The Greatest Need on Our Campus

One of the struggles of our ministry every year has been reaching guys. We feel as though we have done everything we can to be more effective in this area. Our leadership guys are relatable, share their faith, and genuinely want to see students on campus come to Christ. We have followed up with guys, shared the gospel, taken guys to lunch, invited them to play football, racquetball, eat pancakes, play video games, watch sports, you name it.

In light of the effort, we have seen a minimal response. There are some young guys who have joined the cause and become involved, but not that many. Looking at our ministry and other groups on campus, there are some guys that follow Jesus, and I’m always excited to see those guys grow in their faith. However, it seems as though there are very guys that truly want to follow Christ.

There are two problems we run into.

1) Men just don’t realize their need for Christ. They are focused on academics and a future career or just having a good time in college. The bottom line here is that God has to change the hearts of men so they will realize their need for Jesus and prize him over what the world offers them.

2) The bigger problem is dudes who claim to be believers but live like the guys just mentioned. Being a Christian is just a title to them, they have no desire to grow in their faith or be used by God in order to influence others.

I’ve gleaned some advice recently from a few articles that we can apply in our hopes of seeing dudes walk with Jesus.

The first, Raising Men not Boys, is by a friend of mine who’s had an immeasurable impact on the lives of men over the last 40 years, David English.

The second is from Peggy Noonan, whom David mentions in his article which I thought was an interesting read for any of us who have hearts to see men live out the lives God has called them to. Welcome back Duke .

This brings us to the only place we can go, which is where we probably should have started. PRAYER. Over the rest of the semester, our plan is to get together and pray two or three times a week for lives of men on campus to be changed.

What are your thoughts on this subject? What are maybe some ways you’ve been able to reach guys on your campus?

Think

John Piper encourages both thinkers and non- thinkers in one of his recent books, Think. I am tempted to consider myself a thinker, but I’m afraid one of my high school teachers or my parents will read this and expose me for my lies. So, I’ll admit it, I tend toward not thinking. I can usually take things at face value.

Instead of making non-thinkers like myself feel like an idiot, Piper gives a fivefold plea.

1) Be Thankful for Thinkers
There are those who through rigorous thinking have given us many things, both natural and spiritual, we would not have otherwise. A car to drive, books to read, the forward pass, John Wayne movies, and Oreos. Plus we would not have the Bible without those weirdo’s who learn Greek and Hebrew and translate it into English.

2) Respect Those Who Serve You with Thinking
The pastors, teachers, and writers that devote so much time and energy into teaching the truth of scripture in ways that relate to our lives really deserve respect.
“Respect those who labor among you…esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1st Thessalonians 5:12-13)

3) Pray for the Vulnerable Thinkers
Pray for those who, although deep thinkers, can so easily be turned from the truth and teach that which tickles the ears of their listeners.

4) Avoid Wrongheaded Thinking
Although I’m not a thinker, I need to measure everything I hear or read against the Bible. That way when someone teaches something that contradicts scripture I can recognize it.

5) Read Your Bible with Joy
Read, read, read my Bible so I can treasure Christ more and more. Memorize it, enjoy it, and apply it to my life.

Are you a thinker or a non-thinker? Piper's plea is that both would learn to treasure God in all things and above all things.

Best Ministry Ideas - Taking Advantage of Campus Events

Last night while SFA played Sam Houston State (what in the world is a bearcat?), in basketball, some of our students were setting up a coffee shop. As students were leaving the game to walk back to the dorms we were able to offer them a free cup of Starbucks coffee. As they waited in line for a cup of coffee we asked students to fill out a contact card if they were interested in talking more about a relationship with God or a Bible Study.

Several things went wrong; the breaker box couldn’t handle running four pots of coffee and twinkle lights. Go figure. So we had to keep flipping switches and asking people to wait a few more minutes for coffee. Because of this we couldn’t’ keep coffee ready so some people walked out and others saw the long line and kept going. Then SFA lost by 15 points which meant a lot of people left early from the game.

Having said all that, we picked up some new contacts and are looking forward to sharing the gospel with some of the students we met last night.

