Integrity in College Ministry
I remember when I started out at college. I was in Crusade, and I went to every meeting all year long, and only missed one Bible study. I shared my faith for my first time. I was excited to be learning more about the Word, was very interested in all sorts of issues whether it was creationism or abortion or something about the Bible. Everyone around me could clearly see that God was slowly changing my life.
Even so, when I asked my Bible study leader if I could someday be in leadership, he told me that he would NEVER ask someone like me to be in leadership. Why? Because, first and foremost, I was very proud. Secondly, was because I was in a heap of sins that I had not repented and turned from. He knew very well that we should flee from sin and present ourselves as instruments of righteousness to God - and that this was a requirement for those who wanted to do ministry.
During my sophomore year, as a result of his Godly rebuke, I repented of many sins, and God continued to change my life. I began to walk in obedience, and the majority of the sins that I was habitually enslaved to began to fade away. Thereafter I was invited into leadership by my Bible study leader. I want to press the point - it was only AFTER I was firmly in God's Word, repenting of my sin and leading a life that was consistently (though definitely not always) above reproach that I was invited into leadership.
I remember, then, that at the beginning of my senior year we had a leader's meeting. There were many people there, but one person there had actually been in my Bible study the previous year. He never came though... maybe only once a month. And he was not the sort of person you would choose to be your ideal college ministry guy. He never came to our weekly meetings, never came to Bible study, had no real accountability with anyone. It was honestly a scary thing to me - how could this guy be invited into ministry? Thank God that I wasn't when I was living in sin! What pride would that have led me to? What further depths of sin and self righteousness would I have succumbed to? Oh, praise the Lord that I was rebuked and repented before I was invited into ministry.
I am far removed from college ministry this year, but after talking with Lisa at lunch today, we came to some observations. I want to list the observations, their implications and some relevant Bible verses. This is for the purpose, hopefully, that many would read this and turn to become obedient to God's standard for our lives and our ministries.
So, without further introduction - some observations.
1. People do not view their leadership in Campus Crusade as a commitment.
I remember when I was a freshman, sophomore, and junior. Attendance at the action groups were required. Fall getaway was required. It is very clear that, upon being introduced into leadership at Crusade (at U of I), you say you are willing to come to all the action groups and be a part of the leadership. With my guys, when I invited them into leadership, I made sure to let them know that there would be much expected of them and their time. These things would not be optional. Lisa and I talked about how we never viewed action group as an optional time, or discipleship for that matter. I have heard that many guys in the action groups this year not only miss, but frequently miss! That happened last year at my action group also. I feel, strongly, that this is unacceptable behavior for one in Crusade ministry.
My feelings mean nothing, but the Word of God, even Jesus words directly will make my point.
Matthew 5:37 (NIV)
37 Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
If you say yes to Crusade leadership but then fail to carry through on your actions, I want to rebuke you now - Jesus says you need to fulfill your commitments.
2. People invite their friends to do leadership regardless of their commitment to campus ministry.
I will be the first to point out that I have, indeed, been invited into leadership by a friend and also invited friends into leadership. This is not wrong. But when we invite our friends because it is the cool thing to do, or because we want them to be in leadership, or even because we want them to grow from leadership in the way we did, we have wrong motives.
Our motives in asking people into leadership should be very clear - the glory of God. Are we inviting people that are the best equipped to do the ministry they have been called to? Have we considered the option of bringing nobody into leadership this year, because there is no one that has proven themselves worthy?
I remember many sophomores in my action group last year that would make it to action group most of the time, but not always. I love those guys. I mean that, they are close to my heart, and as I picture their faces in my mind I smile. And I speak not of all of them, but about the ones that missed action group - were they invited into leadership too quickly? And, if I were to speak directly to them (and analogously to all others applicable, regardless of whose action group it is) I would say, "Are you certain that you have met the Biblical standard for doing ministry, and are prepared to be committed to reaching this campus for Jesus Christ?"
I do not know all of the factors that goes into choosing people for leadership, but I would like to give another example from my own life. Nick Dettman is one of my best friends. As a Junior, I led his Bible study and realized that among the freshmen there he was the one who not only would have the biggest impact at our campus, but he was the most capable of doing leadership. It was clear as day. But I considered him for leadership only for a second - then I realized that he wasn't there yet. He had more to learn, more sin to conquer. He wasn't in the spot where he was obedient to God, even though he could have led a Bible study and produced good numbers and had a good influence.
