Can Christian Kids go to 'Secular' Universities?

As campus ministers, Jen and I work hard to help young Christians make the transition from high school and living at home to life in the university world, and ultimately into the infamous 'real world'. Many of you have probably heard the sordid statistics regarding the diminution of active faith among college age Americans. You may have heard wild numbers thrown around, like 80 or 90% of young Christians who attend secular colleges or universities leave the faith of their youth. Thankfully, these numbers are a bit exaggerated, but the fact remains that far too many young people are jettisoning Jesus on the way to their college diploma. This grieves me in many ways.

I have lots of ideas about how and why this occurs, as well as some statistics to show that the culprit is not the secular university, as 18-22 year olds who never attend university are the most likely group to walk away from faith of any kind*. I also, have lots of ideas regarding how we, as the Church, can move forward in this area (some of these will be discussed in my next installment of the unchristian response).

However, I don't want to bore you with all of that. But, I do want to draw your attention to an open letter from my fellow campus minister, Glen Davis, to the Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Dr. George O. Wood. This letter attempts to paint a clearer picture of the relationship between faith and the secular campus, and to encourage the Assemblies of God to be bold in sending young people to the secular campuses - these young people can not only survive with their faith intact, but thrive as witnesses to the Good News about Jesus!

If this is a topic that piques your interest, I highly recommend reading the whole letter.

As a Bible College graduate, I understand the value of a Christian college experience.
As a campus minister, and state college attender, I understand the value of living in the university world while not being of it.
From my perspective and experiences, I want to encourage everyone to honestly consider the specific direction of the Holy Spirit when considering where to study, or where to encourage a young person to study. Bible college is not for everyone. Secular college is not for everyone. College is not for everyone. The direction and purpose of Almighty God is for everyone.

Link to the letter.

*Losing My Religion: The Social Sources of Religious Decline in Early Adulthood by Uecker, Ragnerus, and Vaaler

thoughts on "unchristian" - 2

Hypocritical...

that's how the majority of young people perceive the average Christian on the street. If you're like me, you might get occasionally irritated by the "Christians are hypocrites" jab when folks are talking about why they are not Christians, why they stopped being Christians. Sometimes, I want to say, "If the shoe fits, where it." I mean, how many folks of other faiths, or no faith, actually live out the principles and values they claim to espouse without a good bit of hypocrisy?

On the other hand, responses like this don't help us give a reason for our hope, or to speak wisely without outsiders, as Peter exhorts us to. We do well to investigate the root of this common complaint.

unchristian exposes some of the hypocrisy latent in the wider culture, but Kinnaman reminds us that followers of Jesus are held to a higher standard - not just by God, but by the wider culture. And, "Young outsiders believe that...followers of Christ are playing the very same mind games they are. They perceive us as employing the same tactics as everyone else to preserve an appearance of strength (pp 44-5)."

This is shown true in the research. Kinnaman works with the Barna research group whose intensive investigations have shown that, in America, those who hold beliefs in line with Evangelical or 'born-again' Christianity (ie, a personal commitment to Jesus as Savior) are just as likely (in the past 30 days) to gamble, look at porn online, steal, consult a medium or psychic, physically fight or abuse, get drunk, used narcotics, lie, slander another person, or practice vengeance as 'non-born-agains'. In our culture, those who believe what Christians are supposed to believe live virtually the same lives as their unbelieving neighbors (47)!

There are some minor differences, especially when it comes to public sins, like using profanity in public. And, Christians are a bit more likely to help the poor and homeless. But, all in all, we're not doing so hot in the whole "do not be conformed to the pattern of this world" command Paul articulated to us.

Now, I'm big on grace, and believe that it's silly to pretend we're not sinning if we are. "Christians are not perfect, just forgiven," is a truism we see on bumper stickers. However, these statistics are mind-blowing to me. We fail, we blow-it, we are forgiven. But, we ought to be progressing in godliness, throwing off the sin that so easily entagles us. How is it that our average month consists of all the same garbage as the world?

I hope these statistics will spur us toward some soul searching, and some thinking about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. And, I plan to delve into these questions in my next post. Let me conclude today with the cruel twist Kinnaman exposes on pages 48 and 49:

It's not just our lifestyles that have gotten us in trouble; it's the very way in which we convey the priorities of being a Christian. The most common message people hear from us is that Christianity is a religion of rules and regulations. They think of us as hypocritcal because they are measuring us by our own standards.

