"Summer behavior" of Christian college students

[Bravo]

You should probably keep in mind that PCC is not necessarily a ministry college.

You should probably keep in mind that randomly yelling out and calling the other students "HACkers" probably doesn't help either. ;D

You do make a good point in your first sentence.  Again, seeing the difference from one year ago is quite an eye-opener.

As far as your second sentence goes, you know me too well!! 

To me, (at least now anyways, I didn't use to see the difference) my corresponding question is are there any PCC Alumni lamenting the fact that their students are interning at a Dr, Engineer or whatever business but the IFB students aren't?

 

[subllibrm]

Because they grew up while they were at school.

 

[Walt]

The church I attend has students attending several Bible colleges.  As the students come home for summer break I have watched from a distance.  Most of the students from IFB colleges are involved with different ministries of the church.  They are faithful to the services.  On the outside, their dress and dating standards are consistent with what they were before they left for college.

This is not necessarily a pick on PCC thread, but the difference in these students is very noticeable.  We have several PCC students.  They are uninvolved in the ministries of the church.  Their church attendance is hit-and-miss.  One of the guys has let his hair grow for the summer.  A couple of the gals wear dresses above the knee (as well as low cut) to church services.  I see pictures of them on FB in dating situations.  Very little standards.

This is not a thread to debate dress, dating, or hair standards.  This is a thread to see if you notice a difference in the behavior of students attending different Christian colleges.  Do you notice a difference in their heart for the ministry?  Do you notice a difference in their care for others? 

I don't think it has anything to do with the college, per se -- it has more to do with the students.  Summertime is showing what THEIR standards truly are when they are not being forced to conform to college rules.

I would agree with you more if I did not know the students before they left for PCC.  This was not the behavior a year ago.

Well... before they left, they were at home, I assume, and were under their parent's rules.  Most parents start to let off of the rules when the child goes to college.  I may be missing something here.

 

[Walt]

Oh....phooey, Raider you brought this up then didn't want anyone else to talk about what's bothering you. I am not a fan of the school you spoke of but I think that none of it is your business......

But if you are so moved by what you see, maybe it should move you to your knees for them.

What's bothering me is their lack of faithfulness to church, lack of serving in the church, and dropping of standards.  The OP is asking if anyone else has noticed a difference in the summer behavior of Bible college students from different Bible colleges.  Do you have any input of value or do you only see what you want to see in a post?

Well... to stick with the OP.  I didn't have a lot of contacts with Bible students coming back.  My first experience was with PCC students, who seemed to be the same as they were before they left.

Next (a few years late) was a young man who went to HAC; he came back for the summer - he had worked as a security guard, and, I think, had seen some things. He told me that most people didn't know what was going on behind the scenes.  He never went back to HAC; I'm afraid he completely gave up on God.

Then (5-10 years later), I knew several students that went to HAC; they seemed to accept everything that was taught there, and they seemed to be about the same.  They seemed to be to tend to hold the "preacher" a bit too highly - but, given where they went to school, that wasn't terribly unexpected.

About to have some new experiences with another round of college students.

 

[rsc2a]

This thread isn't about standards except that's it's really about standards.

 

[LongGone]

When I was a HAC student we were encouraged to support our home pastor and home church.  We were taught to be an asset to the ministry of our home church during the summer.  We were encouraged to be faithful to the services and not to drop our standards.  I have seen many young people from many Bible colleges come home for the summer and follow the same policies.

The PCC students were the first Bible college students that I had noticed going another direction.  Thus, the reason for this thread.

When I was a student at HAC (1975-80) we were encouraged not to go home and support our home church but to stay in Crown Point and continue  our ministry. Not going home on holidays was encouraged because no one would be there to run our bus routes. There maybe multiple ways not to support your home church.

 

[JrChurch]

We only have 2 PCC students.  One finished her first year and I have not noticed a change in her.  The second graduated and he is as conservative as ever.  He said there is a wide variety of people at PCC whose standards at home are also wide in variety.  In his opinion, the students are overall respectful of the standards at PCC because they choose to attend the school with full knowledge of the rules, then return to their own standards at home.

 

[Lone Ranger]

The church I attend has students attending several Bible colleges.  As the students come home for summer break I have watched from a distance.  Most of the students from IFB colleges are involved with different ministries of the church.  They are faithful to the services.  On the outside, their dress and dating standards are consistent with what they were before they left for college.

This is not necessarily a pick on PCC thread, but the difference in these students is very noticeable.  We have several PCC students.  They are uninvolved in the ministries of the church.  Their church attendance is hit-and-miss.  One of the guys has let his hair grow for the summer.  A couple of the gals wear dresses above the knee (as well as low cut) to church services.  I see pictures of them on FB in dating situations.  Very little standards.

This is not a thread to debate dress, dating, or hair standards.  This is a thread to see if you notice a difference in the behavior of students attending different Christian colleges.  Do you notice a difference in their heart for the ministry?  Do you notice a difference in their care for others? 

This thread isn't about standards except that's it's really about standards.

The original post of this thread is only about standards to the extent that it questions the change in standards.  A change in standards means different things to different people.  Because all of us have some standards, and very few of us might have exactly the same standards, all of us see a decline of standards in a little different light.

To some it means standards have been compromised. (A bad thing)
To some it means the individuals in question have become less legalistic. (A good thing)

Most people agree that standards comprise the externals; the outward appearance. Raider is questioning the internals in his post by mentioning the difference in behavior, heart for ministry and care for others. When Christ rebuked the Pharisees for their legalism, it wasn't as much that their external standards were too high, but that their internal behavior, heart for ministry and care for others was lacking.  When we observe our church's college kids returning for the summer it is their heart for God and desire to serve that we would like to see.  Sadly it seems that if we see a negative change in their internal heart, we also see a corresponding decline in their external standards, and vice versa. 

Is it possible to have a decline in external standards without a decline in heart for God?  If the answer is NO, then rsc2a is correct in saying that "it's really about standards."  If the answer is YES, then the argument can be made (which many on this forum do make) that a person can lose his legalism and still retain his heart for God.

 

[subllibrm]

Pretty standard thread if you ask me.