College Choices

Tomorrow we are leaving with four teens to visit Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, WI. In light of that, I thought I would share several thought provoking articles about college choices. Here are several clips from the articles.

It’s time to reevaluate the purpose and goal of higher education for Christians. What values do you want your college-age teen to adopt after leaving home and launching into adulthood? What quality of marriage partner do you desire for your son or daughter? What are the guiding principles of the college you’re considering for your young person? How you answer these questions is important, because where a person goes to college can set the course of his or her life for years to come.  ~from “A Neutral College? Think Again!”

The letter arrives. Your son or daughter has been accepted into a big state university or has received a scholarship to a private secular college. How exciting! You wonder about the peer pressure and liberal teaching on campus, but then you remember the prestige, the potential cost savings, the career possibilities. Besides, your teenager is a born-again Christian, so you have nothing to fear, right? Wrong. Although not every student who attends a secular institution is negatively affected, research shows that with few exceptions the religious commitment of students is greatly influenced by the college they choose. Prayer, church attendance, and Bible reading often decline in the lives of Christians who attend secular institutions—changes that persist into adulthood—and after four years, more than half no longer claim to be born again. ~from “Danger Zone”

You can read these articles here and here.

College Trip Info

I will be sending out a letter in the next couple of days, but here is the basic info on the college trip. Make sure you sign up in the Teen Room as soon as you know you are going.  

Will any college do? (#4)

Is college neutral? This article answers that question. You may say, “Yes, college is neutral. After all, colleges simply teach academics. After all, math is math, history is history, English is English, right?! ” It is so much more than simple academics that they teach and the author does a good job of bringing that to light?

If your answer to the question above was “yes”, I hope that after you read the article that you will consider a different answer.

Will any college do? (#3)

I will admit to you that I never even gave a second thought to the possiblity of attending a non-Christian college. That was mostly due to the fact that my parents made it very clear that I was going to Christian college, there was no choice for me in the matter. On top of that, they even narrowed down my choice of what college to go to from the very broad community of “Christian” colleges out there to several fundamental Bible colleges. And to this day, I am so thankful that my parents were so strict in this area.

As you think about where you should go to college, please think about these facts. Sorry, I can’t tell you where all the statistics came from because I have lost some documentation.

• An estimated 85% of college students use alcohol (www.siu.edu)
• 97% of all Christian high school grads will attend a secular university
• It is estimated that 600,00 college students are assulted each year by another student who has been drinking (www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov)
• More then 50% of believers will reject their Christian faith before they graduate from their secular university
• One survey reported that 67% of college students had been sexually active within the last year and 51% had been within the last 3 months (http://publications.naspa.org)

After hearing that, do you really think that you should attend a secular university?

I know, I know. Bad things do happen at Christian colleges. I’m not that naive. I had a roommate that was “kicked out” for drinking. But, at good Christian college campuses that behavior is the exception and not the rule. The choice seems pretty clear to me.

Will any college do? (#2)

Here is another link to an article titled “Why attend a Christian college?”. In this article the author states that “Christian education teaches truth from God’s perspective, which is the only true perspective. Every Christian young person stands obligated by the salvation and lordship of Christ to use every scriptural means to be ‘renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him’ (Col. 3:10).” As believers, we are to be becoming more like Christ and that occurs through the Truth of God’s Word. Why place yourself in a learning environment that does not include and often combats the Truths of God’s Word?

Will any college do? (#1)

That’s a good question. I’m glad you asked.

I could just give a yes or no answer, but what’s the fun in that? I plan to write several posts on this subject, but I will not be the one speaking. I will share highlights from articles other men and women have written on the subject.

The first is an article by Dr. James Dobson, which you can read here. Although I do not agree with all of this man’s ministry and positions, he shares many excellent reasons for attending Christian college.

As he says the real question to be asked is, “Why would you want to attend any other kind of college?” Where else will you be in an invornment surrounded by godly professors. But even more importantly, you will be able to surround yourself with godly friends and classmates. Dobson states that it is those friends and classmates you have will be “the single greatest influence on you during your college years” and where else can you be placed in a situation where those around you are at least professing believers.

I encourage you to read the article and carefully consider what the author has to say.