The most compelling research we did on this is a recent study in which we asked Christian adults to identify the priorities Christians pursue in terms of their personal faith. We did not prompt any answers; respondents were able to mention anything that came to mind.

What do you imagine was the most common response?

It was lifestyle--being good, doing the right thing, not sinning.

No wonder the world considers us hypocrites: we have convinced them and ourselves that Jesus died on the Cross so that we would sin less, and we don't! I've heard a quote that might be from CS Lewis that goes something like this: Jesus did not come to make bad men good, but to make dead men alive!

thoughts on "unchristian"

In reading Unchristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity...and Why it Matters, I have encountered some stunning numbers to corroborate some things I have considered to be true for a while through experience, observation, and intuition. I would like to take some space on my blog to work through some of these statistics and ideas in hopes of helping all of us reconsider some of what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and a witness to his atoning death and resurrection.
The authors and pollsters, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, present their basic findings on pp 27 & 28. Here they tell us that the young people outside the Christian faith (ages 16-29) have an unfavorable image of Christianity. That image is based on several perceptions. The top three negative perceptions listed are that Christians are antihomosexual (91% say “a lot” or “some”), judgmental (87%), and hypocritical (85%). These numbers tell us what nonChristians think of when they think about Christianity.
There are some favorable images in the minds of these young people. Unfortunately, the top favorable image they have of Christianity is that it “teaches same basic idea as other religions” (82% “a lot” or “some”). In general, outsiders consider Christianity to have good values and principles (76%), and friendly people (71%). However, only 55% think that Christianity “consistently shows love for other people”, and 54% believe Christianity “offers hope for the future”. These ‘favorable’ images are more dismal as we look at the percentage of young outsiders that consider Christians trustworthy (9 % say “alot”), or Christianity to be genuine and real (11%), “something that makes sense” (9%), or “relevant to your life” (10%).
These numbers are pretty depressing by themselves. The authors do a great job of pursuing what these numbers mean for the Christian community in America, and I plan to trace out some of that, along with my own thoughts throughout the next few weeks. For today, I’ll just let these numbers sit with you. I hope they will inspire you to prayer.
This is our mission field.

Dr. Francis Collins Confirmed for January 22nd 2009

A few weeks ago, I introduced you to the Veritas Forum, and our quest to establish Veritas at Tulane with the hope of kicking off our first go 'round with Dr. Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project and author of The Language of God.

Yesterday, I heard the exciting news that Dr. Collins has agreed to come to Tulane with the Veritas Forum, and has confirmed the date of Thursday, Jan 22nd 2009! Praise God!

There is still lots of work to do in planning, publicizing, PRAYING, and fund raising. If you would like to give to support the Veritas Forum at Tulane, please drop me a line.

We believe this will be a diving appointment for students and faculty: for those struggling with their faith in Christ in an antagonistically secular academic environment to be encouraged in the reasonableness of faith, and for those unsure or even opposed to faith in Christ based on intellectual reasons to have an opportunity to ask honest questions and receive honest answers.

The Veritas Forum

Is God necessary for morality?

Is there hope in a hopeless world?

Are there real reasons for belief in God?

Is DNA a 'language of God'?

These are big questions, and in past generations, the university was the place for young people to work out their perspectives on the big questions of life. However, as times have changed, so has our educational system, and most university degree programs are aimed primarily at professional training rather than worldview development. Students and even faculty are left without a place to engage the biggest questions, being bogged down with exam questions.

I've seen this at work over and over again. It is saddening to talk to a random university student and discover that he or she has not thought about God as an idea, let alone a loving person in ages, nor has he or she thought about how to orient one's moral compass or if there is more to human existence than the material world. 

Enter the Veritas Forum. This group began in 1992 at Harvard where they noticed the lack of conversation regarding the issues of life, morality, ethics, God and eternity. They recruited Christian apologists and ministers, and alumni from professional fields across the spectrum to come speak to various audiences at Harvard with the hopes of jump-starting these necessary conversations. This one-time forum has developed into an international movement, and Tulane's working on getting on board.

I got excited about Veritas as I heard about some of the results at UMass and Stanford where Chi Alpha was a part of hosting Veritas. They brought in Dr. Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project to speak about the marriage of science and faith within his own life. These talks brought out hundreds of students and faculty! 

-read about the Stanford event

Tulane is full of biology and chemistry students, bio-chemical engineering students, and more. Many of these students look up to a scientist like Dr. Collins as a great hero, and I'm excited about the possibility of bringing someone like him to Tulane.

