Last week, Bryan Stoudt shared about reasons we may be tempted to turn work into an idol. This week, he describes how a foundation of help from God frees us to love others, and begins a list of practical ways to care for those around us. See Part 1 here and Part 2 here.Â
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The Myth of Sodom and Gomorrah
Homecomings for Christ-following secular university students may not always be perfectly sweet. The mellow look of sympathy from a friend or loved one is accompanied by the statement that “Now that you’re home, you can be with real Christian people.†Or the concerned question “How in the world can you study under professors that don’t believe in Jesus?†might be followed by “Do you have friends who drink?â€
As Christians, we are an extremely diverse group of people. We are not marked out by our skin color or our physical appearance, our anthropological form or our particular language. Rather, we are marked out by the state of our souls. Our group contains all skin colors, dialects, and tribes. We are His people and He has called each of us to a specific calling that is unique to us. My specific calling for my time on earth is different than every other Christian’s calling, and the same can be said of you. Generally, we do a pretty good job of respecting this fact. We respect that a pastor is called to serve the church directly and to teach, while a computer technician is called to glorify God in his workplace and through advancing technology, and an artist is called to glorify God through her art.
However, I’ve encountered that many Christians are afraid of the calling to secular academics. I’m sure this is a common experience for many Emerging Scholars. This is what my mentors and I now call the Myth of Sodom. Essentially, when I hear “Now you get to be with real Christian people†after returning from a semester at a public college, I hear “Welcome back. Hope you survived Sodom and Gomorrahâ€. I’ve seen this prevalent in Christians who are in their teens to Christians who can’t remember the details of their teen years. And I’ve been guilty of it myself, and have needed to repent of it and ask the Lord to change me. [Read more…] about The Myth of Sodom and Gomorrah