I want to spend more time in the Scriptures…getting to know the story of Israel which Jesus fulfills, immersing myself in the gospel accounts of Jesus’ story, exploring the early church’s “acts” of gospeling, and even digging out my old church history texts from seminary by Gonzalez and studying the ways in which the church carried on the gospeling from then until now.

I’m more compelled than ever to engage the Word in the context of community and incorporate the Christian calendar, daily prayer, and other spiritual disciplines in order to more faithfully live out my role as a member of the People of God.

What McKnight lays out here really challenges a reductionist (soterian) approach to the Gospel and makes you think deeply about evangelism as well. For such a brief, easy-to-read book it really packs a punch!

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.

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)

With more in mind than just publicity, I share a similar post today.

Although I’m often conflicted about maintaining a program or event with all its administrative and logistic baggage, I am also compelled to provide a consistent opportunity & place for students to gather, worship, study the Scriptures, experience community and hospitality.

JOURNEY = a common metaphor for the spiritual life.

Jesus called himself the “way”…odos in the Greek (pronounced “hodos”). It’s the origin for derivative words such as odometer and exodus (“a way out”). So the discipleship component of our gathering is all about being FORMED into the likeness of Christ as we join Him on the Kingdom path.

Speaking of FORMED…that is the ‘curriculum for Christlikeness’ we’ll be engaging along the WAY. You can download the accompanying prayerbooks here or find out more about FORMED here. You can also “like” FORMED on facebook and be part of the community engaging this material and mission.

2.8 = refers to 1 Thessalonians 2:8 in which Paul encourages and reminds the Thessalonian Christians, “We loved you so much that we wanted to share not just the Gospel but our lives as well.”

Hospitality is more than serving coffee and pastries. It’s about blurring the lines between kin and foreigner. It’s a recognition that we are all pilgrims journeying towards some purpose or end. In Christ, we have been brought near to God. Though we were once considered estranged enemies of God, because of Christ…we are children of God. How great is that kind of love? The scandalous love of a Father for his prodigal child?! The whole paradigm of the Gospel is reconciliation…God extending gracious hospitality to His creation. So we who have received this grace and blessing are called to be people of grace and blessing to other “foreigners,” pilgrims, college students…whoever. And as Paul indicates, sharing the Gospel is about sharing life…not just information or some magical salvation prayer.

JOURNEY 2.8 then is about embracing the call to follow Jesus within the context and ethos of hospitality. It’s designed to be a welcoming environment but especially suited for students who want to be transformed by the Word/words of God in order to transform the world.

First of all, he looks like he could be in one of my campus bible studies, right?! But that’s pretty exciting when you think about God’s ability to use anyone who is completely committed to the Gospel and pointing directly to the Glory of God.

There’s so many great things to extract from Platt’s challenge but I want to focus on one particular topic or issue within the context of campus ministry.

In Chapter 7 as he is discussing faith as a matter of truth rather than taste, Platt asserts “I think that each of us tends toward either intellectual or practical universalism.”

What does he mean by this?

If we are intellectual universalists, then we don’t really believe the truth claims of Christianity to the extent that they apply to all humankind. Therefore, someone’s faith is more about their own upbringing, culture, personal preferences, etc. The American notion of the equality of individuals has been applied in such a way that we treat truth claims equally as well. So perhaps the greatest enemy of the Gospel within our current context (in this country but especially on the university campus) is pluralism and religious tolerance.

(Photo: This is the image that pops up on Wikipedia when you search/explore Christian Universalism. I call it super-friendly Jesus)

The practical universalist may believe that the truth claims of Christ in Scripture are true…that Christ is indeed necessary for salvation, but live life on a daily basis as if that were not true. Instead of following Christ’s mandate to make disciples and take His message to “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the word” a posture and lifestyle of silence is assumed, never proclaiming the urgent Good News about Christ.

I am still processing some particular bits of theology, doctrine, and mission from Platt’s writing but the way in which he peels back some of the cultural veneer and varnish which we have added to the Gospel and Christianity is compelling. He ends the book with an invitation to conduction a one-year “Radical Experiment” and I am considering what that will look like for me, my family, as well as for some college students at the University of Cincinnati.

We shall see.

As I share this campus ministry update with you, I am enjoying fellowship and training with other campus ministers in my CCO family. Several times a year we come together for training events which always remind me of how great it is to be partnered with a campus ministry organization that is passionate about God’s Word, the Gospel, and seeing transformation in the lives of college students and in our world.

