Chapter 6
What Schools, Colleges, and
Universities Should Engage In
“We will not hide them from
their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.”
— Psalm 78:4 (NKJV)
Many people learn about the Gospel in church, in Sunday
school, at home with their families, and through individual Bible study.
Despite these good efforts, some youngsters and young adults will, instead,
grow up in virtually total ignorance about the life that God has planned for
them to lead after repenting of their sins and believing in and following
Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. Youthful ignorance about the Gospel most often
occurs when parents and guardians either aren’t Christians or live in rebellion
against God.
The more young people who are
ignorant of the Gospel, the more a nation will fall short of its potential to
be fully fruitful through abiding in Christ. Since unsaved people are more
likely to seek Salvation at a young age before their hearts harden, avoiding
ignorance about the Gospel among youth is especially critical to accomplish. If
enough people are ignorant about the Gospel, a whole nation can start to slide
into rebellion and lose the blessings that God intended for its people.
Schools, colleges, and
universities are very important places for providing youngsters and young
adults with the opportunity to learn about God, Salvation, and righteous
living. Educational institutions are the places where younger people expect to
learn what’s important for life. Young people studying in educational
institutions are also likely to meet at least some students, teachers, coaches,
and administrators who are Christians and can help Biblically unaware young
people to learn the Gospel.
At the same time, there will
almost always be opposition to any Gospel teaching from those who don’t want
any set of spiritual beliefs explained in a school, a college, or a university.
In other cases, there may be an “official” religion other than Christianity
that is supposed to be taught at a specific educational institution. Government
laws and regulations may impose limits on what can be officially done in explaining
any kind of faith at public educational institutions. As a result, some
Christians may despair of teaching about Christianity in such settings. That’s
a big mistake. God can always open a door for His Word.
An equally big mistake is being
unclear about what to teach. This chapter focuses on what should be taught and
how to deal with many of the limitations placed on Christian teaching in
educational institutions. We begin by considering what to teach about the
Gospel and how It can be taught to all students despite any official
limitations.
Teach All Students the Gospel
Oh, that men would give
thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
— Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, and 31 (NKJV)
Seldom is a whole verse repeated four times in the same
chapter of the Bible as occurs in Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, and 31. Clearly, God
wants to be sure we thank Him for His goodness and His works that benefit us in
so many ways beyond what we can ask, think, or imagine. Obviously, though,
appropriate thanks aren’t going to be extended by those who don’t know Jesus as
their Lord and Savior. As a result, making the Gospel message known to all
students is an essential activity for God to receive more of the thanks that He
deserves and wants.
If the Gospel isn’t taught to all
students, many may never gain Salvation. Jesus was always concerned about
children, and so should we be.
Many people agree and enroll
their own children in Christian schools or provide home-based education where
the Gospel is taught. While that’s all well and good for these particular
children, realize that most of these youngsters have already learned or will
soon learn the Gospel during other occasions at home, in Sunday school, or
during church activities. If the youngsters are not in a school attended by
unsaved students, these Biblically knowledgeable children lose many
opportunities to shine their lights for the Lord so that more souls will be
saved.
Before addressing what should be
taught and ways to obtain opportunities to teach, let me caution you to
cooperate with any existing activities being conducted by Christians.
Otherwise, you could easily create harm. If you coordinate and cooperate with
existing Gospel teaching and Christian outreaches, the results can be ever so
much more fruitful. Ideally, you can find ways to make one another more
effective, as well as encourage one another.
Let’s focus first on what needs
to be taught. Any Bible-based education obviously needs to include evidence
that the Gospel is true, what Salvation is, and that after death eternity will
be spent in either heaven or hell.
For evidence concerning the
Gospel’s truth, I recommend that school-age youngsters read the student edition
of The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
with Jane Vogel (Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2002). College and university
students should, instead, read The Case
for Christ by Lee Strobel (Zondervan, 1998). Zondervan offers other
specialized versions of The Case for
Christ for “kids” and for study groups that may also be appropriate for
your Gospel teaching.
Today, we are blessed by many
excellent English translations of the Bible. I suggest that anyone teaching
about Salvation select a translation that will be easily accessible to those
who are learning. Many younger children will probably find the Contemporary
English Version to be about right. Teenagers will probably find (listed
alphabetically) the Message Bible, the New International Version, the New King
James Version, or the New Living Translation to be helpful for them, depending
on their reading fluency in English. I don’t make any suggestions about
translations into other languages because I am not qualified to do so. For
college and university students, virtually any translation will be accessible.
