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Help Students Transition to College by Hosting a Panel Discussion

This past weekend I presented the College Transition Seminar for the Black Rock Church in Fairfield, CT. Over lunch, the seminar also featured a panel discussion with current college students. Parents and students had the opportunity to ask “real live” college students about the struggles and successes they had transitioning to the next chapter of their life story. The conversation was rich. Not only did the parents and high school students gain much wisdom from what they heard, but the college students greatly benefitted from telling their stories as well.

It got me thinking… a college student panel is a simple thing to do and it can make a big difference in the lives of soon-to-be college students! It doesn’t even require much prep work. Ask college students you know if they would be interested in sitting on a panel. If they say “yes” they probably have something they would like to share! And then ask simple questions to get the conversation started, like:

How did you decide on the college you chose?

Was it difficult to find Christian community on campus?

What surprised you the most when transitioning to college?

If you could do the transition over again, what would you do differently?

What advice would offer to high school students who are nervous about the transition?

In between each question, open it up to the parents and students to ask follow-up questions. It’s also a good idea to pass around 3×5 cards beforehand, in case people are more comfortable writing their question instead of asking it in front of others.

Students need a vision for what it looks like to have a successful transition to college. Hearing from current college students can help them gain a vision for what their transition could and should look like.

Related Resources:

Article: “Finding Community in College: 5 Ways to Help Students Connect” (.pdf)

Article: “Conversations for the College Bound: 10 Talks to Have Before Arriving on Campus” (.pdf)

Book: Make College Count: A Faithful Guide to Life and Learning

One Life: Gap Year Program Interview

OneLife is a new gap year program located in Dunbar, Wisconsin. The program’s motto: “Getting distracted lives fixated on one reason to live.” What follows is an interview with the program’s founder Peter Sullivan (for more information, please visit the OneLife website):

What is the mission of your program?

The mission of OneLife is to build a strong foundation in the lives of today’s youth, educating and engaging them to live as next-generation leaders completely surrendered to God for His Glory. By providing an intense discipleship culture in which students interact constantly with professors, staff members, and mentors in a relationship-oriented environment, OneLife seeks to instill in our students a life-long passion for the Gospel in all areas of life.

How many students participate?

16 students participate in this program annually.

What are the basic elements of your program?

The basic elements of OneLife consist of various block classes including Christian worldview, discipleship, financial stewardship, time management, and basic apologetics. These practical classes will be put into practice through various outreach and travel opportunities.

Why are you passionate about your work?

My passion for young people began about seven years ago when I went on a missions trip with my two daughters. We went to minister to the inner city kids of Jackson, Mississippi and I came away amazed at how the kids and I were ministered to as well. The ideas of letting go of ourselves, serving, and being in a tight community with a small group of people opened up our hearts and minds to something more than ourselves and our own little worlds. I came away with a passion to emulate this experience on a heightened level to next generation leaders. This passion has grown since that time as my wife and I have recently walked through the college-age years with 3 of our 5 children. We have seen firsthand areas that need to be fine-tuned and emphasized because of the insipid nature of our culture; areas that were important for our children to be grounded in before moving on to the next phase of their lives. These firsthand experiences have fueled my passion for educating the next generation.

What do you tell parents who might be reluctant to have their child take a “year off” before going to college?

It’s not the destination (major) that determines the outcome, it’s the vessel (person.)

Why do you think most students are attracted to your program?

This generation of students are searching for purpose in their lives. The OneLife program provides community, purpose, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences without having to sacrifice a year of college credits.

Related Resources:

Article: “God in the Gap Year: The Benefits of Taking Time Off Before Going to College” by Derek Melleby

Link: www.cpyu.org/gapyear (a list of similar gap year programs)

Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional

Brian McLaren, the often cited “theologian” and “father” of the emerging church movement, wrote something in the introduction to his book A New Kind of Christian that has always stuck with me. He had grown up in a fundamentalist sub-culture, had been pastoring an independent community church for many years and was writing about his crisis of faith. He recalls having a moment of clarity when he realized he had a major decision to make: (1) he had to stop being a Christian or (2) he had to find a new way to be a Christian. Even though he didn’t use this language, he was, in a sense, looking for a third-way.

