I have been informed that summer is over--rudely, by OU's don't-forget-classes-start-tomorrow mass email, and kindly, by the cool breeze through Essex Square's top landing. So, back we go. Or for you freshmen, here we go. Don't worry. We're all mad here.
I guess it's mostly to new college students who are Christians, or who are considering becoming Christians, that I'm directing this post. We can all relate to what you're about to encounter, but it's going to be nauseatingly fresh to you when it first reaches your eyes and ears and heart. And just as I'm no longer offended by the compost aroma carried on the south wind directly to the National Weather Center parking lot, some of us geezers in our twenties have blocked out this stuff for long enough that we don't notice it anymore. We might forget to prepare you, to the degree that we can. So on behalf of us all, if you are attending a public university, here is your fair warning.
No matter what you know to be true, no matter what everyone you love and respect has taught you, and no matter what has been accomplished in your own life, you will be presented with the following as facts in the near future:
Your life is dull.
Your standards are intolerant.
Your religion is hypocritical.
Your faith is unreasonable.
Your God is a lie.
You can choose to accept these statements at face value, or you can challenge them. That choice is yours and it's a monumental one. I can't speak for the other side, but I chose to challenge this worldview. I admit my execution of that choice has been shaky, but I have never reconsidered or regretted it. When your professors and colleagues and friends give you these "facts," it really is okay to call their bluff by the way you live. Here's how to start.
1. Don't be conformed.
I can't understand the allure of wandering up the middle of the street at 1 a.m. Sunday, on your way out for the night, walking so you can become incapable of driving. Of course it's fine--often necessary--to be a follower. Just remember that the world's best followers are little furry guys called lemmings, famous for achieving terminal velocity en masse. Know who you follow and why. Be secure in standing out from the crowd. Being in the minority doesn't mean you're alone, and it sure doesn't mean you're wrong. Narrow is the gate.
2. Beware of power distance.
In my introductory communication class last spring, we discussed the idea of power distance--how much of a person's authority or power in one area of life carries over into other areas, or how far that kind of power can get you. Be aware of this phenomenon. Your professor may be a brilliant scientist, and he or she deserves your respect in that field, but that doesn't make him or her a spiritual authority. Faith is not science. Many elite minds can't comprehend this. The funny thing is, God meant for it to be that way. Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-27 to see what our God thinks about this world's intellectuals and scholars. When you hear precisely those people ranting about how foolish we are, it should bolster your faith because Paul, writing by the Spirit, knew two millennia ago that it would happen.
3. Elect to receive.
I always cringe a little anytime OU's football team wins the coin toss and defers to the second half. They're so explosive that if they start with the ball, they could very well be on the scoreboard within two minutes. That sends a clear message to the other team and in OU's better seasons, the game is often over in the first quarter. You have the same potential. When you walk on campus, you've won the coin toss--choose to receive! Take charge from the get-go by getting heavily involved with your church family. Don't just play defense, trying not to give too much ground to temptation. Go on offense, get stronger in your faith, and help reach out to others. Draw first blood. Put your adversary in a deep hole before anybody knows what happened.
I hope this gives you a hint of what to expect on campus. In spite of the challenges you'll face, the positives outweigh the negatives. Maybe the biggest thing is that your faith becomes your own. Nobody will wake you up on Sunday morning or keep an eye on you with the opposite sex or stay up till you come home at night anymore. It is entirely between you and God. In the face of so many new tests, your faith might not be all you want it to be for a while. Mine still isn't. But it's really yours, and you're better off working on a flawed, authentic faith than coasting along on somebody else's. You're going to love the Christian college life. I promise.
Awesome.
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