Over the past two months, I have been researching Veritas, and now have recruited a team at Tulane representing nearly all of the Christian communities on campus, and we are moving forward to plan a Veritas Forum for Tulane. Our target date is spring of 2009.

My Response to 'The Secret'

I have not read the bestseller: The Secret, nor have I viewed the subsequent movie. I've been fairly well acquainted with such ideas for some time, however, and because of that felt little compunction to read or see this new spin on such an old idea. I've dealt with this within Christian circles: "Name it, claim it. Believe it, receive it."

One of my Tulane student friends has gotten into The Secret, and we've chatted about it a couple of times. Below is a message he sent me listing out his notes from the movie version, and then my responses in red.

I'm trying to do more writing this summer, as I think it's a gift from God that I do too little with. So, in that vein, I thought I'd write a serious response, and then share it around.

Grace and Peace,

*md

Jie: here is some points from the movie "the secret"

  The LAW OF ATTRACTION: YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND---Universe

3 Processes to Be Creative:

1, Ask (Whatever you want)
2, Believe (Firmly)
3, Receive (Gratefully)


1, Grateful. ----At least you are alive, and you still have the rock in your pocket.

Gratitude is absolutely essential to happiness and joy and fulfillment in life. It is the start of humility, which is the start of true wisdom. The Bible teaches this plainly. 

2,When you visualize , then you materialize.

Visualization is powerful, but it is not magic. I visualize success that never comes on a regular basis. Maybe I am not very good at visualization, but I have experienced its power. It is only a help, though, not a fool-proof plan. 

3. Always positve words filled in your mind!

 

While positivity is better than negativity, sometimes it is more important to deal with reality. I believe that honesty is far more important than happiness or success. Without honesty, we will fail to address real problems, pain, and evil in our world. Without honesty, all of our happiness and success is illusion. 

4. Surrounded by successful people, get into them, become part of them and lead the other people also join them!

This is interesting: it is true that successful people can rub off on you, and help make you more successful. It is wise to associate with those who are positive and full of life. Yet, Jesus teaches the absurd notion of befriending your enemies, and the lowest people on the social ladder, the people who are poor, broken, despised, and ugly. Why would he teach something so contrary to practical wisdom for success? 

5. Act NOW! the Universe likes intuition, likes the speed!

Who is the universe? How does the universe like anything?

Unless there is a Person back of the universe, the universe is dead matter with no life, no preferences. 

6. Firstly, fall in love with yourself.

 

Jesus and the Prophets preach that we must love our neighbor as we love ourselves. If we do not love ourselves, we cannot love anyone. This is true, but easily misapplied toward self-centered living. 

7. Appreciate!

Everything! Always! 

8. Energy flows where attention goes.

Obviously, our energies flow to where we fix our attention. What other energy is there?

9. Don't apologize easily, do it when it's necssary. i.e. you will feel good after you saying "sorry".

I believe this one is 100% wrong. We all do wrong and hurt others on a regular basis, and we do well to acknowledge our errors and ask forgiveness. If we do not apologize easily, we have become full of pride and arrogance. I do not know what 'the universe' thinks about pride and arrogance, but God hates it, and destroys it.

Also, saying 'sorry' is an action directed toward another person, a person that one has injured in some way - knowingly or accidentally. Saying 'sorry' may be very painful, and may leave one feeling empty and broken afterwards. The injured party may decided to reject the apology, and this does not feel good. 

10. Believe in that the power within you is GREATER than the power within the world.

This sounds like a quotation from the Bible, which teaches that "He [Jesus] who is in you is great than he [the devil, the power of the world] who is in the world." 

11. No Ceilings for us.

The one ceiling we all share is called death. 

12. If it is not fun, then don't do that.

I agree with this to some extent. However, there are a great many things that are necessary for life and are not fun. Also, acting in compassion, honesty, etc... is often very difficult. It is much more fun to play video games than to do right deeds, or even to develop oneself. 

13. When you say you CAN or CAN'T , either way you are right.

This is always true for 'can't', though sometimes circumstances bigger than ourselves interfere with our 'can'. But, I do agree with this one, mostly. 

14. FEEL GOOD.

Feel bad: more than 30,000 have been crushed to death in China, maybe 100,000 or more have been killed or will die in Myanmar/Burma from the Cyclone.