I had a similar “faith-crisis” experience in college, so as I read A New Kind of Christian, I had mixed emotions of frustration and gratitude. I was frustrated because the strength of the new “way” McLaren was looking for, I had found in historic (reformational) theology. My newly energized faith was being built on the biblical theology of Herman Bavinck, the cultural criticism of Herman Dooyeweerd and the cultural engagement of Abraham Kuyper. I was also being nurtured by more recent expressions of culturally engaged evangelicalism from Lesslie Newbigin, Al Wolters, Os Guinness and John Stott. As I read McLaren’s supposed “new” way to be a Christian, I kept thinking: “Why doesn’t he know or cite these Christians!” I often contended that had McLaren (and others) read Creation Regained (Wolters), The Transforming Vision (Walsh & Middleton), Reason Within the Bounds of Religion (Wolterstorff), or When the Kings Come Marching In (Mouw) the whole emerging church movement may never had happened.

In Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional, Jim Belcher makes a similar case. He points out that a third-way is possible, but that many of the emerging church leaders have failed to see that it was here all along. First, he defines and separates the emerging church family into three helpful types: (1) Relevants: leaders who are not as interested in reshaping theology as they are in updating worship styles, preaching and leadership; (2) Reconstructionists: leaders who are mostly orthodox theologically but who focus on changing church structure, often moving toward more informal forms of worship; and (3) Revisionists: leaders who question evangelical theology and pretty much everything else.

Making these distinctions is essential in order to get a better picture of what the emergent movement is trying to do and to better clarify our critiques. Most relevants are simply evangelicals that want to attract more people to church; most reconstructionists are evangelicals who don’t see the value in the “organized” church; and most revisionists are Christians who aren’t sure they want to be evangelicals. If you have a problem with seeker/market driven/hip mega-churches, take your shots at the relevants. If you think formal church structures and denominations are vital (even biblical), criticize the reconstructionists. If you think orthodox/evangelical theology as outlined in the creeds and confessions of the traditional church is essential to following Jesus, revisionists will drive you nuts. But, with the help of Belcher, at least we have a better sense of where the lines are drawn.

I grew up in the Lutheran church, was a part of a “free church” for ten years and currently worship in a Mennonite community. I deeply resonate with Belcher’s longing and need for tradition. I’m impressed by the way he has discovered an implemented a third-way at his church: especially his well-rounded, blended forms of worship music and weekly communion. I also appreciated that Belcher affirms the emergent emphasis of “belonging before believing” and yet challenges the emerging churches to call people to commitment.

For my work, I was most interested in Belcher’s story of how learning about the Gospel of the Kingdom revolutionized his college experience. As a college student he realized that his faith was indeed “something big enough to base my life on.” I had a similar conversion experience toward a more holistic, culture engaging Gospel during my later years of college and early young adulthood. Belcher and I have been aided in this journey not so much by re-inventing or re-imagining a new way to be Christian, but in realizing the many faithful Christians of the past who have wrestled with similar concerns and provided the church with helpful tools to navigate faithfulness.

Dallas Willard and the Kingdom of God: A Tribute

Dallas Willard, USC philosophy professor and Christian writer, died of cancer yesterday. It is being reported that his last words were “Thank you.” Fitting. I have only known Dr. Willard through his books and speaking, but it was obvious that he lived a life of grace and gratitude. His books were a gift to the church.

