The last weeks of summer find many students and parents scurrying to get ready for college. Oddly enough, for most Christians, advanced spiritual and intellectual preparation is not always on the radar. It somehow gets lost in the busyness of all the other preparations. For those of you who are attending, or considering attending college next fall, I want to recommend five books for you to read. For those already in college or about to enter, I recommend reading these as early in your college experience as possible. For those who will be attending college next fall, I recommend reading and reflecting on these prior to enrollment (Parents: I would encourage you to read these as well so you can dialogue with your students about their college experience). I consider these required reading and will insist that my children read them (or books like them) when they are ready for college.
For the last twenty plus years, I have been either a student or an instructor in both secular and religious institutions of higher learning. While in both capacities and in both environments, I have thought seriously about how a student can best be prepared and be successful. More specifically, I have spent time trying to figure out how the Christian student can best prepare himself or herself for college success in our present culture. It is on this basis that I recommend the following resources.
1. J. P. Moreland and Mark Matlock, Smart Faith: Loving Your God With All Your Mind (Colorado Springs: Th1nk Books, 2005). Smart Faith presents what it means to love God with one’s mind and to apply one’s intellect to discipleship to Jesus. Too often, Christians think gaining knowledge, becoming educated, or being involved in academic pursuits is dangerous and unchristian. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the lack of knowledge, education, and academic pursuit is dangerous and leaves one susceptible to lies and falsehoods. Moreland and Matlock provide practical ways students can improve their minds and thus be better disciples, more grounded in their faith, better worshippers, and more productive for God’s kingdom. This is an indispensible book for understanding the importance of loving God with one’s mind and how to do it in secular and religious settings. [For those who want a bit more depth, you might choose to read the book Smart Faith was modeled on, J. P. Moreland’s Love Your God With All Your Mind (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1997)].
2. Marcus Honeysett, Meltdown: Making Sense of a Culture in Crisis (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2002). You happen to be going to college in an age where something called “Postmodernism” is influential, including on college campuses. What is Postmodernism? Is it something I should be concerned about? Why? How does a Christian respond to it? Meltdown addresses all these questions using as illustrations incidents that take place on college campuses. Though this is the most difficult of the five books I am recommending, it might be the most important. If you want to be prepared to face postmodernist thinking which espouses relativism about truth, knowledge, ethics, and religion, this is a book you must read. Make sure you take the time to read the Foreward and Afterward of this book too.
3. Douglas Soccio, How to Get the Most Out of Philosophy, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2004). I know what you are thinking. “I’m going to take as little philosophy as I have to (maybe none at all), so I don’t need this book, thank you very much.” But please don’t make both those mistakes. First, taking philosophy courses can be a vital part of loving God with your mind. Second, this book is so much more than about philosophy. In fact, this book is more about your overall college education than about taking philosophy courses. If there was one book I wish I had read as an undergraduate, it is this one. This may be the most practical book about college you will ever read. When I taught undergraduates at three different universities, I required my students to read this book in the first week of classes. This book gives important advice on reading, studying and study habits, taking notes, taking exams, writing papers, relating to your professors, self-respect and getting the most out of yourself, academic ethics, and, yes, even how to do well in a philosophy class. I can’t urge the college-bound person enough to read this book. Not one college student I required to read this book regretted reading it or found it unhelpful (even those who were already seniors).
4. Scot McKnight, The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2004). How does a student maintain, develop, and put into practice his or her relationship with God when away at college? The Jesus Creed explains what it means to love God and others with one’s whole being. Following the “Jesus Creed” (See Matthew 22:36-40) is a life changing practice that will result in significant spiritual transformation and vibrancy. It will also make one an effective worshipper of and ambassador for God. If you are concerned about the health of your relationship with God while away at college, read this book.
5. Allen Wakabayashi, Kingdom Come: How Jesus Wants to Change the World (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003). The aspiration of many people headed to college is to become someone who can impact society. For the Christian, this is not “pie in the sky” thinking, but a significant part of the Christian vocation. How can a Christian be an agent of change in the world? Wakabayashi’s book is an excellent study of what it means for a Christian to be involved in Jesus’ mission of changing the world. Kingdom Come presents a much needed explanation of the Kingdom of God and what that means for Christian engagement in our culture. Wakabayashi makes the case that the mission of Jesus, and thus the Christian, is so much more than “getting people saved.” It means being an agent of transformation in every area of life helping to restore the fallen creation, fallen societies, fallen systems of education and business, and, yes, fallen people. College-bound Christians need to understand and live out the perspectives found in Kingdom Come if they want to change the world.
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