Our world is full of pain and misery, and it is foolish to set the goal of feeling good in such a world. Some misery is beyond our control; some misery can be alleviated by our compassion; some misery can be ended or prevented by our action and faith; some misery can be comforted if we will enter into it with the miserable. 

Tulane Likes to Talk about Sex

Last week, one of my favorite speakers on the planet, and a really nice guy, Curt Harlow, paid a visit to New Orleans. Curt is the West Coast Regional Director for Chi Alpha. He's a blast: full of funny stories and profound insight and the love of Jesus.

While here, for just a quick stay, he shared a talk entitled Sex: Selection and Survival. We did some creative advertising at the lunch break, as Curt shared a few 3-5min comedic vignettes to the students chowing down and studying in an area of Tulane's center for university life, and then one of our students would invite them to come to the talk.

Well, I think the creative advertising helped, but more than that, XA students invited their friends. Nearly 50 people showed up and scarfed 14 pizzas! Close to 20 of them were folks who had never met XA before.

Curt shared more funny stories, illustrating the power of sex and relationships, and giving some brilliant guidance in building a relationship that works. He ended with a personal confession of his faith in Jesus - the power that has enabled him to enjoy more than 20 years of loving marriage. After this, there was some Q & A.

Tulane students love to talk about sex, and we'll keep dialoguing with them. There is a shift going on in our community, as we step into greater boldness, and begin to have faith that God really can impact this university with the Good News! After this wonderful turn-out and discussion, our students are encouraged and expectant for the future in a new way.

Campus Sex Talks

Over the past few weeks, I've had the privilege of leading a provocatively title discussion on sexuality and God on our three campuses: Tulane, Loyola, and UNO. "Why does God hate Sex" drew out a few new folks, some of whom were just curious, and a few who seemed to be expecting a fight.

At all three campuses, we were able to really break down some false objections to God and to Christianity, and give students, Christian and non, some food for thought regarding why God has rules about sexuality.

I really enjoy engaging students in this kind of an arena, and am grateful to God for the opportunity. I look forward to building on this in the near future.

Here's a copy of the notes that Jen so kindly typed up for me. She also used the talk for a Satellite Group for ladies that she leads at Loyola.

Recap

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us this week!
Monday night turned out quite well.

At 6:30pm we had a Albanian style dinner with missionary Mark Orfila with some of our Chi Alpha group. Mark shared some stories from his time on the field, and we prayed for him and his family. more pictures

At 8:00pm we welcomed the Tulane community to our counterpoint to Ann Coulter. Typical to Tulane, the response was small. However, Mark's talk, and the subsequent Q & A time was definitely beneficial to our students, and the handful of guests.

The Good News about Jesus was shared, and Mark presented a coherent Christian response to religious hatred, and the trend of tolerance. I hope we can build on this, as our students gain boldness to speak up for the love and truth of God, and as we search out creative ways to share the Good News to wider audiences.

Also, last night I was a part of a panel discussion hosted by the GLBT Caucus of the Tulane College Democrats. I'm not sure why they chose to invite Jen and/or I to represent the Christian Perspective on homesexuality and gay rights in America, but I, with a bit of fear and trembling, accepted the invitation. All in all, the discussion went pretty well. Two of the other panelists (a Reformed Jewish rabbi, and a young Philosophy & Ethics professor) were not particularly happy with my answers to questions about the morality of homosexual behavior, but otherwise the students asked me several questions, and gave my dissenting opinion a fair hearing. I only hope my demeanor, and the bits of God's Truth I was able to share were a small glimmer of light.

Finally, our last monthly Gathering of the Fall semester is next week. Please continue to pray for us and our students!

update on current student trends from IvyJungle

"Porn Driven, Look-at-Me" Culture: The evidence of the mainstreaming of pornography is not hard to find in our culture today - from the provocative videos on YouTube to Myspace pages for adult film stars. Some researchers and observers continue to express concern over the impact on young people - particularly girls. "Sexiness" has become very important to girls, with an increasing push into raunchiness. High school counselors find themselves consoling teenage girls who have undressed and more in front of web cams. Employers are increasingly implementing dress codes. The American Psychological Association recently published a paper on the sexualization of girls. One great concern is that while boys tend to use pornography and other aspects of sex for their own pleasure; most girls who exhibit provocative behavior are doing so for the pleasure of someone else - often someone they don't know well (or perhaps not at all thanks to the internet). Some women claim they have more power with their sexuality, but many researchers are seeing a very negative impact - especially among teenage girls. (AP June 4, 2007)

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