The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God has been one of the most important books I have ever read. It had a memorable entry into my personal library. It’s hard to forget. I bought the book on September 10, 2001 from Hearts & Minds Bookstore (recommended by my good friend Byron Borger) and started reading it on September 11th around 8:30am. I put the book aside at 9:05am to turn on the TV to see who had won the Monday Night Football game the day before. I don’t remember who won. But I do carry with me two profound memories from that day: the sight of the second plane hitting the World Trade Center and reading this paragraph from The Divine Conspiracy:

“Jesus came among us to show and teach the life for which we were made. He came very gently, opened access to the governance of God with him, and set afoot a conspiracy of freedom in truth among human beings. Having overcome death he remains among us. By relying on his word and presence we are enabled to reintegrate the little realm that makes up our life in the infinite rule of God. And that is the eternal kind of life. Caught up in his active rule, our deeds become an element in God’s eternal history. They are what God and we do together, making us part of his life and him a part of ours.”

It is, perhaps, my favorite paragraph about Jesus. I reflect upon it every Christmas. I thought about it yesterday when well-intentioned people broke the news by saying “Dallas Willard has gone to be with the Lord.” I understand and appreciate the sentiment. And it is true. Dallas Willard is now with Jesus. But I couldn’t help but think about how much of his life he devoted to inviting people to see that Jesus is with us now. Today. The Kingdom is “at hand.” Jesus is in our midst this moment. No other writer has made me more aware of that reality.

Here are a few other things I learned from Dallas Willard:

Dallas Willard was an astute observer of cultural trends. In The Divine Conspiracy he retells a story of a Harvard University student who received all As in courses on “moral reasoning” and “ethics” and yet continually, sexually harassed a female classmate. He writes, “There now is no recognized moral knowledge upon which projects of fostering moral development could be based.” (Dr. Willard’s book Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge more fully addresses the disconnection between character formation and education.) But my favorite cultural observation is this:

“And just think of a world in which little children sing, ‘I wish I were a [certain kind of] wiener. That is what I really want to be. For if I were [that certain kind of] wiener. Everyone would be in love with me.’ Think of what it would mean to be a weenie, or for someone to love you as they ‘love’ a hot dog. Think of a world in which adults would pay millions of dollars to have children perform this song in ‘commercials’ and in which hundreds of millions, even billions, of adults find no problem in it. You are thinking of our world. ”

Dallas Willard challenged Christians to reconsider the content of the Gospel message proclaimed by the contemporary church. I think this was his greatest contribution. He identified the “Gospel on the right” with only having “good news” for overcoming death and he identified the “Gospel on the left” with only having “good news” for the oppressed. He writes:

“The disconnection of life from faith, the absence from our churches of Jesus as teacher… is largely caused and sustained by the basic message that we constantly hear from Christian pulpits. We are flooded with what I have called ‘gospels of sin management,’ in one form or another, while Jesus’ invitation to eternal life now—right in the midst of work, business, and profession—remains for the most part ignored and unspoken.”

Dallas Willard concluded that many of the problems we face is “nothing but the natural consequence of the basic message of the church as it is heard today.” He continues, “It would be foolish to expect anything else than precisely what we have got.” Dr. Willard offers three important questions to consider when presenting the Gospel:

1. Does the gospel I preach and teach have a natural tendency to cause people who hear it to become full-time students of Jesus?
2. Would those who believe it become his apprentices as a natural “next step”?
3. What can we reasonably expect would result from people actually believing the substance of my message?

Dallas Willard helped me to ask better questions about things that matter most. His writing has had a profound influence on my life and work. One more favorite quote from The Divine Conspiracy:

“We are, all of us, never-ceasing spiritual beings with a unique eternal calling to count for good in God’s great universe.”

Amen. Thank you, Dallas Willard.

I highly recommend these two, short articles as a good introduction to the work of Dallas Willard:

“Who Is Your Teacher?“

“Rethinking Evangelism“

Senior Night Webinar: Preparing for the Next Chapter of Your Life Story

On May 19 at 7:00pm (EDT) gather all the high school seniors (and other students too) you know for this special event! I will deliver a 30 minute talk to help students be more spiritually prepared for life after high school. As students enter what experts call “the critical years” (ages 18-25), this webinar with pose two important questions:

What kind of person do you want to be?
What story will shape your life?

Consider inviting students for a meal or dessert or simply tune in at a youth group gathering. The presentation will conclude with questions for discussion.

Register here.