One of the themes which has emerged at our training event this summer is sanctification. Part of being a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:13) is engaging the continual process of spiritual growth and maturity. Romans 6 encourages us NOT to live under the authority and power of sin any longer. We have been made alive in Christ. As justified and adopted children of God, Christians should be transformed daily through the finished work of Christ and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. That is a tremendous truth for all of us to marinade in…college student or not.

As you might imagine, however, the cultural-social-academic-relativistic context in which college students (and most young adults) exist is not conducive to this kind of transformation. That makes it all the more important for college students to engage God’s Word regularly, and participate in a community which celebrates, worships, prays, & serves together (most people call this a church).

Here are a few quotes which stand out:

“It’s about talented people committed to perfecting their art as far as possible.”

CCM is about “an excellence that communicates, spreads out and contributes to its community.”

“In a culture awash in mediocrity, CCM is a place where people can strive for nothing less than their best – and remind the rest of us how high the bar should be.”

As a novice musician myself, I have a particular interest and passion for connecting with CCM students and seeing them integrate their calling as musicians & performers with their faith. Recently, I met a grad student in the jazz studies program who is a fellow saxophonist. His life was transformed by God through an Inter Varsity campus ministry during his undergrad years in New Hampshire (one of his classmates is pictured w/ the tenor saxophone to the right). Jon is not only passionate about being an excellent saxophonist, he has a tremendous calling to share Christ with those around him. So several weeks ago, I came alongside of Jon in a supportive/mentoring role as he launched a new bible study to CCM students at UC.

Although the CCM culture is mostly antagonistic towards the Christian faith, Jon is being faithful to this calling and drawing students to God’s word through a study of the life/ministry of Jesus each Monday night on campus.

I’m pretty excited that I get to be a part of Jon’s faith journey for a couple of years here in Cincinnati. There’s no doubt that he will leave Cincinnati with some serious musical credentials. But I also pray that he’ll leave a legacy of transformed lives as he pours his heart into this unlikely kind of “music ministry.”

That connection wasn’t hard to see in this first completed book of 2011. Gabe Lyons does a great job of building on the research and material in his previous book UnChristian to identify a third option for being Christian today which should be quite appealing to college students as well as any-aged person who wants to participate fully with God’s mission to restore and redeem all of Creation.

I was personally captured by the very first line in the very first chapter: “Seven years ago, I was twenty-seven years old and embarrassed to call myself Christian.” Although for me it was about 8 years ago and I was 31 at the time…but I remember that angst. I was a youth pastor at the time, finishing a masters degree, and working part-time at Starbucks. The friends I was making in the cafe environment were many of the young adults whose negative opinions of Christianity showed up in Gabe’s previous book. (By the way, you can read more about Gabe and find out the kinds of things he’s up to here.)

Anyway, fast-forward a few years and here I am working with college students at the University of Cincinnati, hoping to see hundreds of students get a vision for their “calling” to find brokenness in the world and positively affect it. That’s what these “Next Christians” do, as Restorers…they approach the world and culture through a lens of grace.

Most Christians tend to fall into two categories (as Gabe points out): Separatist or Cultural Christians. Separatists are offended by the world and culture so they withdraw and express church & faith in insular ways, maintaining purity and holiness by condemning and withdawaing from the world. Cultural Christians tend to blend right in with the culture and operate from a very philanthropic posture (so-called “social gospel”) which is disconnected from the redemptive truth of the whole Gospel/Jesus.

But Restorative Christians are rediscovering the whole Gospel of God’s original intent for Creation which is marred and broken by sin, yet redeemed in the life/death/resurrection of Christ, which then leads to the follower of Jesus partnering with God in His mission to restore ALL Things through Christ (Colossians) until the ultimate Consummation of the Kingdom when Christ returns and all is as it ought to be. At this point, I really must credit the CCO and their campus ministry training which prompted my own discovery of this fuller approach to the Gospel. Gabe recently spoke to a gathering of CCO folks who work on 100 or so campuses and I remember thinking, “Did Gabe get a lot of his material from us?”  

Some key points which Lyons makes along the way:  Restorers are…

• Provoked, not offended. Showing up is their defining practice.
• Creators, not critics. Anything that incarnates Christ and communicates restoration.
• Called, not employed. Restorers don’t have jobs…they serve in a vocation. Where your talent and heart come together is your calling. (insert plug for Jubilee Conference here)
• Grounded, not distracted. In order to live this way, we must be deeply anchored to Christ.
• In Community, not alone. Restorers need and want to come alongside others and experience intentional relationships and community.
• Counter-cultural, not relevant. Many churches and pastors are guilty of emphasizing relevance over Gospel-infused living that champions the common good.

