Looking back...

This past Sunday 10 seniors from our student ministry celebrated the aspect of graduating high school. Which to be honest is a great achievement because some people do not have the opportunity to get a high school degree but that is not the point of this entry. I started to think back over the years when I started that first journey into "college" freedom. I say freedom because I was the one in charge. I decided when I went to class, what I wanted to eat, what to watch, where to spend my money, time and also who I wanted to date. Freedom is the word most college students grasp the last years of high school and sadly it never changes throughout the college experience. I know first hand because that was the way I felt when I first attended junior college. But another sad thing is this: most seniors who have been involved in student activities in their home churches fail to reconsider this after graduating from high school. Freedom steps in and their eyes get big and they get lost in this world. Why is it that we can have sold-out seniors in our student ministries but when college comes around we don't see that flame burn brighter? Personally, I don't think that we as student pastors or whatever you want to call us, make the importance clear to the generations that we have in our midst to understand that following Christ does not stop after high school. It's a marathon not a sprint. Partially, I think that the blame isn't necessarily on the student pastors but mainly on the parents. I know this may sound harsh but isn't this the truth? Is serving Christ and having a relationship with Him more important than making sure that you make tons of money to support yourself? Do we ever throw out that? I know it sounds like I am on a soap box but come on, how many more generations of seniors will go the wayside and forget about Christ and serving the body? I hope that the seniors that I had for under a year saw this in my life. I hope and pray they stay connected with the Word of God and develop their passion for Christ daily. I know that my life in college had many moments of doubt and confusion as to what God wanted me to become and where He wanted me to be. If it wasn't for the grace of God and people pushing me through college to strive to be the best I could become I would be just another statistic. Just a thought or two...