Watch a video invitation here.

Finding Christian Community: 5 Ways to Help Students Connect

One of my favorite questions to ask current college students or recently graduated college students is this: what was the best piece of advice you were given before going to college? Here’s a response I received a few weeks ago at a picnic. Between bites of nachos, the student said: “My youth pastor told me to be intentional about finding Christian community. He was so emphatic about it that I remember frantically walking around campus asking everyone I met if they knew about any Christian groups on campus. One of the first people I talked to was a Christian and she’s one of my best friends today. Together we were able to find a group and get connected to a church.” This story reminds us of two things we all need to know about students transitioning to college.

First, the first two weeks of college are critical. Nationally, 25 percent of students do not return to the same school for their sophomore year. On a recent trip to a large Midwestern State University, I learned that this university has been able to reduce that number to 3-4 percent. They’ve found that students transition better and remain at their university longer if the students find good, supportive community quickly. The university leadership recognized that there were only two prominent scenarios for incoming students. Some students would look to the party scene to find friends. While this did provide community, it wasn’t the most beneficial. Other students would fall through the cracks, not really getting involved on campus during the week and going home on the weekends. The university responded by pouring more funding and energy into first-year programs. Helping students find a place to belong has made all the difference in the world in their retention rates.

Second, the opening story reminds us that Christians need to intentionally seek out Christian community on campus. Kara Powell of the Fuller Youth Institute estimates that 40 percent of Christian students do not get connected to Christian community while in college. During the first few weeks of college, students are bombarded with different activities to fill their schedules. Everything is new: people, buildings, class, meal times. Many students are navigating these daily activities on their own for the first time. It’s easy to drop worship and “Bible study” from an already hectic schedule.

What can be done to help students make wise decisions in how they spend their time and who they spend it with? Are there steps that can be taken by youth workers and parents to assist in this transition? What follows are five suggestions to help students connect to Christian community on campus…

Download the full article(.pdf) here.

Admission: 3-D Movie Review

Background/summary: Tina Fey and Paul Rudd costar in Admission, a comedy/drama about the college admission process and the “surprising detours we encounter on the road to happiness.” The movie follows Princeton University admission counselor Portia Nathan (Fey) as she travels to high schools, reads student applications and navigates the competitive world of elite college acceptance. On the road, Portia reconnects with a former college classmate, John Pressman (Rudd), who is teaching at an alternative school and trying to convince Portia to accept one of his students.

Discover: What is the message/worldview?

• The college admission process at elite colleges (i.e. Ivy League) is intense and pressure-filled. Students build resumes and transcripts to compete for minimal open spots and look for any advantage or key insight to gain acceptance. In this environment, a student’s GPA determines their value and worth.
• Parents are just as competitive as the students and they do everything they can to help their son or daughter get into college. Portia makes this observation about parents: “The college application is the final referendum on their parenting skills.”
• During her reluctant visit to New Quest, an alternative high school in New England, Portia encounters a different understanding of education and motivation for a college degree. Students think that Portia is operating from a “societal approved definition of success” and suggest to her that life is about “leaving the planet better than we found it.”
• The film portrays tension and unrest in respect to each character’s vision of happiness and the good life. Portia wonders if she is “boring” because she has had the same job for 16 years and has no desire for starting a family. John has traveled the world trying to “save it” but is still depicted as discontent and “running from something.”
• Even in the midst of a competitive academic and work environment, the most important thing about life is relationships. Ultimately, commitment, attachment and stability are seen a “good” while a life of rootlessness and mobility is called into question.

Discern: How does it stand in light of the biblical message/worldview?

