State of the Ministry Address
by Tyler Zach
I started to follow Jesus with all of my heart during the middle years of my time in the fraternity at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. But during my first year in the fraternity I was ultra-liberal. I was weak in theology, weak in my devotion to Christ, weak in sharing my faith, and tolerant to the sin of the culture.
Then, during my junior year, when I re-dedicated my life to serving Christ, I swung to the other side of the pendulum and became ultra-conservative. I became strong in theology, strong in my devotion to Christ, strong in judging others, and strong in separating myself from all things bad. There were many nights during my senior year that I left the fraternity house to “go to a safe place.”
Many of you might feel the same way about fraternities and sororities. Because of all the negative media about drinking, drugs, sex, and hazing - Greek houses might tend to fall on your “no fly zone.” Students may also feel the same when first arriving on their college campus. Here are three crucial questions that we need to discuss when talking about Greek ministry.
Should a student on campus receive the bad practices of the Greek culture?
No. A student on campus does not need to receive practices such as drinking, drugs, sex outside of marriage, hazing, etc. into his or her life in order to reach the culture. You can live in a culture without conforming to the ways of the culture. Jesus wasn’t a conformist, but a transformist.
Should a student on campus reject the Greek culture?
No. While my life was being transformed, I desperately wanted to separate myself from this culture because I tended to view things as either as all bad or all good. However, Jesus wasn’t a separatist. He did not reject culture, rather he stepped into it. He saw the bad and the opportunity for good at the same time. To look at this culture as all bad would be to ignore the fact that the majority of leaders on a college campus come from a fraternity or sorority.
Should a student on campus try to redeem the Greek culture?
Yes. In my honest opinion, I believe that every Greek system in America is not beyond the ability to be redeemed. The building block of all fraternities and sororities is community. If Jesus can step into these communities, which He can, and redeem these students back to Himself, the gospel will have a magnificent opportunity to spread and change the hearts of thousands of students. In terms of mission, what good is it if two students in a dorm go to church every Sunday and go back to their comfortable dorm room for the remainder of the week? What would happen if those same two students went to church on Sunday and then came back to a fraternity house filled with sixty students who do not know Jesus. There would be a greater opportunity for Jesus to be seen, to be known, and to be followed.
And when these redeemed students graduate, they will step into their work community or their family community and continue to spread the gospel, give towards spreading the gospel, and raise up gospel-loving kids.
So will I continue to labor in an area of campus that may not seem redeemable to our minds? Yes, because with God all things are possible. Should we continue to give our resources towards reaching this strategic group of young leaders who will take this country into the next 10-20 years? Yes! We have the great privilege of reaching our culture’s future leaders right now. Thank you for partnering with me to make this vision a reality...
I started to follow Jesus with all of my heart during the middle years of my time in the fraternity at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. But during my first year in the fraternity I was ultra-liberal. I was weak in theology, weak in my devotion to Christ, weak in sharing my faith, and tolerant to the sin of the culture.
Then, during my junior year, when I re-dedicated my life to serving Christ, I swung to the other side of the pendulum and became ultra-conservative. I became strong in theology, strong in my devotion to Christ, strong in judging others, and strong in separating myself from all things bad. There were many nights during my senior year that I left the fraternity house to “go to a safe place.”
Many of you might feel the same way about fraternities and sororities. Because of all the negative media about drinking, drugs, sex, and hazing - Greek houses might tend to fall on your “no fly zone.” Students may also feel the same when first arriving on their college campus. Here are three crucial questions that we need to discuss when talking about Greek ministry.
Should a student on campus receive the bad practices of the Greek culture?
No. A student on campus does not need to receive practices such as drinking, drugs, sex outside of marriage, hazing, etc. into his or her life in order to reach the culture. You can live in a culture without conforming to the ways of the culture. Jesus wasn’t a conformist, but a transformist.
Should a student on campus reject the Greek culture?
No. While my life was being transformed, I desperately wanted to separate myself from this culture because I tended to view things as either as all bad or all good. However, Jesus wasn’t a separatist. He did not reject culture, rather he stepped into it. He saw the bad and the opportunity for good at the same time. To look at this culture as all bad would be to ignore the fact that the majority of leaders on a college campus come from a fraternity or sorority.
Should a student on campus try to redeem the Greek culture?
Yes. In my honest opinion, I believe that every Greek system in America is not beyond the ability to be redeemed. The building block of all fraternities and sororities is community. If Jesus can step into these communities, which He can, and redeem these students back to Himself, the gospel will have a magnificent opportunity to spread and change the hearts of thousands of students. In terms of mission, what good is it if two students in a dorm go to church every Sunday and go back to their comfortable dorm room for the remainder of the week? What would happen if those same two students went to church on Sunday and then came back to a fraternity house filled with sixty students who do not know Jesus. There would be a greater opportunity for Jesus to be seen, to be known, and to be followed.
And when these redeemed students graduate, they will step into their work community or their family community and continue to spread the gospel, give towards spreading the gospel, and raise up gospel-loving kids.
So will I continue to labor in an area of campus that may not seem redeemable to our minds? Yes, because with God all things are possible. Should we continue to give our resources towards reaching this strategic group of young leaders who will take this country into the next 10-20 years? Yes! We have the great privilege of reaching our culture’s future leaders right now. Thank you for partnering with me to make this vision a reality...
posted by Tyler Zach at 12:10 PM
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