College Students as Exiles

Published on January 2, 2012 by Chris Bean in Calling, Campus Ministry, Faith, Gospel and worldview.

As I was looking back over Steve Lutz‘ recent book on missional college ministry, one particular idea resonates with a challenge I have encountered in my own context of campus ministry at the University of Cincinnati.

During my 15 years of working with high school students as a youth pastor, I know that I was often guilty of making a statement like this: “Be careful not to lose your faith on the big bad campus of ___________.” Beware of Babylon!

And unfortunately, many of our Christian/churched kids enter their college years with an unhealthy temptation to disengage from the campus and culture.

Jeremiah 29 contains a letter written to the exiles who found themselves in a situation somewhat similar to that of a college student. Diversity, pluralism, humanism, a hedonistic culture…there are plenty of forces which seem to work against the fragile faith and worldview of many young Christians. But the surprising word to those exiles via the prophet Jeremiah included these verses:

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

God intended for the exiles to have an impact on the culture around them…to engage it. Instead of fearing the new environment and assuming an isolated and antagonistic posture towards it, the mission of God included prayerfully investing their lives (building houses, families, relationship, influence, etc) in the place where God had positioned them for this season.

I believe God has equal concern for the habitat of college students…universities, dorms, fraternity houses, classrooms, etc.

“We can’t look at college as a rest stop on the way to the rest of our lives. God wants us to engage our mission field.” (Lutz, 57 of College Ministry in a Post-Christian Culture)

Especially when I observe many Christian students at college, I see that they tend towards a couple of mistakes:

  • Seeing the campus environment as something to avoid and by which not to be spiritually tainted
  • Missing God’s mission for their time on campus because they see college simply as the means to their own personal success in life

There’s another way to live and invest the resources of Christ (Gospel, faith, your life) in such a way that our sent-ness results in the welfare of the city/campus.

For those engaged in the field of campus ministry who want to press in a little more on this missional approach, I highly recommend Steve Lutz’ book on the subject. Check this out for a more comprehensive review of Steve’s book from fellow campus minister Guy Chmieleski.

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Nomads, Prodigals, & Exiles

Published on December 29, 2011 by Chris Bean in Campus Ministry, discipleship and Faith.

Recently, David Kinnaman came to speak at our CCO Fall training event and I enjoyed his presentation enough to dig into his most recent book for a deeper look at his research and conclusions. For those of us who are ministering to/with college-aged students and young adults, Kinnaman points to a variety of factors which all seem to indicate that the 18-29 crowd is disconnecting from the Church in more substantial numbers than ever before.

Although it’s always been a natural time for young Christians to explore and leave the reservation, so to speak, the numbers seem to indicate now that more Christians are walking away and staying away longer than ever before.

Coming from the president of the Barna Group, these observations certainly deserve our attention. In chapter two of the book, he argues that three key words characterize the ways in which current culture has made major shifts: Access, Alienation, and Authority.

But what I find supremely interesting are the images which are used to illustrate three main categories of young church dropouts: Nomads, Prodigals, and Exiles.

In the discussion of Nomads, Kinnaman describes “the most common category of dropout—the spiritual nomad, the wanderer. For these young adults, faith is nomadic, seasonal, or may appear to be an optional peripheral part of life. At some point during their teen or young adult years, nomads disengage from attending church or significantly distance themselves from the Christian community.”

For many in this category, leaving the church wasn’t so much an intentional decision but more of a “slow fade.”  (The title of another good book on the subject by Chuck Bomar, Reggie Joiner, & Abbie Smith).

Prodigals are the most deliberately non-Christian group but also represent the smallest category. Many of these claim to have “moved on” from Christianity or see their de-conversion as an experience of freedom.

The last group Kinnaman describes are the Exiles. As the biblical metaphor implies, these young Christians are struggling to live out their faith within the context of a new cultural landscape. They may feel alienated or isolated from the Christian community (church) they grew up with but are hopeful about finding new ways of Christ-following which make sense to their communities and careers. They often feel a little lost, not sure where they fit in terms of the traditional church.

In my own context of ministry (the University of Cincinnati), I encounter quite a few  Prodigals and enjoy conversations with that group but I find the Exiles particularly interesting and most willing to integrate their faith and leverage their lives for the good of others (service, evangelism, etc.) In my mind, “You Lost Me” is such a critical book to read and respond to because these Nomads and Exiles, in particular, can play a critical missional role in reaching others.

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The Goal: “Perfect” Disciples

Published on November 28, 2011 by Chris Bean in Calling, Campus Ministry, discipleship, Faith and Gospel.

There’s a quick easy read on discipleship by John Stott, which ended up being the first title I tackled during my most recent retreat for study and prayer. Stott called attention to 8 neglected aspects of Christian discipleship. For more information on his book, The Radical Disciple, check out this link.

One of the chapters discussed maturity from the context of Colossians 1:28 and I was reminded of the significance of my own calling to disciple college students. Some scholars believe that Paul was addressing an early form of Gnostic heresy in his letter to the believers in Colossae. The problem was manifesting itself in a false dichotomy between average and elite Christians. (Get a quick overview of Gnosticism here).

I find that this particular heresy continues to be quite rampant in Christianity today. Many believe that there are varying degrees of Christian commitment which are acceptable to God and He doesn’t actually require holiness or “perfection” from everyone. But Paul sends a kill shot right into the heart of this heresy when he reminds the Colossian Christians what he is all about:

“Him we proclaim, warning EVERYONE and teaching EVERYONE with ALL wisdom, that we may present EVERYONE mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”   Colossians 1:28-29 (ESV)

The Greek word for maturity or perfection is teleios and shows up 19 times in the New Testament. Whenever it is used, there’s a comparative not an absolute sense of the word which is in play. A mature/perfect disciple is NOT absolutely mature/perfect without any further room for growth but mature/perfect in comparison to a newborn…or a spiritual infant. So the implication is that Christian maturity is an expectation of a disciple (“radical” as Stott points out in the root sense of the word).

In the context of campus ministry, this goal or calling can be quite challenging because of the complexities, transitions, competitive demands which characterize the average college student or young adult. However, that could be said of high school students and senior citizens just depending on the day. The deeper challenge is helping a student have a grander vision for their own spiritual journey than occasional church attendance or participating in a weekly fellowship/bible study. Following Christ demands a singular focus and commitment which leaves many Christians occasionally saying “Lord, Lord…” but mostly living for “Me, Me…” (Matthew 25:44)

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