Here are some verses.
Isaiah 51:
12 "I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass,
13 that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens"
Sometimes we invite people into leadership to please man and not God.
1Tim 3
6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.
7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.
Although these verses apply to elders in a church, there is a theme to be learned here - a person may become conceited if they are put in a position of leadership too quickly, and consequently fall into the devil's trap.
3. People are lukewarm.
I get lukewarm too sometimes. It's the natural state of something that is on fire to eventually end up lukewarm. Regardless of our tendency to slip into a state of complacency and luke-warmed-ness, it is abundantly clear that we have a responsibility to be obedient to Christ, to be filled with the Spirit (why else would he command us to?) and to do our ministry with passion.
If we are lukewarm, we need to admonish one another. We need to encourage one another. We need to take responsibility for our actions and GET IN THE WORD. We need to do ministry! I don't know what makes you get pumped up for God, but whatever it is, you need to find that and make that true of you.
A luke warm leader in Crusade is the person that chooses to do homework instead of action group, when previously in the day that person was lazy. He had an opportunity to do his homework before, but played Warcraft 3 or watched the Illini game or something. As a result, he skips his action group for "homework" even though it is effectively skipping action group for something much less worthwhile. I submit that you can only skip action group for homework with a clear conscience if you are actually using your 'free' time for worthwhile, required things.
A luke warm leader in Crusade goes through the motions because he is expected to. He doesn't want to lead or prepare Bible study. They don't do evangelism with a heart for the lost. How little we reflect Jesus' example in our own lives of 'leading others' to be... like Christ! What irony? What pitiful creatures we are!
Here's a verse:
Rev 3
16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
That's self-explanatory enough.
I want to end with this - praise God that he produces fruit, and not us. Praise God that Jesus takes our sins when we are utterly unworthy of doing any sort of ministry. Praise God that He is in control and we can rely on Him for all of our needs, spiritual or otherwise.
And, in response to everything that God has done for us, led us give our whole heart to God. Let us run the race with endurance - anyone that has ever run knows that an endurance race is long and hard, tiring at times. Hang in there. Two last verses, and then I'm done.
Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Hebrews 12
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
I love you all. I have set to speak the truth in love. This may or may not apply to you. I will continue praying for U of I's ministry.
In Christ,
Bish
Even so, when I asked my Bible study leader if I could someday be in leadership, he told me that he would NEVER ask someone like me to be in leadership. Why? Because, first and foremost, I was very proud. Secondly, was because I was in a heap of sins that I had not repented and turned from. He knew very well that we should flee from sin and present ourselves as instruments of righteousness to God - and that this was a requirement for those who wanted to do ministry.
During my sophomore year, as a result of his Godly rebuke, I repented of many sins, and God continued to change my life. I began to walk in obedience, and the majority of the sins that I was habitually enslaved to began to fade away. Thereafter I was invited into leadership by my Bible study leader. I want to press the point - it was only AFTER I was firmly in God's Word, repenting of my sin and leading a life that was consistently (though definitely not always) above reproach that I was invited into leadership.
I remember, then, that at the beginning of my senior year we had a leader's meeting. There were many people there, but one person there had actually been in my Bible study the previous year. He never came though... maybe only once a month. And he was not the sort of person you would choose to be your ideal college ministry guy. He never came to our weekly meetings, never came to Bible study, had no real accountability with anyone. It was honestly a scary thing to me - how could this guy be invited into ministry? Thank God that I wasn't when I was living in sin! What pride would that have led me to? What further depths of sin and self righteousness would I have succumbed to? Oh, praise the Lord that I was rebuked and repented before I was invited into ministry.
I am far removed from college ministry this year, but after talking with Lisa at lunch today, we came to some observations. I want to list the observations, their implications and some relevant Bible verses. This is for the purpose, hopefully, that many would read this and turn to become obedient to God's standard for our lives and our ministries.
So, without further introduction - some observations.
1. People do not view their leadership in Campus Crusade as a commitment.
I remember when I was a freshman, sophomore, and junior. Attendance at the action groups were required. Fall getaway was required. It is very clear that, upon being introduced into leadership at Crusade (at U of I), you say you are willing to come to all the action groups and be a part of the leadership. With my guys, when I invited them into leadership, I made sure to let them know that there would be much expected of them and their time. These things would not be optional. Lisa and I talked about how we never viewed action group as an optional time, or discipleship for that matter. I have heard that many guys in the action groups this year not only miss, but frequently miss! That happened last year at my action group also. I feel, strongly, that this is unacceptable behavior for one in Crusade ministry.
