Today is my second and final talk to the students at Olivet Nazarene University. If you didn’t read yesterday’s Catch, you might want to do that since this will pick up where I left off, which was to send them off into the world without a Christian label. “It’s just you going into the world with whatever you have inside you. You are it. You are the last Christian.”
So today I will try and describe what that looks like. Who will you be? How will you get yourself ready? How will you make a difference?
1) Find out what you believe. This has to do with struggle. You don’t own anything you haven’t struggled over. So ask questions. Chase everything down. If you have doubts, now is the time to voice them. Questions are not a sign of rebellion or a lack of faith; questions come from curiosity and a desire to learn. The really hard questions come from a certain anxiety that maybe there is something wrong with you because no one else is asking these questions. The truth of the matter is: no one has the nerve to ask the question, so as soon as you do, you find out you have given voice to others.
I’ve heard it said that some people lose their faith in college; I say if they do, that’s probably because they never really had it, and the second state is better than the first, because at least they found out the truth. Now they can hear from God. It’s hard to really hear from God when you are acting like you don’t need to.
2) Stop looking for what’s wrong with the world and start looking for what’s right. This will disarm the “secular world” kind of thinking that keeps people from finding God everywhere. The world is not wrong as much as it is lost. Which means the world is actually right about a lot of things, and those things, if we can identify them, can become bridges to the gospel, much like Paul’s use of an unknown god to the thinkers in Athens became a bridge to what he wanted to say to them about the true God.
“He who seeks good, finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it” (Proverbs 11:27). When it comes to being in the world, you always find what you are looking for.
3) Become proficient in something. Doing something well brings glory to God and opens doors of influence for you. People who come to you because you are an expert in something will be more likely to give merit to the faith you have as well. It will have more credibility because you are more credible. Notice I didn’t say incredible. I said credible. We are what we are, and though we are not perfect, we contain the treasure of the light of Christ anyway, and the closer someone gets to that, the harder it is not to see it.
[If you get this in time, you can watch a live stream of John’s chapel talk this morning at 9:30 a.m. central time. Otherwise you can watch this talk and yesterday’s by going to www.olivet.edu and clicking on “Olivet Live,” then “Chapel Talks,” then “Live Events” during the talk, or “On Demand” after.]
John Fischer The Catch 
Definitely going to go watch this before my clients start calling. Those are great points.
#1 I still struggle with, getting past that “raised as a Christian” syndrome where you tend to not dig as deep as those who have converted later in life.
#2 I did start doing this years ago (and have irritated many a Christian friend because of it). It works. People will start seeing good if you point it out to them. And they will stop associating being negative with being a Christian.
#3 Definitely is true. God gave you/us all gifts and when we use them and exercise them to their fullest, people who need those things will gravitate to us and you have a whole different way of spreading the gospel. It is extremely exciting. I have come to realize, in business, that many folks have just not even ever had someone be kind to them or take time with them when they have worked on a project together. God works through all our hours of the day.
John,
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading today’s edition. These are the same kinds of points I remember you making back in the ‘CCM’ days — a time when your work was one of the earliest influences in shaping my faith into what it is now. You were one of the first writers who made me feel like it was OK to ask questions about why I believe the things I believe. Now, in my early 30s, I’m a longtime ‘questioner,’ and I’m glad to see you’re encouraging a new generation of students to do the same. Keep up the good work 🙂
loved listening to the live event & thanks for giving the link to be able to watch it also loved that Dunnberry(sp) cartoon. LOL over it. 🙂
John,
I just watched both of the talks you gave back to back, and all I can say is WOW! You spoke to my heart and of things that I’ve felt for a long time. I’m glad that you were able to give this message to the young adults that will hopefully carry it out into the world that they will inhabit.
God bless you and your ministry.
Thank you for speaking in chapel this week. I really appreciate you and the work you’re doing. As a senior at Olivet, I have been immersed in the “Christian Culture” for so long that it often unfortunately creeps into our minds as reality. I was never immersed like this before coming to Olivet and I resisted it for two years before feeling “safe” like you talked about Wednesday. This year as a senior, about to go into the workforce, these things have really been coming up in my mind lately. Our generation seems especially eager for truth and finding what is real, and I think I speak for the entirety of the student body when I say that it’s people like you who make a difference and actually keep people awake in our mandatory chapel. I heard many of my friends who dislike Chapel say, “Chapel was actually good today!” Thank you for all you do and blessings as you continue your ministry!
Wow. Can’t think of a nicer compliment. Thank you!
Very intriguing comments. And thanks for the link – I listened to both presentations at Olivet. One thing you said – I forget exactly how you put it – really resonated with me. You spoke about knowing something was wrong, but not knowing what. Perhaps you’ve figured that out, now, to your own satisfaction, but I haven’t. I very much appreciate your additions to the conversation, for they help a lot. But I keep struggling with how to make that work in my world, which probably is a lot different from your world. I think (and suspect you agree) that you’ve intentionally overstated your case at times, to make your point (I do the same thing routinely). Bottom line is perhaps this: I appreciate both “where you’re coming from” and “where you’re going,” but I’m still struggling with working it out in my real world. Balance – one of the core themes in my teaching – is always a struggle.
Thanks, once again, for your contribution to the discussion.
I listened to you in chapel and also have watched the chapels online quite a few times since. I really enjoyed listening to you speak. Is there any way that I could maybe have a copy of that poem “in it not of it” that you read? I loved it and would love to share it.
Thank you again
The In’s and Out’s Of It
by John Fischer
“In it not, of it,” the statement was made
As Christian One faced the world, much afraid.
“In it, not of it,” the call was made clear,
But Christian One got something stuck in his ear.
“Not in it, or of it,” was the thing that he heard.
And knowing the world was painfully absurd,
He welcomed the safety of pious retreat,
And went to the potluck for something to eat.
Now Christian Two, he knew what to do,
He show those fundies a thing or two!
How will the world ever give Christ a try
If we don’t get in there and identify?
So “In it, and of it,” he said in his car,
As he pulled in and stopped at a popular bar.
“I’ll tell them the truth as soon as I’m able
To get myself out from under this table.”
Now along comes Christian Three jogging for Jesus,
In witnessing sweats made of four matching pieces.
His earphones are playing a hot Christian tune
About how the Lord is coming back soon.
“Not in it, but of it,” he turns down the hill
And stops in for a bite at the Agape Grill.
Like the gold on the chain of his “God Loves You” bracelet,
He can have the world without having to face it.
While way up in heaven they lament these conditions
That come from changing a few prepositions.
“Not in it, or of it,” Christian One thought.
But who in the world will know that he’s not?
“In it, and of it,” thought Christian Two.
But who in the world will know that he knew?
“Not in it, but of it,” thought Christian Three.
But who in the world watches Christian TV?
And Jesus turns to Gabriel, shaking His head.
“‘In it, not of it,’ wasn’t that what I said?”