School’s in, and for those of you who read this and are in college, I’d like to offer a word of welcome. As the pastor of a church with lots of university students in it, one of my favorite Sundays of the year is the one when you arrive, back from your summer experiences, to jump into another formative year of education. As a pastor, I feel incredibly privileged to share, in a small way, in that formation. I know that these are some of the most significant years of your life, know that the decisions you make and the values you form during these years will shape you for the rest of your lives, and even beyond that!
The NY Times had a great little read recently called, “Ditch Your Laptop – Dump your Boyfriend” filled with good, practical advice on how to make the most of your college years. If you’re in college, or know someone who is, I’d recommend reading it. The article started me thinking about what I’d want to offer students and I came up with a short list.
Since my list is incomplete, I hope some of you will add your own contributions by adding comments to this post. Thanks! So what you can students do to maximize their college experience:
1. Be curious. This, I’ve discovered, is of huge value in the ‘real world’ after college. Reading widely and developing your capacity to build bridges between different subjects is one of the things I look for when assessing someone’s leadership potential. Sure, you’ll need some specialization; but you’ll need more. You’ll need to capacity to think creatively, solve problems, and build bridges – skills which don’t happen accidentally.
2. Get intimate with God. That’s a tall order, I realize, but I think I’m simply talking about developing some habits that will help you and God become friends, like David and God were friends, or Moses and God. Jeremiah 9:23-27 is a reminder that “knowing God” is the only thing worth boasting about in this life. Of course, “knowing” isn’t offered here in some absolute sense because the truth is that we can’t know anyone perfectly and completely – not even God. But we can establish a trajectory of intimacy, whereby God becomes someone to whom we pour out our heart, in both gratitude and complaint, frustration and longing, rejoicing and praise.
This will require some time apart from others, and maybe a journal. If this is one of your greatest areas of weakness, I’d recommend this book as great place to start.
3. Do something to serve others. I just finished writing a new book, the thesis of which is that each person is uniquely gifted by God to paint the colors of hope on the canvass of our world. To find your brush, and learn your strokes, you need to say yes to serving in some way. You can do this on campus, or in your church. This will help you swim upstream against the consumerism that is so prevalent in our culture.
Some of you love to serve, but have a hard time sitting still long enough to develop intimacy with God. For others, you have the opposite problem. If you’re in search of balance, I’d recommend my book, available through Amazon, or the church I lead.
4. Leave campus. Get to know your city and people who don’t attend your school. This broadening of your world has great value. When I attended college in Seattle, I worked at an I-Hop, and the Seattle Sonics basketball team came in every game day. I became a huge fan, started going to games, and felt deeply connected to the city because of it, so much so that, sixteen years after graduation, I moved back to pastor a church there. There’s nothing better than falling in love with your city, and Christ, right in the midst of all that is college life.
What are some other thoughts you’d add, in order to help students maximize their college experience?