In any case, it’s good to expose older students to a few choices of
translations, to explain how and why the translations are different, and to ask
the students what their preferences are. If individual students want to use
different translations for the same class, I suggest allowing them to do so.
In the course of explaining about
what Salvation is and how to obtain this free gift through God’s grace, many
students will have questions based on differences between what they have
learned in secular courses and what the Bible says. For instance, the Bible
credits God with creating the world in seven days, while science favors a
theory about a so-called Big Bang explosion of a pinpoint of hyper-dense matter
and energy that has continued to expand for billions of years. The Bible
further says that God created all life while many scientific theories are based
on life being the fortuitous result of accidental combinations of chemicals and
random genetic alterations being exposed to harsh environments.
While no one teaching students
can expect to have all such answers immediately available, I recommend that
Gospel teachers prepare for the most obvious questions along these lines. On
the subject of whether people could have developed from other life forms
through natural selection, I recommend the scientific arguments and research
described in Donald E. Johnson’s book, The
Programming of Life (Big Mac Publishers, 2010).
Some Gospel students will
immediately grow hungry for more Godly information. I suggest that teachers be
prepared to assist these students in learning how to study the Bible, including
introducing them to study resources that can help. Such advanced training can
be offered as an optional activity beginning whenever such interest develops.
A student who isn’t certain about
or has doubts concerning the desirability of Gospel learning should be
encouraged to focus on exploring questions, issues, and subjects of personal
interest in the Bible. For example, each class might include some independent
study to allow all students to explore Biblical truth on matters of personal
interest to them and to research how lives are affected by those who do and
don’t follow the Bible’s commandments concerning such matters.
Let’s assume for the rest of this
section that some secular schools, colleges, and universities will not require
students to take a class based on the Gospel. There are numerous reasons to
make this assumption. Many schools, colleges, and universities would feel
compelled to also require learning about all other major faiths, and it could
be difficult to fit so much additional learning into existing curricula.
Undoubtedly, at least some of the people at the school, college, or university
who aren’t Christians would oppose any official status for such Gospel teaching.
Some students and their parents might also object.
Despite making this assumption
for the purposes of our discussion, I again encourage believers to ask all
schools, colleges, and universities to teach the Gospel to all students. All
things are possible with God, and undoubtedly such requests will be granted
where that result is God’s will. Those who make the requests should prepare
information demonstrating the practical benefits of Gospel teaching for
educational institutions, such as for helping to improve on-campus behavior and
increasing overall learning.
Where the requests don’t succeed in
making learning the Gospel a requirement for graduation, a good next step is to
ask for such teaching to be available on an optional basis. These courses or
learning programs might be offered before and after the required courses and
subjects are taught. In addition, believers should seek permission on an
individual basis for teachers and students to add a Christian perspective to
existing courses. Since few students like to miss out on something another
student is receiving, some unsaved students might be attracted as well …
especially if their Christian friends encourage them to do so.
If these requests aren’t
successful, a good next goal is to obtain something like “club” status. Most
schools, colleges, and universities have extracurricular activities that must
be sanctioned before they can operate on the institution’s grounds. Such
activities are often described as clubs. The requirements to qualify are usually
pretty minimal: a faculty advisor, a petition of interest signed by a
relatively small number of students, and a lawful purpose.
While it’s perfectly okay to have
a Bible or Gospel club, many unsaved students may not be attracted to them. In
addition to teaching the Gospel, consider also establishing a number of clubs
that will explore subjects of great interest to students. These days many
students are concerned about social justice, helping those in need, and
improving the environment. While a school, college, or university may already
have extracurricular activities addressing such interests, there’s no reason
why Christians cannot add to their number a few activities operated from a
Biblical perspective that seek to provide heart-warming and -softening experiences.
I particularly recommend that such organizations offer inexpensive trips to
serve others in loving ways. During such occasions, schedule plenty of time
during early mornings, after dinner, and during meals for Gospel teaching and
having saved students share their testimonies.
In rare instances, no permission
may be obtained to operate on campus. If so, look into ways to conduct such
teaching and club-like activities quite near to campus. If there is a student
newspaper, it may be possible to publicize the information about such
activities in news stories. Otherwise, perhaps advertising in the student
newspaper can be purchased as a substitute. If those alternatives are barred,
students can informally share details with friends and classmates. In addition,
social media such as Facebook may provide easy, attractive ways to spread the
information.