My feelings mean nothing, but the Word of God, even Jesus words directly will make my point.
Matthew 5:37 (NIV)
37 Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
If you say yes to Crusade leadership but then fail to carry through on your actions, I want to rebuke you now - Jesus says you need to fulfill your commitments.
2. People invite their friends to do leadership regardless of their commitment to campus ministry.
I will be the first to point out that I have, indeed, been invited into leadership by a friend and also invited friends into leadership. This is not wrong. But when we invite our friends because it is the cool thing to do, or because we want them to be in leadership, or even because we want them to grow from leadership in the way we did, we have wrong motives.
Our motives in asking people into leadership should be very clear - the glory of God. Are we inviting people that are the best equipped to do the ministry they have been called to? Have we considered the option of bringing nobody into leadership this year, because there is no one that has proven themselves worthy?
I remember many sophomores in my action group last year that would make it to action group most of the time, but not always. I love those guys. I mean that, they are close to my heart, and as I picture their faces in my mind I smile. And I speak not of all of them, but about the ones that missed action group - were they invited into leadership too quickly? And, if I were to speak directly to them (and analogously to all others applicable, regardless of whose action group it is) I would say, "Are you certain that you have met the Biblical standard for doing ministry, and are prepared to be committed to reaching this campus for Jesus Christ?"
I do not know all of the factors that goes into choosing people for leadership, but I would like to give another example from my own life. Nick Dettman is one of my best friends. As a Junior, I led his Bible study and realized that among the freshmen there he was the one who not only would have the biggest impact at our campus, but he was the most capable of doing leadership. It was clear as day. But I considered him for leadership only for a second - then I realized that he wasn't there yet. He had more to learn, more sin to conquer. He wasn't in the spot where he was obedient to God, even though he could have led a Bible study and produced good numbers and had a good influence.
Here are some verses.
Isaiah 51:
12 "I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass,
13 that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens"
Sometimes we invite people into leadership to please man and not God.
1Tim 3
6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.
7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.
Although these verses apply to elders in a church, there is a theme to be learned here - a person may become conceited if they are put in a position of leadership too quickly, and consequently fall into the devil's trap.
3. People are lukewarm.
I get lukewarm too sometimes. It's the natural state of something that is on fire to eventually end up lukewarm. Regardless of our tendency to slip into a state of complacency and luke-warmed-ness, it is abundantly clear that we have a responsibility to be obedient to Christ, to be filled with the Spirit (why else would he command us to?) and to do our ministry with passion.
If we are lukewarm, we need to admonish one another. We need to encourage one another. We need to take responsibility for our actions and GET IN THE WORD. We need to do ministry! I don't know what makes you get pumped up for God, but whatever it is, you need to find that and make that true of you.
A luke warm leader in Crusade is the person that chooses to do homework instead of action group, when previously in the day that person was lazy. He had an opportunity to do his homework before, but played Warcraft 3 or watched the Illini game or something. As a result, he skips his action group for "homework" even though it is effectively skipping action group for something much less worthwhile. I submit that you can only skip action group for homework with a clear conscience if you are actually using your 'free' time for worthwhile, required things.
A luke warm leader in Crusade goes through the motions because he is expected to. He doesn't want to lead or prepare Bible study. They don't do evangelism with a heart for the lost. How little we reflect Jesus' example in our own lives of 'leading others' to be... like Christ! What irony? What pitiful creatures we are!
Here's a verse:
Rev 3
16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
That's self-explanatory enough.
I want to end with this - praise God that he produces fruit, and not us. Praise God that Jesus takes our sins when we are utterly unworthy of doing any sort of ministry. Praise God that He is in control and we can rely on Him for all of our needs, spiritual or otherwise.
And, in response to everything that God has done for us, led us give our whole heart to God. Let us run the race with endurance - anyone that has ever run knows that an endurance race is long and hard, tiring at times. Hang in there. Two last verses, and then I'm done.
Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Hebrews 12
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
I love you all. I have set to speak the truth in love. This may or may not apply to you. I will continue praying for U of I's ministry.
In Christ,
Bish
posted by Brian at 10:33 AM
2 Comments:
Thanks LeAnne!
I disagree, and love to give you an alternative insight to consider, and then maybe dismiss, but consider. however- I have to start and finish a paper in teh next hour-- but let me know if you are interested.
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