The speaker told all of us at the conference to stand up, grab a piece of chalk, and scatter ourselves out across the cement  floor of the gymnasium we were meeting in. After instructing us to draw a circle on the floor around each of us  individually, he then calmly announced, “O.K., now don’t leave that circle until revival breaks out.” First I paused, then  after glaring at him, I glanced around at the other foolish looking people in their little circles and then finally, but not  wanting to, peering down at my own tightly drawn circle that now had a very confining feel to it!

Silently stranded there, I wondered what was I supposed to do? Fortunately, he went on to tell us that revival wasn’t an  annual church meeting with a promotional banner, but that it came when a group experienced heartfelt repentance and  renewal. And then he added the kicker that gave all of us a queasy, uncomfortable feeling─he said it always starts with  just one person. Needless to say, I had some soul searching to do….

On every campus, the Lord hunts for at least one guy or gal who will take His marching orders seriously, and yet in  numerous places, God grieves the lack of response as He did with Israel: “I searched for a man among them who would  build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me… but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30). It has been said that there are three  kinds of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and, lastly, those  who don’t know what’s happening! If revival is going to break out at your school, it will be because you (or someone else,  if you let it pass by) have volunteered yourself to be the fuel the Lord uses to detonate a raging spiritual inferno across your campus.

Why are You at College?

Walt Henrichsen, the author of the classic, Disciples Are Made Not Born, made this shocking statement: “If you are at college for any other reason than to be a missionary for Jesus Christ, you are there for selfish, sinful reasons.” Woahhhh! I’m glad he said it and not me! Did this former pastor and Navigator representative go too far in his challenge to students, or had he found an open nerve that desperately needed to be uncovered and dealt with? If you’re currently a student, have some fun with me as we take a road trip through the crevices of your soul:

“So, why did you come to college?” I ask in a non laid back casual manner.

“Well,” you say proudly, “I’m here because I want to get a good education.”

Sitting up in my chair, I respond, “O.K….but, why do you want to get a good education?”

“Mmmm,” you ponder, “Well…because I want to get a good job.”

Now I lean toward you and say, “A good job, huh? Why is it that you want to get a good job?”

“Wait a minute,” you shoot back, “I see where you’re going with this! O.K., I admit it. I want a good job so I can get a better salary.”

“Well, why would you want a better salary?” I slyly inquire.

By this time you’ve probably decided the discussion is over with and I’m just hoping our friendship is not! The final destination of this interrogative joy ride reveals that if you and I are really honest, a big part of going to college is to get a good job, in order to make a better salary, so that we can….so that we can….What? Say it! Support the kind of comfortable lifestyle that we have dreamed about! Maybe this is the exact motive your well-intentioned parents have drummed into your brain, but can you see now why Henrichsen makes the statement he does? Ninety nine percent of students, even “committed” Christians, are at college with a conscious (or possibly sub-conscious) personal agenda that is selfish─yes, even sinful!

For more help on campus ministry, read The Fuel and the Flame
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