We have found that we can take advantage of events already taking place on campus by setting up outside of the event with free coffee, free ice cream, etc. Everything from comedy shows (Tim Meadows from Saturday Night Live) and movies being shown in the student center have been beneficial in helping us meet students.

Counterfeit Gods

Recently finished Tim Keller’s Counterfeit Gods and I’m currently trying to pinpoint my own idols. What are the idols in my life that I put before the one true God?

Keller says that we commit the sin of idolatry because, “there is something you feel you must have to be happy, something that is more important to your heart than God himself. We would not lie unless we first had made something – human approval, reputation, power over others, financial advantage – more important and valuable to our hearts than the grace and favor of God.”

In order to discover what those idols are, what are those things I must have, we can look to our thoughts and finances. Keller quotes Archbishop William Temple,”Your religion is what you do with your solitude.” He says, “the true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention…What do you habitually think about to get joy and comfort in the privacy of your heart?”

Then of course the easy question that helps us learn our idols. When I have discretionary money, what do I spend it on?

So far, with the thought I’ve given to this, one of my idols is sports. Keller says in the book that this would not actually be my idol, that there is something going on underneath the surface, a hidden idol. That leads me to this, my hidden idol is significance and the approval of others.

Here’s why.
1) I follow sports because if it comes up in conversation with other guys, I want to know the scores, the hot topics, stats, etc. I gain significance from knowing this stuff, and approval when others acknowledge that I know it. Why else would I keep up with the Carmello trade rumors? I don’t really care about the Nuggets or the Knicks.

2) Every year I get some cash for Christmas from parents and in-laws. Where does that money go? It’s my Astros ticket money. Heather and I have been to the opening day game of the Astros season 8 of the last 10 years. (we missed one because my son was born two weeks before the game and one because I could not get out of a conference I had to attend) I cannot imagine not being able to attend that game every year.

3) My thoughts often drift to sports. Even in fantasy. I daydream about being one of the guys on “College Gameday” or being a guest on “Mike and Mike in the Morning”.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this. Cut off cable? Then I would just spend more time watching games/highlights on the internet. This idol must be replaced with the one true God, then I could actually watch and follow sports without it controlling areas of my life. How do I do that? Well, I’m praying and looking forward to God’s response.

What are your idols? How do you replace them with the One who rightfully deserves to be first in our lives?

Trevor Bayne

I'm not a Nascar fan, but I now have a favorite driver. I love this kids humility. He says some things that are very mature for someone his age near the end of the interview.

Jesus in the Dugout

Maybe my favorite part of being on staff with Campus Crusade at SFA is the opportunity I have to invest in guys on the baseball team. Over the last 3 or 4 years I've been leading devotionals/chapel times in the dugout on Sunday mornings when we play at home. At first, thats all it was, I saw the guys on Sundays and that's about it.


Over the last year, I've been able to spend time at practice on occasion and I meet with a few of the players on a regular basis to talk about how they are doing in their relationship with God. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to talk with guys a bit more as I continue to spend time around the team.


For me to be able to hang out at the ballpark and talk with guys about Jesus, this ceases to be a part of my job. Its just plain fun.

Four Years Goes By Fast

Today, I ran into a familiar face on campus during an outreach time. As I began to talk with the guy, we recognized each other but couldn’t remember why. About halfway through the conversation he realized how we knew each other. I had led a Bible study with his fraternity three years ago when he was a freshmen and he had attended a few times. Now he’s a senior trying to graduate. Over the last year he and his girlfriend had a baby and were now trying to raise a 9 month old little boy while finishing school. Recently they were engaged and are planning on getting married this summer.

It was obvious from our brief conversation that he wasn’t a Christian although it seemed like he was open to learning more about a relationship with Jesus. We only had a few minutes with him but we were able to share the gospel with him and his fiancé. (She had walked up as we were talking)

My hope is that they would place their faith in Christ and the future of their son and family might be changed because of God’s work in their lives. My regret is that I did not pursue him further three years ago when he was a freshman so that he might have spent his college career seeking to grow in a relationship with God.