Sometimes, it may not be possible
for those who aren’t allowed to operate on campus to meet near to the campus.
In such circumstances, consider conducting Gospel teaching near places where
students often congregate. In my student days, this would have been at any
number of takeout food outlets. If that’s the case, consider if free late-night
snacks would help attract and sustain interest.
Let’s consider what to do if all
attempts to teach student have been frustrated. In such cases, providing free
tracts, cassette tapes, CDs, books of testimonies, DVDs, and other kinds of digital
recordings can help create informational bridges to unsaved people. Be sure to
provide a way to contact you and to reach someone else who can help if you
aren’t available at a given moment. Offer to meet these young people in public
places of their choice. As they learn more about the Gospel, ask their advice
about what else can be done to help them.
Naturally, if more than one kind
of teaching opportunity is available, do your best to engage in all of them.
Undoubtedly your congregation, your Christian friends, and school faculty,
staff, and alumni include some people who would be delighted to participate
with you.
Regardless of what ways of
teaching the Gospel you engage in, be sure to also provide training in how to
share the Gospel one-on-one to all those Christians who want to support your
efforts. The book I coauthored with Bishop Dale P. Combs, Lisa Combs, Jim
Barbarossa, and Carla Barbarossa, Witnessing
Made Easy (Jubilee Worship Center Step by Step Press, 2009), is helpful for
this purpose and may be read online for free at http://www.step-by-step.org/.
You can also find a large number of witnessing resources at that site.
Evangelist Jim Barbarossa is also a great source for training and advice and
can be reached in the United
States at (219)
787-9933 or by e-mail through
Jim@step-by-step.org/.
After you have begun to succeed with
teaching the Gospel, you should expand your subject matter to teach all
students how to make Godly breakthroughs in accomplishing His purposes. We
examine how to do so in the next section.
Teach All Students How to Make Godly
Breakthroughs
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who
believes in Me,
the works that I do he will do also;
and greater works than these
he will do,
because I go to My Father.
And whatever you ask in My name, that I
will do,
that the Father may be glorified in the
Son.
If you ask anything in My name, I will
do it.”
— John 14: 12-14 (NKJV)
By Godly breakthroughs, I mean exponential increases in
effectiveness to become at least twenty times more productive than what an
individual or an organization is already accomplishing for a Godly purpose. The
basic methods for making such exponential improvements are described in The 2,000 Percent Solution (iUniverse,
2003) and The 2,000 Percent Solution
Workbook (iUniverse, 2005). To these methods, you should also provide
instructions for how to select a Godly purpose, how to set an appropriate Godly
goal, and how to pray for what is wanted with a clean heart in the name of
Jesus, as one of His followers.
Some people may question the
Biblical validity of seeking to teach students to make such large improvements.
Let me explain why I conclude that making such improvements is called for by
the Bible. Consider what Jesus said:
“Therefore hear the parable of
the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes
and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by
the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears
the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself,
but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises
because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among
the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who
received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and
produces:
some a hundredfold, some sixty,
some thirty.” — Matthew 13:18-23 (NKJV)
Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower vividly
demonstrates that following Him to share the Gospel with the power of the Holy
Spirit can lead to exponential increases in how many people accept Salvation.
Many people read this part of the Bible as applying solely to witnessing. I
believe such an interpretation may be too narrow because many of God’s words in
the Bible encourage Christians to follow Jesus. Notice, too, that Jesus speaks
of those who hear the word and understand it as bearing fruit, not just fruit
as witnesses.
Let me describe more about what I
mean. Be sure to test my observations through your own Bible studies and
prayers.
God sometimes uses unexpected
accomplishments by believers through the Holy Spirit to attract the attention
of unsaved people and to draw them closer to Him. When Christians help create
any breakthroughs that glorify God, the Father; our Lord, Jesus Christ; and the
Holy Spirit, the magnitude of improvements will lead to some people wanting to
learn more about God’s promises.
Impressive accomplishments can be
used by the Holy Spirit to attract those who don’t believe in the supernatural
as well as to those who are interested in various forms of success and
achievement. After the attention of unsaved people is attracted, those involved
in the accomplishments can witness by giving all the credit to God, explaining
about gaining Salvation, and being guided by the Holy Spirit in showing God’s
love.
