My son Jacob recently turned four and he can be a little dramatic. I don’t know where he gets it. He’s also learning new words and putting them together in his own unique sentences. A few weeks ago he was crawling behind me with his head down and eyes closed. I was facing the other way when I suddenly felt a sharp pain. Jacob had slammed his forehead into my lower back. Rubbing his head, Jacob looked up at me and said with a smile, “I bumped into a world I didn’t know before!”

I have no idea where he came up with that phrase, but it’s a good one. It is the perfect way to describe why I am passionate about what I do. The transition from high school to college is one of the most important transitions in a young person’s life. Each year, if students aren’t adequately prepared, they oftentimes “bump into a world they didn’t know before.” Fuller Theological Seminary recently conducted research on the challenges students face transitioning to college. After four years of interviewing high school and college students, here’s what the research revealed:

“Only one in seven (14%) high school seniors report feeling prepared to face the challenges of college life. Few students seem ready for the intensity of the college experience and the perfect storm of loneliness, the search for new friends, being completely on their own for the first time, and the sudden availability of a lot of partying. One pervasive struggle for college students is finding a new church, as evident by the 40 percent of college freshmen who report difficulty doing so. Young believers’ need for greater preparation is heightened by the powerful influence of their initial post-high school decisions. Young people retrospectively report that the first two weeks of their college freshman year set the trajectory for their remaining years in school.”

The College Transition Initiative addresses this need by providing resources for students and parents before they step foot on campus. My desire is to see more and more students prepared spiritually for the challenges they will encounter. Your financial investment in this ministry helps students navigate those challenges from a biblical perspective. Please consider an “end-of-the-year” donation (or anytime!) that will ensure that this ministry and message reaches more students in 2012. I am grateful for your support!

The College Transition Initiative is made possible by the faithful financial support of individuals and churches. Click here to make an online contribution. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about making a donation or about how your contribution will be used.

Christopher Hitchens died on December 15. He had a well-established career as a writer, covering a wide array of cultural topics. But he is probably most known for being an outspoken atheist. His book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything was a New York Times Bestseller, and identified Hitchens, along with Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett, Sam Harris, and Victor J. Stenger as one of the “Four Horsemen” of the “New Atheist” movement. According to CNN, “what the New Atheists share is a belief that religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises.”

Peter Hitchens, Christopher’s brother, is an outspoken Christian and author of The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith. Last week he offered a very moving tribute to his brother’s life worth reading: “In Memoriam, my courageous brother Christopher, 1949-2011.” I can only imagine what their dinner conversations were like! Christopher was a fierce debater. In fact, a documentary was made about his public debates with the evangelical Christian Doug Wilson. Shortly after Christopher’s death, Christianity Today posted a eulogy, of sorts, entitled “Christopher Hitchens Has Died, Doug Wilson Reflects: How to think about the death of the outspoken atheist.”

And so, a few days before Christmas, that’s what I’m doing; I’m thinking about the death of an outspoken atheist. I’ve never met Christopher Hitchens. I only know him through his writing and reputation. From what I gather, I think I would have liked talking to him. Doug Wilson described him as “an affable and pleasant dinner companion, and fully capable of being the perfect gentleman.” That doesn’t surprise me. Religious people, too often, perhaps, assume that atheists are malicious and unkind. It is always somewhat shocking to discover that many atheists are not much different than most people of faith. Atheists have well thought out ways of understanding the world, they cling to their ideas, and many genuinely hope that others come to share their beliefs.

I am a Christian of the evangelical variety. I affirm the historic Creeds of the church, believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible word of God and pray that all would come to put their hope and trust (faith) in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Christopher Hitchens’ death, however, reveals a tension that I have always lived with. As I think about my own interactions with atheists, one word comes to mind: thankful. In a strange, almost paradoxical way, I have been blessed by and thankful for my interactions with people who don’t believe. I have often noted that being exposed to an atheist professor very early on in my college career was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Far from becoming a stumbling block to my faith, the professor forced me to wrestle with tough questions about why I believed what I believed. I learned that there are no easy answers to life’s biggest questions.

I’ll never forget the last day of class with my atheist professor. We were invited to ask him anything we wanted. A classmate nervously lifted his hand and asked, “What do you think happens to us when we die?” Without flinching, the professor smiled and said, “Worm food.” I can still see his smiling face like it happened yesterday. No one dared to ask him any more questions.

Here’s my quandary: I’m not sure what kind of believer I would be if it were not for the atheists in my life! Much is made of the mystery of Christmas: the virgin birth, the baby-king in a manger, the bright star appearing, the angels singing. “Veiled in flesh the God-head see! Hail, incarnate deity!” As I get older, I’m realizing more and more that the greatest gift of all is that of faith itself. Indeed, faith is a gift. Now, why was that gift given to me? I’m reminded that there are no easy answers to life’s biggest questions.

