Well, I just posted another free resource on CollegeLeader. It’s four full weeks of talk notes on The Invisible World. These served as talk notes, but I also formatted them to print off for handouts for our students. Feel free to use them however you feel appropriate. They could even be used for small group material. Trust me, it’s a TON of info!!!  To download click here…

It’s not doubt that college-age people are taught an array of things about truth, origin of species, etc.  But, how do we deal with things like this?  What do you say?  How do you help your students think through this from a biblical perspective? Should we just say it’s wrong? Should we teach it can co-exist with Scriptural truth? Should we dive more into the worldview that serves as the foundation to differing conclusions? 

Watch this video from National Geogrpahic:

I just posted a new free download on CollegeLeader.  It’s an inside look into a college students struggle with an eating disorder.  It’s her own articulation of it and is a paper she turned in for a counseling class she was taking.  It’s very insightful into this struggle and I think can provide a great help to us who want to know more about this issue and how we can help.  To download, click here

This week I’m at Thousand Pines – a camp in southern California – and another full week of jr. high students. Being here last night I remembered an article I wrote on the similarities between jr. highers and college-age people.  So, I thought I would include it in this blog entry:

Last week I was speaking at a high school conference, and this week I’m at a camp speaking to junior highers. I consider myself a college ministry guy, but every time I do a junior high camp I find myself falling in love with this age all over again. They’re crazy, but a ton of fun.

I’ve had some down time today so for fun I decided to think about how junior high students are similar to college-age people. I’ve never really put much thought into it, but after being here for a few days I’m seeing a lot of similarities. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far: 
1. They live by the minute. They go through life by the minute and do whatever seems the most fun at that given time. Few have a sense of direction beyond the here and now.

2. They spend money on what they want to. A junior high student may come to camp with $30 from their parents and they’ll spend it all the first day on candy for the week. Then, when they don’t have enough money for lunch on the bus ride home they’ll complain about how their parents didn’t give them enough money. College-age people, for example, might apply for a scholarship for a trip costing $200 dollars, get half off the price of the trip, need to pay their share of $100 in installments, but then they’ll bring $150 cash with them on the trip!? To top it off they’ll spend that on food at the most expensive ski lodge.

3. They’re thinking through and searching for an identity. High school students pretty much assume an identity in a social network of friends, but before and after this age-stage people are in a stage of...more

I am heart broken this morning.  I’m finishing the last chapter in a book I’m writing and I’m talking about a concept that has led me literally to tears.  I don’t know how we got to this point.  I’m frustrated, bewildered…and, even angry.  I’m going to be recklessly honest in this blog.

If you have pressure to get numbers of people to come to an event or baptized, leave the church your in.  I’m not kidding.  I’m dead serious.  Leave.  You’ll never be able to accomplish what you need to in that context.  Discipleship is far beyond program and counting warm seats after a church service.  

Man, how did we get to the point of actually “counting” people who come?  How did we get to the point of the number of people coming deeming us successful or not successful?  Or worse yet, how did we come to the point of having to turn in a numbers report to our superior!!!!!  This, to me, is absolutely heart breaking.  American thinking, not Christ-like.

Many people might say, “Well if we’re healthy we’ll grow numerically.”  I don’t completely disagree with that, but I think in American churches we’re FAR more concerned about numerical attendance than we are about being healthy.

Did you know that most scholars say that the church at Thessalonica was only about 50 people!  Look at what Paul says about that church in chapter one, it’s amazing what he says about their faith.  From an American perspective we wouldn’t give this church the time of day!

If we are to engage and assimilate college-age people into the life of our churches we must focus on them as individuals.  They aren’t a number nor are they a potential “giving unit” for our church!  Putting them individually as priority is absolutely crucial.  If you spend time with people and they never come to an event, it’s alright.  You’re not failing.  If you have a few students over for dinner every week, trust me, you’re being faithful.  You don’t need to do more. 

How’s that for venting!?  I need to go for a walk and pray.

