we should have. Sadly I think that was what seemed to be missing most from his experience, a good explanation of some of the depths and beauty of the Gospel.

Below is a video excerpt to help further explain:
What is it like to be a liberally minded, ivy league student in the middle of one of America’s most conservative, evangelical colleges? That is the question Kevin Roose took on in his book “The Unlikely Disciple”. In the book Roose describes his semester attending Liberty University and posing as an evangelical Christian. It is a story of someone from the “outside” invading the right-wing, Fox News watching, purity ring wearing, alcohol abstaining world of Jerry Falwell and the so called “Moral Majority”.

Kevin Roose is not an evangelical, in fact he attends Brown University, which is a liberal, ivy league school, where even talks of Liberty and Falwell bring about cringes and talk of in-toleration. Roose described his expectations of attending Liberty with thoughts of the stereotypical conservative Christian personas. What he found was unexpected.

Roose did find those who were very much against gay marriage and abortion. That much he expected. What he did not expect was to find a community of people who had struggles with faith and with living a life that was pursuing purity and was God honoring. Nor was he expecting to find a community who loved and cared for each other, who shared each others burdens and faced persecution and mocking on the beaches of Daytona as they talked to people about The Gospel.

Kevin Roose is a very talented writer and this book was very compelling and hard to put down. As an evangelical Christian who came from much of the same background as Kevin, minus the ivy league status, I understood a lot of what Kevin was experiencing. The Christian community at times is confusing, it is hard to understand why people would live like they do, struggle like they do, and even face mockers like they do, unless you see what it has as its’ foundation, Jesus Christ. At the end of the book Kevin does not become a Christian, he is not now on tour with Mercy Me, but he is praying, albeit to an unknown god. He did go back and confess his deceiving ways to his dorm-mates, only to find love and forgiveness... hmm they must have some sort of role model who is good at that.

I would recommend this book to Christians and urge the reader to try to put themselves in Kevin’s shoes. It is at times easy to get defensive about some of the things that Kevin writes, but overall this book is not a slam on Christianity at all. Kevin even talks about some of the unease he experienced when being questioned by his lesbian aunts, who were worried about him being brainwashed.

Kevin also shares a side of Jerry Falwell that many who only know him as a bigoted, intolerant man would be shocked at. Kevin actually got one of the last interviews before Falwell’s death. In the interview, Kevin saw a loving, caring and calmer side of Jerry that seemed to shock him and help tear down some stereotyping. That seemed to be the biggest theme throughout the book, tearing down stereotypes.

All in all the book is a great eye opening view of how the world views Christians, especially fundamental, conservative ones. I found myself praying for God to change Kevin’s heart and that Kevin would see that Christianity is not about morals, or intolerance, but about Jesus. About a God who does not demand sacrifices, but became one for us, took our punishment and died as a criminal the way we should have. Sadly I think that was what seemed to be missing most from his experience, a good explanation of some of the depths and beauty of the Gospel.

Click Here to order book.

Below is a video excerpt to help further explain:

Piper Gives Advice for Back to School

Heading to college can be an overwhelming and challenging experience for a Christian. How do you answer the tough questions? How do you think through philosophies that seem to compete for attention with God's Word?

John Piper offers some great advice here: