When I woke up this morning and turned on the news, I could hardly believe my eyes. Thousands of people wandering the streets and highways of New Orleans. People still stranded on rooftops, waiting, and praying for a rescue. It is almost surreal, and almost unbelievable that this is happening a couple thousand miles away, and not in some foreign country. We are used to scenes of refugees in places like Africa, and the states of the former Soviet Union. But in the United States. It almost doesn’t seem right that I am able to get up, watch tv, eat breakfast, stop by Starbucks, and go to work, while others, just states away, are scrambling for life, while many lives have been shattered.

What is our response in times like these?

That is both an easy and hard question. I think our first response is to go to God in prayer, and to help intercede on behalf of our neighbors. Prayer for those who have lost their lives. Prayer for those who are suffering. Prayer for those who are helping. Prayer for those who don’t have faith, or belief in Jesus Christ. Prayer for those who know Christ, and who are undoubtedly struggling with this disaster.

This is also a time to provide financial and physical help to those who are suffering. It’s an opportunity, whether we do it in person, or through some other channels, to be a presence in the lives of those who are there. “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). This is an opportunity to be in the flesh, and to minister to others, as Christ ministered in the flesh among us. This may mean an actual trip to the disaster site, or it may mean your support of those who are going. It’s an opporunity to be ambassadors for Christ, as seen in our actions. It’s an opportunity to show the reconciling message of God, in Christ (2 Cor. 5:18-20).

There are many things we can be doing, but I think we should continually be in prayer, and live in the realization that others are suffering instead of isolating ourselves in our own little worlds.

What we shouldn’t do?

Undoubtedly, like in any disaster, you get those who are screaming in hysterics that this is the end of the world, or that this is God’s judgment upon the earth. I already here people saying this was God’s judgment upon the city of New Orleans for its Godlessness, mardi gras, etc. And the sites that talk about these things are too numerous to even list. But we don’t need pastors, theologians and other Christians writing articles, such as the ones that appeared last year during the tsunami, claiming it was God’s judgment, and God’s attempt to get those in the tsunami area to come to repentance. All along, while people are suffering, these Christians sit in their ivory towers and pulpits debating over God’s judgment, mercy, repentance, and whether or not Satan or God was the cause of the tsunami. May we actually be the ones that God has mercy upon.

I am reminded of the LORD’s words in Job 42:7: “After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: ‘My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.’”

I fear sometimes that as Christians, we speak words to others about God, with words that are not right. We, who are on earth, try to determine and judge the thoughts of the One who is in Heaven.

A disaster will bring out the worst and the best in humanity. It brings out both looters, and also those who are wanting to provide help, and relieve suffering.

And disasters also bring out the worst and the best in Christians. Those who want to only condemn and blame and judge, while sitting back with an attitude of almost, “I told you so.” It’s almost as if some Christians delight in other’s suffering. And then there are those who love, show mercy, grace, faithfulness, and who are quick to enter into other’s suffering.

The world is watching us. And may they see people, and Christians who love each other, who love those who believe different than us. May they see us helping out our neighbors in need. Maybe this is a time for us to practice the the apologetic of hospitality, or the apologetic of suffering with others.

For how you can help, go to Instapundit for a great list of the agencies and groups that you can send money and other supplies to.

So as I have been thinking about this short series on giving advice to parents and students for college, I have been pondering many different things. But what I hope to give to you, and what I hope you take away, is just a few simple things. Nothing complex, nothing lengthy, but some helpful advice that could possibly make a difference in one’s college experience. Both for the parents and the students.

Now, as a college pastor, and as a Christian, I will definitely be focusing on advice that not everyone, especially those who aren’t Christian, may agree with, or disagree with. I hope that the advice I give can be helpful to all, but I am definitely thinking about my Christian audience, or those who are interested in that arena. Overall, I think this advice is helpful to all, regardless of your beliefs at this point.

Advice to Students:

Get involved in a small community, ASAP. Now by small community, I mean a community that helps one feel connected, and helps one feel a sense of belonging…outside of the larger college community, which may be 34,000 students, 15,000 students, or 3,000 students. For a Christian, I mean a Christian community, though it should not be limited to this. This means getting involved in a church, or parachurch organization. I have seen a huge success for those students who get involved early on in a church community, as opposed to those who don’t. People who plug into a church community seem to have a higher sense of connectivity to people; a larger sense of belonging to something, especially something bigger than themselves..something they can give their lives to, or give back to. Students who get involved in church communities tend to form a healthier network of friends. People they can lean on. Gain support from. Pray with. Be encouraged by. Be accountable to.

As a college pastor, I believe that getting involved in a church is important. This is one place that students can look for community. They could move to Los Angeles, and look to our community, The Quest, or the numerous other churches in the area. Another place is on campus. A student can arrive on a campus and get involved with great organizations like Campus Crusade, Intervarsity, The Navigators, etc, etc.

I am not basing these things on any scientific study that I have done, but on my own college experience, the experience of others that I know, and what I witness in my own ministry. And I have noticed the difference in maturity between those who get involved late in college in a Christian community, and those who get invovled early. There is a difference in how they deal with stress; how they deal with temptation and struggles; how they deal with success and failure, etc.

Now this is some very generic advice, and I could unpack it for weeks. But what the bottom line is, is this: That those who get involved in Christian community tend to have a higher rate of success and growth, than those who I have seen who are not involved. And by success, I mean an overall experience, not something that is without failure.

There are many communities to get involved in in college, from the Greek system, to intramurals, to clubs, to dorm life, etc. Some are better than others, and some are more healthy than others. But I think it is vital for a Christian to get plugged into a Christian community early on.

Advice to Parents

As parents, I want to play off the advice I gave to students above. I think that it is important for parents to take an interest in the lives of their children and to help encourage them in their spiritual walk, and how that translates into college. A good percentage of my emails and phone calls comes from parents who are wanting to get their kids involved in a college community. Plugged in. Around good Christians with good influence.

But my advice to parents is for you to help encourage this journey, but not to be overbearing. The strength of a student’s involvement in a Christian community during the college years is generally reflected in the freedom the student had to make that decision on their own, rather than a parent forcing their students into a church, or constanlty pestering them. Most often, I know that when a parent calls on behalf of their child, whether their child knows it or not, the percentage of that child coming out to the ministry and getting involved, is less likely than those students who come to me and inquire on their own.

This is the first time that children are often away from home, and sometimes they may test the boundaries. And this is one of those boundaries. I did it. We all do it. But a child, who has gone off to college, usually seems to have a higher committment to our group, than when they have gone off to college and their parent is constantly egging them on to get involved.

So I could narrow the advice down to this:

Students: Get involved in a Christian community ASAP. This will help your success through college in many ways.

Parents: Encourage your students to get involved, and support them, but let them be the ones to make the decision on their own, rather than something you force upon them.

Stay tuned for the next installment when I talk about how we define success in the college years.

And if you are a student in the Los Angeles area, or you are a parent sending a student to school in the Los Angeles area, please let us know if we can be of any help in connecting your student to a community; whether it is here at The Quest, or some other ministry. Here at The Quest, we will continue to have our weekly, Wednesday night worship and teaching service from 8:00-9:30pm in Evans Chapel. And we will continue to have on-campus Bible studies at UCLA, USC, and LMU.

We can often forget the tragedies that daily unfold around us when we are physically removed from them. It’s almost as if they don’t exist. But hopefully we can be in pray for those on the Gulf Coast, and all those that have been affected by Hurrican Katrina.

“We’re talking about in essence having _ in the continental United States _ having a refugee camp of a million people,” van Heerden said. News Source

My brother, who lives near Union Station in Washington D.C. has been talking a lot about a church in his community that has really been making a difference. The church is National Community Church, which meets in two locations, one being Union Station. I was just reading the pastor’s blog and was really impressed with some of his thinking, especially his post on Ambidextrous Leadership.