• God’s people are all given gifts that are meant to be used to give God glory and benefit neighbors. Some people are given intellectual gifts that should be cultivated and nourished. The college admission process can be seen as an opportunity to give God glory or to glorify the self. This movie should challenge viewers to consider why they pursue educational goals.
• A person’s value and worth should be found in knowing that he or she is a child of God. In his first letter, John writes “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1). An academic transcript or a college degree does not determine a person’s worth. God’s unconditional love for His people, along with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, empowers believers to live lives of faithfulness.
• A biblical vision of learning is to grow in wisdom so that we can be of better service for God. For followers of Jesus a college degree should be about increasing one’s serviceability for God and others. In a subtle way, through the students at the New Quest alternative school, viewers are introduced to a different reason for going to college: “to leave the planet a better place than you found it.” A biblical worldview pushes us even further: we go to college to learn how to serve God and neighbor more.
• Jesus summarizes the meaning of life and the way to “true happiness” like this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…And Love your neighbor as yourself” (see Matthew 22:37-40). According to the biblical story, a life that is not built on these words will find happiness fleeting.
• People who are shaped by the biblical story better understand the “wisdom of stability” that can often be missed in our mobile culture. Speaking through Jeremiah, God’s exiled people living in Babylon are commanded to “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters” (Jeremiah 29:5).
• One of the implications of being created in the image of a Triune God is that we are made to be in relationship with other people. Without deeper, intimate relationships, it is difficult to experience and understand God’s love and faithfulness. Community is essential to the life of faith.

Decide: What do I do with it?

• Admission can be used to spark many conversations for students about life after high school. It forces viewers to examine more deeply the reasons behind their desires to go to college or pursue a career.
• The movie will also challenge parents as they think about their role in helping their son or daughter get into college. Do parents (and students) see a college acceptance for their child as a status symbol or as a way to bring honor and glory to God?
• What does it mean to be happy? What is the good life and how to we get it? Even though the movie Admission is about the college admission process it also invites viewers to wrestle with these bigger questions. Although the characters take a windy road to reach these conclusions, the movie ultimately portrays commitment, attachment and stability as something worth striving for.

Download as PDF handout.

More CPYU 3-D Reviews.

The Slow Fade: Why You Matter in the Story of Twentysomethings

It’s no secret. Many young adults are no longer finding a “home” in most churches. This common trend used to be dismissed with the pithy response: “They’ll return when they get married and have kids!” But that’s no longer the case. For one thing, more and more young adults are prolonging marriage. What’s more, waiting for people to get married in order to have them fully participate in the life of the church is not an effective or biblical strategy. The church needs to disciple people regardless of their marital status. In fact, the young adult years are considered by many to be the most formative years in a person’s life. But why has it become so difficult to reach emerging adults? What can the church do to more effectively connect with the next generation?

Equipping the church to wrestle with these questions is what inspired the authors of The Slow Fade: Why You Matter in the Story of Twentysomethings (David C. Cook). Reggie Joiner, a senior pastor, Chuck Bomar, a college pastor, and Abbie Smith, a twenty-something, offer insight into the often hard to reach college aged crowd. When many churches seem to be looking for the latest and greatest program to attract young people who have slowly faded away from church, these authors provide a simpler, more biblical approach: mentoring. Their plea is for the older generation to take the younger generation more seriously by investing their time in developing meaningful relationships with young adults. According to the authors, “Halting the slow fade happens when adults start investing in the college-aged people.”

Most notably, they are suggesting that the church re-think its finish line. For too long, the church has seen graduating from high school as the big “finish” before moving off to college. The authors ask a perceptive question: “If the slow fade in someone’s faith begins to occur at the point he or she goes off to college, then why don’t we focus some of our best energies on the first few years of college?” What would it look like if the church pushed back its finish line to age 20, or better, didn’t have a finish line at all? It would require a major paradigm shift in the way most churches think about youth and youth ministry.

The authors realize that mentoring is not easy and offer wisdom and guidance to be more effective and authentic disciple makers. Church leaders who care about seeing young people grow in faith should not miss this book. Confused parents who are struggling with their young adult son or daughter will gain valuable insight into why he or she is no longer apart of the church. The Slow Fade will open your eyes to the needs of young adults and provide steps forward for reaching them with a faith that lasts.

CPYU Gifts for Grads

CPYU has once again partnered with interlinc to offer the 2013 Graduation Bundle. The gift includes two resources:  Make College Count: A Faithful Guide to Life and Learning and ConGRADulations! Class of 2013 Music & Media Grad Gift from interlinc.