During the month of November, as part of an assignment for a class I am taking at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I spent a good amount of time observing students at a local high school. I walked the hallways, had casual conversations with faculty and staff, sat in on a class, hung out in the cafeteria, attended a basketball practice, and conducted informal interviews with students during study hall. I learned much about the “world of American teens,” witnessing and listening, as best I could, to their hopes and fears. It’s not easy being a teenager, to be sure, but I did see many glimmers of light.

There is an old adage about politics (attributed to Lord Bismarck) that carries much wisdom: “If you want to respect sausage or law, then don’t watch either being made.” I think something similar could be said about the maturation process. If you want to respect an adult, don’t watch him or her being made! It’s not an easy journey. Twists and turns and ups and downs are par for the course. Spending time at the school definitely increased my gratitude for the many teachers, counselors, pastors, coaches, mentors and family members who do their best to help boys and girls become men and women.

David Brooks, a columnist for The New York Times, is currently doing a feature on his blog called “Life Reports.” He asked people over 70 to write autobiographical essays evaluating their own lives. Brooks hopes that “these essays will be useful to the young.” Here’s how he explained his motivation for doing this to would-be contributors:

“Young people are educated in many ways, but they are given relatively little help in understanding how a life develops, how careers and families evolve, what are the common mistakes and the common blessings of modern adulthood. These essays will help them benefit from your experience.”

One thing that stuck out to me as I was spending time with students last month was their interest in me and my work. The students asked very perceptive questions about how I decided on my career and what I did every day. At first, I thought that it was because my work was especially interesting or unique to them. But it wasn’t. The students were just genuinely interested in how career choices are made and what life looks like after high school. It became obvious to me that the students didn’t have many opportunities to have these kinds of conversations.

William Damon of Stanford University reports that only 20% of teens “express a clear vision of where they want to go, what they want to accomplish and why.” That’s probably about right. My work puts me in contact with many teenagers who are clueless about what they want to “do” in life. Most students don’t seem to know why (or if) they want to go to college, what they want to study or what kind of career they would like to have. It’s easy to be frustrated by a young person’s apathy and lack of vision for the future. But I think Brooks is onto something when he suggests that young people need more help understanding and seeing how a life develops. As a society, I don’t think we foster enough opportunities for meaningful dialogue between the young and the old.

The Christian tradition has a rich history of creating space for followers of Christ to give testimony to the ways in which God has worked in a person’s life. Some churches seemed to have drifted from the practice. Too often, perhaps, the testimonies focused too narrowly on a person’s “conversion experience,” making it difficult for most people to connect with the story. I don’t want to undermine the importance of hearing about the ways in which God’s grace is extended to new believers. I do, however, want to challenge all of us to create more opportunities for young people to hear from the “old,” to listen to a story well told, to see how a life is well lived and to be given the freedom and time to ask good questions. Brooks’ Life Reports should motivate the church to do something similar. My time with students at a local high school taught me that young people are eager to listen and ready to learn.

We have had a great response to our invitation to host a College Transition Seminar next spring. So much so, in fact, that we would like to extend the geographic region and offer more dates!

Initially we targeted “Central, PA” to cut down on travel costs. Really, what we are looking for are locations that are in (reasonable!) driving distant from Lancaster, PA. That would include, but not be limited to:

• Southeast, PA
• Northeast, PA
• New Jersey
• Northern Maryland
• Baltimore, MD
• Northern Virginia
• Any other location that is interested!  

We are also offering additional dates. If you have a date in mind (a Sunday, perhaps?) that is not listed, please let me know. I’m sure we can make it work! Here are the targeted dates:

• March 22 (Thursday evening)
• March 24 (Saturday morning)
• March 27 (Tuesday evening)
• March 31 (Saturday morning)
• April 12 (Thursday evening)
• April 14 (Saturday morning)
• April 17 (Tuesday evening)
• Any day during the first three weeks of May!

And remember, CPYU is waiving the honorarium (normally $800) and will handle the registrations, charging a modest fee for people to attend. (CPYU will also supply marketing materials.)

Please contact me if you are interested or have questions.

Click here for more details

Read Walt Mueller blog about the CTI Spring Tour  

CPYU is offering an exciting opportunity for youth workers in central, PA to host a College Transition Seminar. CPYU is waiving the honorarium (normally $800) and will handle the registrations on their website! The College Transition Seminar provides a great opportunity to:

• Bring families together to have meaningful conversations about college life
• Equip students to live out their Christian faith during the college years
• Invite and serve others in your community

We are seeking venues to host seminars on the following dates:

• March 22 (Thursday evening)
• March 27 (Tuesday evening)
• March 31 (Saturday morning)
• April 12 (Thursday evening)
• April 14 (Saturday morning)
• April 17 (Tuesday evening)

 A host will be asked to:

• Provide a room that holds at least 100 people
• Provide AV support
• Provide light refreshments (is possible)
• Welcome guests and introduce the speaker
• Assist in marketing the event (materials will be provided)

Hosts will also receive a collection of CPYU resources ($100 value)! The seminar is 2 hours in length. If you are interested or have questions, please contact me.

Read Walt Mueller’s blog about the CTI Spring Tour

Watch a sample clip of the presentation

Read an overview of the seminar

Hear what others are saying about the seminar