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At the end of this somber video the narrator offers this advice to college students: “give up your dreams.” There is great pressure to do so, to be sure. This past weekend I had the privilege of being with over 2,000 college students at the Jubilee Conference in Pittsburgh who wrestle with this very question every day: Why not give up?
We live in a hurting world. It’s refreshing to see young college students committed to the One who makes all things new. It won’t be easy, of course. The pressures of life under the sun will come. We are all continually challenged to conform to the pattern of the world, to go with the flow, to live a comfortable life of consumption. Year after year, the Jubilee Conference offers a reminder and picture of the power of the Gospel. We should never give up because God doesn’t give up on us!
Thank you to all who make the event possible. It’s no small thing putting together a conference of this caliber. And the difference it makes is no small thing as well.
It’s a goofy picture, I know. A friend of mine captured it on Skype. It was shortly after I received my first copy of Make College Count. Baker Books was very kind and sent me a copy to a hotel in Boston where I was staying. I’m grinning, of course and continue to grin about it, actually. It turned out better than I imagined!
I recently described the book this way: “I tried to write a book for a college bound high school student that doesn’t read.” One endorser said that it is “complete but not overwhelming.” Another added that “it is short enough that students are likely to actually read it!” A local college professor wrote this to me: “You give readers a lot to think about in a brief span, and you keep a light touch so as not to sound dogmatic or preachy. Kudos!”
I cherish those remarks. That’s what I was aiming for! A few others have chimed in from the blogosphere. I was floored by what Byron Borger had to say at his Booknotes Blog:
“It is—without a doubt, bar none—the best little gift book to give to a college-bound high school student that I have ever seen! It raises the right questions, is priced and packaged wonderfully (including some cool page design and a few b/w photos) and is written with wit and true insight.”
Author and professor Stephen Nichols mentioned it at Reformation 21, the online magazine of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. What an honor!
And, Benson Hines gave it a shout out on his informative and influential blog, Exploring Campus Ministry.
Thank you, thank you. I’m delighted by all of this, as you can imagine. It’s my understanding that the book has officially released, and should soon be available wherever books are sold!
The last week has been a whirlwind. Last Saturday (February 5) I spoke to a group of college bound high school students at a conference at Living Word Community Church in York, PA. The conference also featured my good friends Steven Garber and Byron Borger. Steve is the director of the Washington Institute and author of one of the most influential books I’ve read The Fabric of Faithfulness. Byron, of course, is the owner of the best book store in the world, Hearts & Minds. It was also the official release of Make College Count and Byron was excited to tell the audience that they were the first people in the world to be able to purchase it! It was also fitting that Steve offers an endorsement on the back cover. What a release party! In fact, and this is no overstatement, if it were not for Byron and Steve, and their care and encouragement to me over the years, there would be no Make College Count book. Their influence is on every page and it was an honor to be in their presence on that special day.
On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, I gave two chapel talks and one optional lecture at Malone University. First things first, hands down, Malone has the best college cafeteria I have ever seen. The service is amazing and the food is outstanding. I hope the students at Malone know how great they have it. (Take advantage of it while you can. Your “eating life” will never be like that again. Trust me.) And, I think the talks went pretty well, too. When I wasn’t eating I challenged the students to take their college years seriously, to not be conformed to the world’s “pattern” for college, but to be transformed to think differently about what the college years could and should be like. You can download two of my talks here:
This past weekend I had the privilege of speaking at a youth retreat for the Susquehanna Valley Presbytery (PCA). For my three main talks, I presented Identity Matters: The Voice of Culture, The Truth of God, and I gave two breakouts sessions on The College Transition. The students were eager to learn and asked really good questions. What a great weekend.
And now it’s time to gear up for the Jubilee Conference… one of my favorite weekends of the year! This year’s conference is looking like it might be the best ever. Check out the list of speakers!
