disciple, husband, father, college minister
We’ve returned from Springfield–it was a nice flight.
We’ve returned from Springfield–it was a nice flight (even if our flight path was a little odd–east from Kansas City to St. Louis and then back west to San Jose).
A severe thunderstorm tore through the Springfield area and both Kansas City and St. Louis were quite overcast when we left, so we were really looking forward to returning to sunny California.
We got here and everything was wet. Evidently there had been some pretty heavy rains just a little while ago.
I just found that funny.
note for everyone who’s not a new student: there’s a new student orientation thingee happening today and on our promo pieces I promised them that we’d have some reading recommendations for them
So you’re coming to Stanford–that’s great! I know you’ve got a lot to read and do before you arrive, but I’d like to suggest some books you really need to check out.
How To Stay Christian In College by J. Budziszewski. If you only read one book from this list, make it this one! The author lost his faith while an undergrad and regained it after attaining his doctorate, and he’s packed this book full of extremely practical advice!
The Diversity Myth by Peter Thiel and David Sacks. This book is all about Stanford and its agenda when it comes to reeducating students (written by two Stanford grads). I need to preface my recommendation with several disclaimers: you should keep in mind that these guys have a huge ideological axe to grind and that there are always two sides to every story. In addition, the book is about a decade old, and so some of the details are no longer accurate. Finally, they’re not writing from a Christian perspective. Even after all those qualifications, I recommend that you read this book before you show up for your first day at Stanford. In case you’re curious, the title comes from the authors’ contention that there is no true diversity on campus.
Finally, consider reading The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Some people find it dense, and if you fall into that category I recommend The Life You’ve Always Wanted as an alternate. Either of these books will help you learn a life-changing lesson–that there’s a difference between trying to be like Jesus and training to be like Jesus. If all you do is try, you can kiss your faith goodbye once you go to college. If what do now is begin to train, you can thrive spiritually at Stanford University!
You might also want to check out previous posts we’ve made on Tips for New Students, Becoming Wise In College, and Books Every Educated Christian Should Know.
Once again, I find myself sitting in the Mudhouse (Springfield’s coolest coffee shop) typing away on a laptop (borrowed, this time, from Stefanie Chappell–future Chi Alpha missionary to the Washington, D.C. area).
Once again, I find myself sitting in the Mudhouse (Springfield’s coolest coffee shop) typing away on a laptop (borrowed, this time, from Stefanie Chappell–future Chi Alpha missionary to the Washington, D.C. area).
I’m sitting here with Paula, Joe Zickafoose, Sarah Herman, Stefanie Chappell, and Noble Bowman, and Stefanie is urging me to blog something personal. To, in her words, “let out my deep feelings.”
Hmmm…
I am deeply happy to visit Springfield, and I am deeply happy not to live here anymore. Satisfied, Stef?
By the way, if you live in Springfield and Paula and I haven’t gotten together with you yet, call us soon–we’re leaving Friday morning!
meeting with yet more people
Wow–what a whirlwind of activity! We’re seeing everyone we possibly can, and we’re having a great time doing it
I’m still not accessing my email all that frequently, but I’m checking as often as I can. If you don’t hear from me, don’t assume I’m brushing you off.
District council starts tomorrow…
Paula and I are sitting in the Mudhouse in Springfield, MO typing away on our laptops. We flew in a little early for the Southern Missouri District Council and we’re connecting with old friends and colleagues.
Paula and I are sitting in the Mudhouse in Springfield, MO typing away on our laptops. We flew in a little early for the Southern Missouri District Council and we’re connecting with old friends and colleagues.
So far it’s been great–we’ve gotten together with Levi Augur (an alumnus from our ministry back at SMS), his parents (who graciously allowed us to stay at their house), Joss Walter (the first pastor to ever book us for a service), and Rich Avila (another pastoral-type person we know). We’re staying with Joe and Jayne Zickafoose, who are currently preparing to go establish university ministry in Scotland. It’s great!
While we were in the air our students back at Stanford organized and led the weekly worship service by themselves. I can’t wait to hear how it went–Paula and I are very excited at the level of passion and ownership they’re displaying!
My wife just informed me it’s time to go grab lunch, so I’m signing off. I may edit this later to add more details and correct any spelling/grammatical errors.
Beginning next year, Stanfords all-freshman dorms will no longer be allowed to serve alcohol at events in their lounges, hallways or outdoor areas.
I was both tickled and saddened when I read the news in the Stanford Daily today: Stanford To Ban Alcohol At All-Freshman Dorm Events.
Beginning next year, Stanfords all-freshman dorms will no longer be allowed to serve alcohol at events in their lounges, hallways or outdoor areas.
