FEBA Forever!

Review of “The Outrageous idea of Academic Faithfulness” Part 2

by Donald Opitz and Derek Melleby

 

In my last blog, I started to review this short book. I focused on one particularly jarring passage from the book, but I do not think that I am misrepresenting the theme of the book by singling out one mistake. Rather, the misinterpretation of the kingdom parable of the wheat and weeds is consistent with the underlying theology on which the book appears to be based (stay tuned for Part 3). This has implications for what the thesis of the book becomes, and I believe that this results in the book having a crippling omission.

 

Evangelism?

 

A book about the task facing Christian college students should emphasize evangelism. The church is facing a mass exodus that peaks during the college years, with perhaps 60-80% of people who were “involved in church” during their high school years abandoning their faith by the time they reach their mid twenties (for proof, go look up research by George Barna). Furthermore, adults older than college aged very seldom make a decision to receive Christ. There is a steep age-related decline in the likelihood of salvation, and the flat line begins after college. College is precisely where young men and women leave their own family and micro-culture of their home town to explore alternative world views (and lifestyles) in the public marketplace of ideas. Colleges are like catch-basins for all the meritorious youth of every industrialized nation, where young people concentrate in one place to transition from childhood to an independence that is broader than economic and relational independence—it includes independent thinking and the adoption of a world view that guides the rest of their lives. Therefore, college is a sort of “last chance” to reach people before its too late, combined with a highly concentrated and relatively receptive audience for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

I just can’t understand why a book for Christian college students does not call on them to reach their lost peers. Yet evangelism is simply not a theme or even prominent topic in this book. Rather, there’s a sense that although evangelism is good (yawn), the gospel is bigger than just getting people saved (yay!), so by implication the book focuses on the part of the gospel that’s not about the good news of forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and a restored relationship with God as a free gift on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ. For example, on p. 75 the authors state that “The work of Jesus Christ is not limited to the redemption of individuals” and on p. 90 they write “In some traditions, for example, the gospel is viewed primarily as rescue from sin and the promise of heaven. While this view emphasizes the urgent call to evangelism, it offers little to help shape a theology of culture or an ethic for life in the world, especially the academic world.”

 

I’m sure many will disagree with me on this point, but I suspect that defining the gospel as much broader than evangelism and salvation often results in Christians redefining anything they feel like doing to be part of ‘spreading the gospel.’ I am not joking when I report that they actually say that being a “good steward” of your job, hobby, institution, or ecosystem is participating in the gospel of Jesus Christ (p. 76) and that maybe you should start a recycling program in your dorm to help God restore his creation (see p. 128 and 126). This is your great act of Christian ministry? Recycling? Compared to reaching the lost, it doesn’t measure up.

 

Consider Joel’s beer ministry, a satirical (mean spirited?) exploration of this line of reasoning. I like to brew my own beer. I am trying to be more frugal lately, and home brewing saves money while still providing me and my friends with excellent beer to drink. This way I am also able to recycle beer bottles, instead of contributing to the pollution of the earth. I’m not adding to the profits of big beer corporations with their smutty advertising and bad values. I don’t get a hangover (lots of vitamin B in homebrew!), so it’s kinder on my body. I recently brewed a Guinness-style dry Irish stout, which reminded me of the wise words of Os Guinness (from the Guinness family—you know, descendent from the Dublin brewer who started the company). He once wrote “Deep in our hearts, we all want to find and fulfill a purpose bigger than ourselves. Only such a larger purpose can inspire us to heights we know we could never reach on our own.” (Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life, 1998). Yeah…brewing is my “beer gospel,” because I’m helping God redeem the earth one bottle at a time. This is how I integrate my faith with my lifestyle, so I can take part in the broader understanding of the gospel described by this book.

 

If I believed any of that nonsense about “beer gospel,” I might also throttle back on evangelism. In my view, this is the slippery slope of broadening the gospel to mean anything that a Christian does sort of thoughtfully. Don’t get me wrong—Christian students should take their academics seriously, but this does not substitute for fulfilling the Great Commission from Matthew 28:18-20

 

Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

 

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