Make College Count helps students make the most of their time in college. It encourages students to ask the big questions, like

Why am I going to college?
What kind of person do I want to be?
How do I want my life to influence others?
With whom will I surround myself?
What do I believe?

Watch a video about the book here.

ConGRADulations! Class of 2013 is three gifts in one: Music Album (20 songs from the top names in Christian music including Lecrae, Red, for King & Country, Tobymac), Video-Media Content (artist, author, and fellow grad video greetings and advice), and 48-page Gift Book.

CPYU offers bulk discounts rates:

1-4 copies –> $22/each
5-9 copies –> $20/each
10+ copies –> $18/each

ORDER FROM CPYU!

More CPYU Gifts for Grads here.

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Combating Senioritis: 3 Activities for College Bound Students

It’s that time of year. Senioritis at school and church is kicking in. Students are ready to coast to the finish-line and make their way to the next chapter of their life story. For many graduating seniors (but not all), the “next step” will be college in the fall. According to recent research by the Fuller Youth Institute only 1 in 7 high school seniors report feeling prepared to face the challenges of college life. How can we engage seniors during the last few months of high school so that they are better prepared for the challenges ahead? What follows are three suggested activities to invite students to think more deeply about this crucial transition (each activity takes about an hour and could work well as three consecutive youth group meetings):

First, create space for better conversations about life after high school. Host a panel discussion with college students and have soon-to-be graduates ask them questions about how they can be better prepared. Consider including older members of the community as well. Have them reflect on their own decisions and transitions when they were about to graduate from high school. Ask people 20+ years removed from college this question: If you could do it all over again, what would you have done differently? Conclude the meeting by giving students the article “Conversations for the College Bound: 10 Talks to Have Before Arriving on Campus.” Have the students discuss the article with the group.

Suggested questions:

What conversation(s) stuck out to you as you read?

Were there any conversation partners listed that you hadn’t considered?

What conversations would you like to pursue over the next few weeks?

Second, have an open and honest conversation about faith after high school. To generate good discussion, watch a Veritas Forum video with college bound students. Veritas Forums are university events that engage students and faculty in discussions about life’s hardest questions and the relevance of Jesus Christ to all of life. I highly recommend The Veritas Forum featuring Tim Keller at the University of California, Berkeley.

Suggested questions:

What stuck out to you as you listened to Dr. Keller presentation?

What do you think were his strongest points?

Did you have any disagreements with Dr. Keller arguments for belief in God and the Christian faith?

How do you think Dr. Keller handled the questions from the audience? What can you learn from him about how to have discussions with people who disagree with your worldview?

If you were given the task of explaining or defending the Christian faith at an event like The Veritas Forum, how would you do it? What would the outline of your talk be? Would you be nervous? Why or why not?

Third, help students connect with Christian community before they arrive on campus. Remind students of the value and necessity of community to Christian faith. As you learn where students will be going to college, take a proactive approach by contacting campus ministries and churches in those areas. Start by asking others in your congregation who might be familiar with the community in which the college is located. Next, browse the college’s Web site to see what is offered on campus. Send e-mails and make phone calls. Get in touch with campus ministers and pastors in the area. Consider using a night at youth group to help college bound students make these important connections months before they arrive on campus. Check out this article for more ideas: “Finding Community in College: 5 Ways to Help Students Connect.”

Suggestion questions:

Do you think it will be easy or difficult to make new friends in college?

Why do you think community is important to Christian faith?

Do you think college relationships will be the same as high school relationships? Why or why not?

Do you think you will attend church while in college? Why or why not?

Related Resources:

Link: www.cpyu.org/collegegroups

Link: www.cpyu.org/whybelieve

Expert Interview: “Understanding Teens After High School“

Expert Interview: “The Fabric of Lasting Faith“

Expert Interview: “Sex on Campus“

Book: Make College Count: A Faithful Guide to Life and Learning