God indicated that He wanted to
meet our righteous needs: We shouldn’t worry about what we will eat, drink, and
wear, or where we will sleep while we are seeking the kingdom of God
and His righteousness (Matthew 6:25-34, NKJV).
There’s an apparent paradox here
for some people when they correctly observe that many people don’t have enough
of these basics. To me, any present lack suggests that He has provided ways to
meet the needs that are not yet being fully employed by His people to apply His
love and power.
Visit any university or college
campus, and you’ll find lots of faculty and students who would like nothing
better than to provide for such physical needs. What could be more natural than
to connect those tender concerns to learning ways that God has provided to make
breakthroughs for righteous purposes?
I do not know the best
opportunities for teaching breakthroughs on any specific campus, but let me
share one potentially helpful lesson: Work closely with those who lack what is
to be provided while developing and teaching methods for meeting the intended
beneficiaries’ righteous needs. Otherwise, it will be easy to develop solutions
that look good on paper, but won’t work well in practice. Any misdirected
activities can harm, rather than build, faith. For instance, many people focus
on making material provision for someone and forget about increasing that
person’s self-respect while doing so.
Once a student has had an
opportunity to design and to implement a Godly breakthrough in something that
is close to his or her heart, you will have an advocate for your teaching
activity who will be continually describing a high point of her or his life. Godly awe will
color such reports in the right way. Naturally, others will be attracted to
learn these lessons, as well.
You might be wondering how you
can find enough breakthrough opportunities to keep all the eager students busy.
Don’t worry! The enemy who is in the world is always creating new problems that
seem insoluble to those who are stuck in them. Each individual expression of
any type of Godly need will also present at least some requirement to adapt
what is already known about making similar breakthroughs. For instance, finding
jobs for unemployed illiterates will require different methods than helping
lepers gain jobs in a country where lepers are shunned.
In addition, we know that
exponentially better breakthroughs follow from repeating the
breakthrough-creating methods on exactly the same problems. The first
repetition of the breakthrough process on a problem will provide twenty times
more benefits than the first solution did, a result that will greatly increase
faith among all those who are touched by the second-generation breakthrough.
There is also a more advanced
practice to learn: combining complementary Godly breakthroughs for even more
enormous expansions in fruitfulness for the Lord. We look next at this
important opportunity for teaching students.
Prepare All Students to Combine
Complementary Godly Breakthroughs
“A certain nobleman went into a far
country
to receive for himself a kingdom and to
return.
So he called ten of his servants,
delivered to them ten minas,
and said to them, ‘Do business till I
come.’
But his citizens hated him, and sent a
delegation after him, saying,
‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’
And so it was that when he returned,
having received the kingdom,
he then commanded these servants, to
whom he had given the money,
to be called to him, that he might know how
much every man had gained by trading.
Then came the first, saying, ‘Master,
your mina has earned ten minas.’
And he said to him, ‘Well done, good
servant;
because you were faithful in a very
little, have authority over ten cities.
And the second came, saying, ‘Master,
your mina has earned five minas.’
Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be
over five cities.’
Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here
is your mina,
which I have kept put away in a
handkerchief.
For I feared you, because you are an
austere man.
You collect what you did not deposit,
and reap what you did not sow.’
And he said to him, ‘Out of your own
mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant.
You knew that I was an austere man,
collecting what I did not deposit and
reaping what I did not sow.
Why then did you not put my money in the
bank,
that at my coming I might have collected it
with interest?’
And he said to those who stood by,
‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who
has ten minas.’
(But they said to him, ‘Master, he has
ten minas.’)
‘For I say to you, that to everyone who
has will be given;
and from him who does not have,
even what he has will be taken away from
him.’”
— Luke 19:12-26 (NKJV)
As the parable of the minas
relates, Jesus wants us to see that our actions can lead to Him greatly
multiplying the resources He provides to us. In this parable, the first servant
turned one mina (estimated by some to have been equal to one-quarter of a
year’s annual wages for an agricultural worker) into ten minas, a ninefold
increase (an apparent 900 percent solution).
Because of this success, the
servant was given authority over ten cities, presumably with the expectation by
the nobleman that the ten cities would become worth as much as one hundred
cities. Now, a city was obviously worth a lot more than ten minas, so this
parable calls for a huge increase in resources, contingent on success with the
first resource, a single mina. In addition, the nobleman took the mina away
from the third servant and gave it to the first servant. So, poor use of
resources can, instead, lead to a loss of resources.