Seems reasonable to me, especially since almost all freshmen are way under 21 and therefore are not allowed to drink alcohol. Nonetheless, the move produced controversy: Junior Nic Kanaan, a resident assistant in Otero, said he believes the policy will have unintended negative consequences. “I think this new policy will make a kind of introverted drinking culture that could potentially be more dangerous, because its behind closed doors and you cant see whats going on…”
Fortunately, the university simply reiterated its logically compelling position: Administrators counter that allowing drinking in freshman dormitories is illegal, detracts from efforts to create a safe and comfortable atmosphere and has failed to prevent serious alcohol-related incidents among freshmen in recent years.
Personally, I can’t believe this is even an issue. It just seems clear to me that the university is obligated to prevent illegal behavior.…
Tomorrow Paula and I will be heading to Jenness Park with a bunch of our students–it’s retreat time!
Tomorrow Paula and I will be heading to Jenness Park with a bunch of our students–it’s retreat time!
Out speaker’s going to be Scott Martin, and I fully expect the retreat to rock!
Student Internship
John Templeton Foundation
Radnor, PA
The John Templeton Foundation and its new Division, Templeton Venture Philanthropy Associates, is seeking a student intern for the summer of 2003.
The Foundation awards grants around the globe for projects that involve science and religion, spirituality and well-being, character development in youth, and free enterprise. A flavor of some of this work is on the Foundations website. Suitably qualified students might assist in a range of research-related tasks that might include searches of the WWW, statistical analyses, project design and day-to-day management, survey administration, and econometric modeling. Interns work a minimum of 10 hours per week to a maximum of 40 hours. Compensation will be determined based on background and whether academic credit is being sought.
Interested students should send a brief resume highlighting skills and work experience and a short cover letter in Word format to Marta Oliver at moliver@templeton.org. Questions may also be directed to this e‑mail address. Please do not call the Foundation.
Running around with my head cut off.
Last weekend I promised my dad that I’d put some personal news on the site, and I’ve been not doing that ever since. Sorry!
Last weekend was pretty neat: Paula and I got to share in two churches: Cameron Park Christian Center and Lakeview Assembly. They were both quite cool in different ways. It wasn’t even that much driving–they’re within two hours or so of one another!
The work week was pretty busy: the students returned from spring break, and I really felt that I needed to talk about the war head-on. What good is faith if it doesn’t inform your everyday view of the world?
At the same time, I don’t think it’s my job to tell people what to think; rather, I’m to help them learn to think in a Biblical way. So I opted to talk about the subject of warfare in general, what we should think about it, and what we should do in a time of war. All that to say, I had a lot of prep work to do!
I put my notes on the group website so they could follow up on some references I made.
As usual, we went to the Stanford Coffeehouse afterward and stayed up for far too long talking.
Wednesday I made a TON of phone calls. My ear still hurts (not really).
Thursday Paula and I decided to have some students over for a home-cooked meal and we stayed up entirely too late talking (notice the pattern).
Friday I was sick (no doubt due to the aforementioned pattern).
Which brings me to today. I got sunburn on my ears. I hope they don’t peel too visibly while I’m preaching tomorrow–I bet that would be distracting.
London’s Telegraph had an unusually balanced article on how leading scientists think about God.
The occasion? The 50th anniversary of the discovery of DNA.
The players? Watson & Crick (discoverers of DNA, both atheists) and Francis Collins (head of the Human Genome Project, devout Christian).
In Crick’s mind, “The god hypothesis is rather discredited.” Indeed, he says his distaste for religion was one of his prime motives in the work that led to the sensational 1953 discovery.
“I went into science because of these religious reasons, there’s no doubt about that. I asked myself what were the two things that appear inexplicable and are used to support religious beliefs: the difference between living and nonliving things, and the phenomenon of consciousness.”
And according to Watson, “Every time you understand something, religion becomes less likely,” said Watson. “Only with the discovery of the double helix and the ensuing genetic revolution have we had grounds for thinking that the powers held traditionally to be the exclusive property of the gods might one day be ours.”
But Collins (who has succeeded Watson as head of the Human Genome Project), believes that religion and science “are nicely complementary and mutually supporting”, he said. As one example, his research to find the faulty gene responsible for cystic fibrosis provided scientific exhilaration and “a sense of awe at uncovering something that God knew before that we humans didn’t”.
“The tragedy is that many people believe that, if evolution is true, which it clearly is, then God can’t be true… God decided to create a species with whom he could have fellowship. Who are we to say that evolution was a dumb way to do it? It was an incredibly elegant way to do it.”
“Jim, who I know much better than Francis, avoids bringing this topic up when we are having a conversation.”
The article concludes with what I found to be a sadly amusing story of Crick’s antipathy to faith. You really ought to read the whole thing.