One of my favorite devotional books is a little volume titled, “A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants” by Ruben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck, (The Upper Room, 1983). A rich collection of readings for each week, taken from various classic Christian authors always provokes thought and provides inspiration. This last week I discovered again a quote from Albert Edward Day taken from his book “Discipline and Discovery.” I found it so amazingly relevant to our world today and to the state of the church today that I thought I would share it with my readers.
True faith calls us to disciplines of discipleship
True holiness is a witness that cannot be ignored. Real sainthood is a phenomenon to which even the world laying pays tribute. The power of a life, where Christ is exalted, would arrest and subdue those who are bored to tears by our thin version of Christianity and holy uninterested in mere churchman ship.
We have talked much of salvation by faith, but there has been little realization that all real faith involves discipline. Faith is not a blithe “turning it all over to Jesus.” Faith is such a confidence in Jesus that it takes seriously his summons, “if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
We have loudly proclaimed our dependence upon the grace of God, never guessing that the grace of God is given only to those who practice the grace of self-mastery. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for God is at work in you both to will and to work his good pleasure.” People working out, God working in – that is the New Testament synthesis.
Humans, working out their salvation alone, are a pathetic spectacle – hopelessly defeated moralists trying to elevate themselves by their own bootstraps.
God, seeking to work in a person who offers no discipline cooperation, is a heartbreaking spectacle – a defeated Savior trying to free, from sins and earthiness, a person who will not lift his or her face out of the dust, or shake off the shackles of the egocentric self.
We must recover for ourselves the significance and the necessity of the spiritual disciplines. Without them we shall continue to be impotent witnesses for Christ. Without them Christ will be impotent in his efforts to use us to save our society from disintegration and death.
On a news site I use, I saw an article by Arizona State University Online. The headline for the accompanying picture read, “Checklist for Student Success” and the article’s long title was “Thoughts and Insights for Prospective Students.” I think it was picked up because it is a topic that needs discussion. In many colleges, a high percentage of the enrolling students do not make it through. How can we help them have more success?
I remember my experience as a student who was a valedictorian from a very small high school attending a top ranked University (U of R) and studying physics. The transition was huge. There was so much to learn besides classes. The routine of farm life was gone and in its place was the chaotic lack of schedule called dorm living. When it came to classes, there was so much to learn about how to learn that I had never had to learn because the school I attended had not been sufficiently challenging. Adjustments were major. I made it through but barely that first year. I would have benefited hugely from some advice about how to succeed in college.
I did graduate from U of R in physics so most people are a little surprised at my shift of profession into Christian ministry. But that is a story for another day. For this article it is enough to note that I have since had the privilege of attending college three more times. In recent years, I also had the privilege of serving on a college board of trustees for six years (Houghton College). So with my own experiences in mind, both my early struggles and my later successes, I offer my own seven point version of “Thoughts and Insights for Perspective Students.”
Use the course syllabi as a planning tool
I agree that keeping close track of those class syllabi is key. No doubt the means have changed since I was in school but the principle is the same. Student success is directly related to knowing exactly what the professor expects. You will need to use syllabi to develop the discipline of scheduling your own semester work ahead of time too. Such things as research projects, semester term papers, collaborative work, cannot be done last-minute. In addition, even if you can do a paper in one night, you will not be able to do one for each of two different courses because you didn’t discover until the last-minute that they were due on the same day.
Plan your schedule with study time included
Set yourself a daily and weekly schedule that includes study time. Don’t expect study time to just happen as I seemed to do my first year. If you can’t study in the room because of interruptions, use a library or some other place regularly. If your friend time starts controlling your schedule, you are headed for trouble. Don’t make excuses; take responsibility and learn to discipline yourself. One semester we got in the habit of playing cards late at night and into the wee hours and I wondered why I was failing the 8 am class I had.
Ask for help when you need it
Seek help when you are frustrated. Dig for additional resources if needed. Most teachers are much more approachable than it seems. This one tip would have saved me much grief. My background in math was not adequate for what I was attempting in physics. I needed to seek some help to catch up a little. I thought the problem was just me so I struggled through with much frustration. Seeking help would have been so much wiser.
Choose friends wisely
Choose friends with values like yours. This is actually one of the most important choices you will make. This is also good advice for high school students, active duty military personal and anyone else starting a new chapter in their life in a new setting. Friends influence us! One of the probable reasons for my later success in my first college was that I found a group of students who had religious values like mine and study values even better than mine and I associated with them as my friends. That helped me immensely.
Professors are people too
Realize that professors are real people too. They have just taken many more courses. But they probably haven’t read the same books that you have. They don’t know every subject equally well. They know one subject very well. Learn from them eagerly but do not be surprised when they are not perfect or when some are better than others.
Remember to grow in good character too
Remember that unfortunately most colleges only teach subjects. But character education is even more important. Knowledge without good character will not result in a successful career. So beware of those peers who would treat college years like a moral holiday. The result of that attitude is a bunch of moral infants as graduates. Unfortunately, fraternity and sorority houses have a bad reputation in this regard. I don’t recommend joining them.
Embrace the stretching
Finally, college is a stretching experience. This is a wonderful part of those years. Embrace it but exercise discretion too. As I look back I can think of so many things that stretched my perspective from that of a Western New York farm boy with very strict roots. Here are a few: I first flew in college as my roommate flew me to his house in Ohio – I had not been West of Niagara Falls either. I rode a public bus in college when I took lessons at Eastman and saw an inner city neighborhood for the first time on my return trip. I had a professor who was an immigrant who had a heavy accent. I had another, a favorite, who smoked a pipe which I admired too much and almost decided to imitate – thank God I did not. I attended Pentecostal/charismatic worship services for the first time and began to learn about the wonderful variety in the family of God. Sometimes I was conscious of the stretching. More often I was not. We learn and grow through such new experiences.
We need both personal spiritual experience and knowledge of the Bible
About a week ago I was very impressed by a quote that I found in my devotional book. The focus for the week was on the supremacy of Christ and how we get to know him. In today’s world it is popular to emphasize the spiritual in an almost mystic sense. But it is much less popular to do the hard work of reading Scripture and studying it to learn more about the historical figure of Jesus who inspires our Christian faith. The quote points out that both the spiritual response often associated with prayer and meditation and the historical underpinning from study are needed in order for us to truly know what Jesus is about and how his Spirit lives in and through us. I pass it on to you.
Historical Christianity is dry and formal when it lacks the immediate and inward response to our Great Companion; but our spirits are trained to know him, to appreciate him, by the mediation of historical revelation. A person’s spiritual life is always dwarfed when cut apart from history. Mysticism is empty unless it is enriched by outward and historical revelation. The supreme education of the soul comes through an intimate acquaintance with Jesus Christ of history. (The Double Search by Rufus M. Jones)
Scripture speaks of both essentials
I think both ends of this balance are easily seen in the words of Scripture as well. The Apostle Paul spoke of the spiritual side of our relationship to God:
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Eph. 3:16-17 NIV 2011
David wrote eloquently of the need to keep in touch with God’s written record and allow it to form us.
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Ps 119:105