I have a new little book coming out soon called, “99 Thought’s for College-age People.” It’s designed to give to the people you’re working with and hits the core issues they’re facing. Some are very practical daily issues, while others are more abstract thought processes college-age people go through.  The point is to encourage people through the tough times they’re having…while making them laugh in between the deeper things.  I thought I would give you an example out of one little section that seeks to encourage people as they reevaluate all the beliefs they grew up with…

Re-evaluation
At some point everyone re-evaluates all the assumptions they grew up with. Most people do this during their first couple years after graduating high school. Everyone will inevitably question their beliefs and possibly to a point of doubting them entirely. This is normal, and actually healthy. There’s a lot to think through. Here are eight thoughts about this inevitable process:

1. Don’t feel guilty for having doubts. This process is healthy, even if it feels like your world is falling apart! Most people have doubts about their faith from time to time and just don’t say anything. Unless you and I are the only ones, it’s totally normal.
2. Things that once seemed black and white to you may all of the sudden be turning grey. This is simply because you can think at much deeper levels than you ever could before.
3. If things are becoming more complex in your world – it’s a sign that you’re growing up. You are realizing things aren’t as simple as they used to seem!
4. If confusion is creeping into your life it’s because you don’t actually know as much as you thought you did. We all get blindsided by this truth at some point. The answer isn’t to throw in the towel, it’s to learn more!
5. Just because things seem much more complex, it doesn’t mean your faith is wrong. And, it certainly doesn’t mean your faith is dying. It just means you’re maturing and thinking through things you never have before. Your faith being challenged will only make it stronger.
6. Reevaluating beliefs is necessary for you to have a faith of your own. This is the time in which we move past living off of our parents’ beliefs – whatever those might be. In order to move past this you have to re-evaluate everything you once believed. Babies are weaned off their mom’s milk and this is part of your weaning process.
7. Just because someone caused you to think in a new way about your faith doesn’t mean they are right. There may be very logical and biblical responses to whatever that person said. Scripture may even clearly show their thoughts to be wrong. Don’t trust other people’s thought’s over God’s. Make sure you’re comparing everything people say to what God says (Acts 17:11).

I was at a bbq for 4th of July, sitting on the deck, chatting with some friends. All of the sudden a bird fly’s up and lands right next to my head – on the railing. The bird had no fear. There were at least 10 of us sitting on the deck. We fed the bird out of our hands. I think I got a glimpse of the garden of Eden…I wanted to reach out and grab it.

Instead I had my daughter, Karis, sit by it. It kind of looks like it was about to attack her, huh? I was sitting right where she is when the bird landed, so needless to say, I was a bit shocked. It stayed by us on the railing for over 10 minutes. Amazing.

I was chatting online with a former student the other night. It made me feel old. She was in my jr high ministry and has now graduated with her master’s degree. Ouch. I was asking her what she wanted to do vocationally and she replied, “give people hope.”

Sounds good, noble, and Christian-like. But can you actually do that?

I asked her an array of questions because I don’t think you can. We throw statements like that out a lot, but can we really do what we’re saying? I know what she was trying to say, but understanding true hope, it’s impossible to “give” it to someone else.

I asked her if it was “hope” or “encouragement” she wanted to give. She replied, “both.” I then asked her how she planned on “giving people hope.”

You see, hope is NOT wishful thinking, nor is it something you can “give.” I can’t force someone to have hope, nor can I cause someone to take it from me. Biblical hope (Greek word is ellpis) is being certain of something to come, looking forward to it’s coming because you are convinced it will. How do you give someone that?

You can’t. Sound hopeless?

Well, it’s not really. The encouraging thing is we can “give” people our time! We can let people know of someone to HOPE in! We might even be able to encourage someone toward hoping in the right things.

With college-age people having high expectations and “hope” (more like wishful thinking) of a successful future we must get this straight. Give them your time. Give them encouragement. But let’s not get it confused. We cannot “give” hope.

It’s during the college-age years that people intentionally and consciously seek to find and embrace who it is they are, apart from anything else. In my experience working with college-age people one of the biggest tensions in their life can be finding what it is they want/desire versus pursuing what it is their parents want/desire for them. Or, put another way, they’re trying to embrace who it is they are personally versus who their parents want them to be.

Linkin Park has a song that says this perfectly! Watch this video (and listen to the words) and maybe even use it in a talk about identity. It won’t just hit the core of what so many college-age people are thinking, but it can also be a catalyst for you to be a part of their process! This is where we come into their lives…walking with them as they search through all these things. Anyway’s, enjoy the video…