I am definitely a left-brained thinker, who is screaming and desiring to also be more of a right brained thinker. And though my seminary education was definitely a lot of left-brained thinking (which is important), I do think that some seminaries, especially Fuller Theological Seminary, and Regent College in Vancouver are beginning to approach seminary education from a more wholistic context, helping a pastor develop both sides of his or her brain: both the linear and logical, as well as the imaginative and creative.

Living in Los Angeles, and pastoring in a community that is deeply entrenched in the entertainment industry has definitely been a help in helping me develop a side of my brain that I have always wanted to use, but that has been dormant at times. Thanks to my college community, The Quest, and the students who come from UCLA, USC, LMU, SMC, etc…..you have helped me appreciate, learn, grow, and develop the many facets of leadership.

I received this posted comment about my other post today on an apologetic of hospitality as was written about by Ryan Bolger. The commenter writes (Jeff) writes:

…..I don’t know if I agree with your post today, though, about the Four Spiritual Laws. We’re probably on the same page..but just to clarify..I do think there IS a time for the 4SL. Just maybe not your first meeting. I was on staff with CCC for ten years and did campus ministry for two. Was involved in an evangelism task force to see if what we were doing as staff was working. Found thru my own experience that I was tired of meeting with an athlete, sharing the 4SL, and then never seeing them again. So that’s why I said we’re probably on the same page. But there does come a time..when the soil is soft..that people need to understand the gospel. I think there is still no better explanation of it than the 4SL. There are a number of people in our church that I’ve talked to that would consider themselves seekers or even Christians that don’t know the clear gospel plan…and definitely not well enough to share it with anyone. I shyed away from using the 4SL. But now I’m going back to it…in the right context. Make sense? Agree?

Thx,
Jeff
New Valley Church
www.newvalleychurch.org

And I would say that I agree with Jeff. I don’t think that the Four Spiritual Laws are useless, or that a lot of different methods are useless that we often find in traditional apologetics. But what I have seen, is a trend that is moving away from some of those things. They are no longer the standard by which one does evangelism, or apologetics, though there is a time and place for them. I agree, that different contexts require different things. We must be able to discern the context, environment, person, etc., when we are in these situations. On some days I may use a more linear, structured, rational apologetic with someone I meet, when the next day I may use something less rigid, less defined. In fact, working with college students is interesting. One can often discern what apologetic is best useful, by looking at one’s major. I often approach the engineer students very differently than I do the English literature students. But what I have seen that never fails, is the example that we set for others by the way we live our lives. That is something that transcends debates, arguments, theories, etc. And hospitality is one way that we live out our Christian lives before others.

Thanks for the comments Jeff, and for the clarification….and it’s cool to communicate with someone who had been in this ministry years ago. I, and my students are inheriting the seeds that were sown before us.

Brian posts a long blog on dialogue and preaching. It will be interesting to watch where these conversations lead. I know this is something close to Brian’s heart as he is in the midst of planting a new church. So I know preaching is something he has been thinking about.

Ryan Bolger has a really good post today on hospitality apologetics. Ryan says:

Hospitality apologetics does not focus on the verbal argument at all, in fact it is way down on the list of priorities. Rather than presenting an argument, these communities present a life. They do not concern themselves with presenting a gospel formula, but rather their focus is on whether the gospel was demonstrated in the recipients midst.

Ryan makes a comment in this post about a campus minister friend of his who states that traditional methods of apologetics are no longer working. That the time of the Four Spiritual Laws has passed.

Now, I have only been in campus ministry for about four years, but I have definitely seen a move away from traditional apologetics, to a new, emerging form. Gone seem to be the days when a student wanted to debate, or talk about philosophical propositions for the existence of God. What they are wanting to see is how God has changed my life. What they are wanting to witness, are the ways that we live in community. What they want is for us to live out what we believe.

I have been learning myself how important the apologetic of hospitality is, in the lives of my Christian friends, and especially in the lives of those who do not believe.