The other highlight section for me was a description of five significant disciplines in which Next Christians tend to engage:

• Immersed in Scripture. Restorers value the story of God over entertainment and other distractions and spend time in God’s Word.
• Observing Sabbath. Restorers realize that our modern emphasis on productivity often emotionally and spiritually bankrupts us and our families because we are not being restored.
• Fasting for simplicity. Restorers find ways to limit consumption, excesses, and distractions.
• Choosing Embodiment. Being present (face to face, relationships, etc) is more important than productivity or connectivity.
• Postured by prayer. Many Christians are rediscovering the discipline of fixed-hour prayers as well as intentional times of prayer in community.

Overall, I think this book affirms what I see God doing in the lives of many Christians around me, including myself. Gabe also does a great job of communicating the value which certainly exists in the Separatist and Cultural expressions of Christianity. And the story of a conversation with Billy Graham (which is shared in that first chapter of the book) lends credibility from an amazing evangelist and friend of Jesus. There’s no doubt in my mind. God is up to something with this next generation of Christians, millions of which are on college campuses around the world right now!

If I could go back and have one “do over” during my own college experience, it would be to attend the Jubilee Conference. (Register now and plan to join me for this transformational opportunity in February).

Get $20 off your registration price for a new registration when you use the discount code “CHRISTMAS”. This discount code is good through 12/31/2011 at 11:59PM EST; so, make sure to register before the NEW YEAR!

If I could recommend to current college students one particular experience with the potential to change their lives, attitude, and vocational path…it would be the Jubilee conference.

Over the past couple of years of intentional hanging out with students, the most regretful statement I continue to hear is something like this:

“Yeah, I’m majoring in ________ but I have no idea what I’m going to do with it.”

or

“I’m pursuing a degree in ____________ but what I really want to do is __________.”

If you’re a college student and you’ve ever said something like that…go here and watch this video.

It’s really tragic to find a great percentage of college students have never thought deeply about their academic calling or entertained the possibilities that God has an over-the-top sweet plan for them to make a difference in the world by aligning their passion, academic path, and future vocation.

Yet another reason for a student to attend the Jubilee Conference this February in Pittsburgh!

Once you sign up and login, you can search for our group (Journey 2:8 at UC) and then find the weekly bible study event. When you click on the event, Journey 2:8 Gathering, you will then see the passage of Scripture and theme we’re studying for the week along with questions, polls, and other resources. My hope is that  we would create a bit of community online which might encourage all of us to spend more time reading and studying God’s Word.

Here’s a note I just posted about the Scripture we were dealing with last week.

Often, I come across passages of scripture that are familiar and have been quoted so many times that they almost lose their impact. Verses can become cliche and a simple platitude that we recite rather than a principle by which we live.

I’m afraid that has happened for me with several of these verses found in Philippians 4. As I’ve been steeping my heart, mind, and soul in this passage over the past couple of weeks, I’m gravitating to these three verse (6, 11, & 13) and sensing that God is trying to teach me more about thanksgiving, contentment, and Christ as Source.

Thanksgiving does not appear to be the natural human response to life’s circumstances, conflicts, and anxieties. Many times throughout the Story of God (scripture) however, we find this gesture being modeled or encouraged. And strangely enough I find that it is nearly impossible to be anxious, bitter, and stressed out while simultaneously being thankful for the many blessings that God has allowed into my life. With Thanksgiving Day just ahead of us this week, it is certainly appropriate to look at life through a lens of thankfulness.

Contentment seems to be my nemesis. I remember a few years ago that someone encouraged me during a time of transition to focus on contentment. It continues to be a lesson I’m learning, especially in terms of material things and financial provision. That is the context of Paul’s statement in v.11. He has learned to be content “whatever the circumstances.” Really?! Is that just something people say or actually believe and live? And how is that possible? Well, this so-called “secret” as Paul describes it probably has a lot to do with verse 13.

Strength/Source. This verse is one of those potential cliches which gets thrown around and plastered onto every possible context. I remember quoting this verse back in the weight room at college as I was trying to bench press a new max. I’ve seen it printed on the back of shirts while running in a marathon. I’ve heard it preached and applied to just about any challenging circumstance that people may face. Perhaps it applies in all these situations, but the meaning which Paul intended was originally connected to this real-life challenge of financial deprivation. Paul’s “secret” ability to thrive regardless of having much or very little is found in his connection with the Source of life, strength, help, peace, provision, grace, etc. And during the challenging economic times which many are facing today, staying connected to the One who continually provides and strengthens is crucial.

As I lean into a more simple and purposeful approach to life, these lessons of thanksgiving, contentment, and connection are not just religious cliches and verses to hang on my wall at home…they are words of life and truth to live out of each moment.