In the parable Jesus favored
rewarding the most fruitful directly according to their fruitfulness, and He
also indicated that He would, in addition, greatly multiply the resources
provided for such highly fruitful servants. If Jesus would do that for an
apparent 900 percent economic improvement, just imagine how much more He may do
to provide more resources for someone or a group of people who creates a 2,000
percent solution for enhancing more valuable spiritual fruit!
Let me
remind you of the description of complementary breakthroughs for
witnessing that you read in Chapter 3: Each fully complementary breakthrough
increases the benefits from all of the other complementary breakthroughs by at
least another twenty times. In the context of the parable of the minas, it’s as
though the first servant gained 400 minas (with two complementary
breakthroughs) or even 8,000 minas (with three complementary breakthroughs) for
the nobleman after starting with a single mina. If Jesus provides
proportionately more resources to the servant making the complementary
breakthroughs after each complementary 2,000 percent solution, 8,000 minas from
three such complementary solutions could easily be increased by Jesus into
becoming many millions of minas to apply for His purposes. What a wonderful
opportunity we have been given to share this perspective and knowledge with
students!
You are probably wondering how to
determine what complementary breakthroughs can be added to a given
breakthrough. That is a subject I address in the first blueprint located in
Appendix B of Help Wanted. I won’t
repeat that lengthy information here, but I suggest you read and apply the
blueprint.
Finally, let’s consider the
highest payoff subject that should be engaged in relative to schools, colleges,
and universities: Assist all students to expand all dimensions of Godly
fruitfulness. That’s the topic of the last section of this chapter.
Assist All Students to Expand
All Dimensions of Godly Fruitfulness
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light
(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all
goodness, righteousness, and truth),
finding out what is acceptable to the
Lord.
And have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather expose them.
For it is shameful even to speak of
those things
which are done by them in secret.
But all things that are exposed are made
manifest by the light,
for whatever makes manifest is light.
Therefore He says:
“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”
See then that you walk circumspectly,
not as fools but as wise,
redeeming the time, because the days are
evil.
Therefore do not be unwise, but
understand what the will of the Lord is.
And do not be drunk with wine, in which
is dissipation;
but be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart
to the Lord,
giving thanks always for all things to
God the Father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
submitting to one another in the fear of
God.
— Ephesians 5:8-21 (NKJV)
The secular world emphasizes specialization. If you have
symptoms of gallstones blocking your bile duct, a primary care physician may
send you to a specialist in that field. The first specialist will get the
treatment process started by developing a tentative diagnosis that you may have
gallstones. Another specialist doctor will then supervise and interpret the
tests to determine if any gallstones are present. A third specialist physician
may provide you with an understanding of how to deal with the gallstones
through removing your gallbladder versus nonsurgical methods. A surgeon will
perform any extraction. A nutritionist will explain how to enjoy better health
without a gallbladder. Yet another specialist may be involved in monitoring
your digestive health and in making adjustments through nutritional
supplements.
From God’s perspective,
everything He wants done is unified and accomplished through being filled with
the Holy Spirit (as Ephesians 5:8-21 tells us). As further evidence, I believe
it is no coincidence that the Holy Spirit revealed to me through the 2,000
percent solution method a virtually universal way to provide more of almost any
kind of Godly benefit.
In seeking solutions, many
students will lean toward being like the medical professionals who help a
patient avoid gangrene due to an oversized gallstone … seeking to optimize one
type of outcome, survival in this example. Students should, instead, be
encouraged to look for solutions that provide many different kinds of
complementary spiritual, moral, health, emotional, and physical benefits for
individuals, families, organizations, and nations. In so doing, the Holy Spirit
will be able to fill them with all the love, wisdom, and knowledge they need to
bring His light to others in the fullness of His goodness, righteousness, and
truth.
From such magnificent
breakthroughs, great testimonies are made. I encourage all those who teach how
to expand all dimensions of Godly fruitfulness to locate such examples and to
share those lofty, inspiring breakthroughs with all their students.
In the next chapter, we examine
what voluntary associations should achieve, both in terms of children and
adults.
Copyright
© 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 by Donald W. Mitchell.
All rights reserved.
No part of
this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in
any form
or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other
electronic
or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the
publisher,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews
and
certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Scripture
quotations marked (NKJV)
are taken
from the New King James Version.
Copyright
© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment