Why have Room Meetings?
The Need for Room Meetings
Why does Heartland have residence hall “room meetings”? One resident likes the lights on, but another wants to have the curtains drawn to keep the room as dark as possible. People may be early risers or “night owls.” Some students use earbuds, while others prefer speakers. One student’s desk is cluttered, but their roommate must keep things organized. This young lady orders a Coke, but that one asks for soda. Oklahomans bunk alongside Texans. Loud chewers snack, while their friends try to concentrate and study. The list could go on indefinitely. None of us is “perfect.” With all these differences, the potential for conflict within the residence halls is always present.
This is why we have room meetings that are distinct to Heartland. Room meetings were designed to help students grow in biblical unity and practice God’s design for resolving conflict. Time is set aside throughout the semester for each room to sit down and purposefully share blessings, address problems, and pray together.
Unity Requires Effort
God created us in His image, and yet each person is unique. Our uniqueness, combined with our sin nature, can lead us to erroneously believe that spiritual unity is unattainable. We can also mistakenly believe unity is something that “just happens”, requiring minimal effort.
However, God’s Word tells us differently: Psalm 133:1 declares, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Romans 12:18 states, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” Unity is possible, but it takes work.
Clear Biblical Direction
Our human nature generally wants to avoid conflict and confrontation; however, God gave believers the ministry of reconciliation. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus Christ reconciled us to God. He then gave us the responsibility to model that attribute in our daily lives (2 Corinthians 5:18). Sticking our head in the sand and avoiding all conflict would be disobedient to God’s command. When there is an offense, we have clear, biblical direction on how to bring restoration to a relationship (Matthew 18:15).
Students lead busy lives. Sometimes, because of contrasting schedules, they do not see their roommates regularly. Room meetings provide an opportunity for roommates to connect and share what God is doing in their lives, reach out for accountability, and draw closer together in the Spirit. Reading Scripture and praying together facilitates a spiritual “greenhouse” for unity.
Without room meetings, roommates can sometimes become disjointed with a selfish focus. Also, when structured time is not set aside for room meetings, care for each other can be disregarded.
Looking back on my time, living in the residence hall as a student, the benefits of room meetings in my own life astound me. I love each of my former roommates, but I have a special connection with some of them. Room meetings were especially important to developing that connection. We shared what was on our hearts, prayed for each other, and “sharpened” each other (Proverbs 27:17). The result was life-long friendships built on a solid foundation.
Kari Quinlan, Dean of Women
The Complete College Student
A life of emptiness or a life of fulfillment?
Have you ever played the game “Would You Rather”? Often, on a road trip, my 12-year-old son will start coming up with strange scenarios.
“Would you rather have a flying carpet or a car that can drive underwater? Would you rather have unlimited sushi for life or unlimited tacos for life?” In a game like that, the possibilities are endless and there is room for differing opinions, but, when you start asking real-world questions, the correct choices should be clear.
Would you rather live a life of emptiness or a life of fulfillment? Would you rather be insecure without Christ or secure in Christ? Even though we know some choices in life should be “no-brainers”, oftentimes, our behavior reveals our confusion about the choices we make. Sometimes, what we say we desire is contrary to our actual behavior. Our behavior will reveal what we truly want.
Beware! Lookout! Pay attention!
It shouldn’t shock us that those who are outside of Christ struggle with the idea of significance. What’s unfortunate is that many believers struggle as well. Most of us have felt, at times, like we don’t measure up, but how should we respond to those feelings? Every Bible college student will benefit when they “come to grips” with a biblical perspective about significance.
Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
Paul says, “Beware, . . .” take caution, look out, “ . . . lest any man spoil you.” The idea of the word “spoil” is to take captive or take possession of something, as in an army taking the spoils of war. We are in danger of being spoiled, or being taken captive—not in a physical battle, but in the spiritual battle for our minds.
Don’t be deceived! People will try to tell you that philosophy will bring spiritual enlightenment or that traditions of men are the key to fulfillment. Paul says in Colossians 2:9, “For in him [Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily”. Everything that God desires for us to have is found in Christ. You are not completed by philosophy, traditions of men, religious activity, dietary laws, peer acceptance, or by following holy days, but, rather, you are complete in Christ! Everything in your life depends upon your relationship with Christ; He needs to be the central focus of your life.
Understanding Who You Are In Christ
If Christ is sufficient to meet the greatest need of your life – reconciliation with God – He is also sufficient to give you fulfillment. He is sufficient to save you AND complete you.
Being at Bible college can cause some to think that they have to live up to man’s ideas, traditions, rules, and religious activities to be complete, but, the truth is, if you’ve been born again, your completion is not in any of these things, but, rather, in Christ. This shouldn’t cause us to be self-confident. We shouldn’t say, “Oh, yeah, I can handle this,” but, rather, we should simply rest in Him. If you weren’t perfect when Christ saved you, you don’t need to be perfect for Him to love you now.
I can fully rest in the fact that I am right before God—not because of who I am, but because of Who Christ is.
Rest in Christ
Rest in the confidence of who you are in Christ. If you think, “I’m not good enough, I can’t measure up.”; you’re right! The world would say you’re good enough and that you have goodness inside of you, but the Bible says you have no goodness inside of you. However, we can have a righteousness that is not our own. I have righteousness that was given to me when I was placed in Christ on the day I was saved. When I understand that I am in Christ, and that I have the righteousness of Christ, which no one can take away, in me, then I can fully rest in the fact that I am right before God—not because of who I am, but because of Who Christ is.
You Are Accepted In Him
You can rightfully say, “I’m okay with not being good enough. I’m alright with that.” Why? Because, Christ is all you need. You don’t need to measure up to man’s standards if you have done what Christ has demanded of you and are accepted in Him.
It sounds strange, but we waste hours looking for moments of fulfillment, moments of acceptance, and moments of approval. Those moments become idols that keep us from what truly satisfies. When Christ is given the “leftovers” of our lives, the result is emptiness.
Are you content in your relationship with Christ? Are you finding fulfillment and significance through your relationship with Him? Your relationships, accomplishments, and performance in life will not provide lasting fulfillment or complete you. Lasting fulfillment will only come through your relationship with Christ as you understand that you are complete in Him. Everything you need is in Christ – delight in Him!
Bible College Is a Safe Environment
Bible College Is a Safe Environment
Another good reason to consider Bible college is that you will be immersed in a safe environment.
When I think of safe environments, I think of clean-rooms where everything is white and germ-free. Or, I think of an overprotective mom who has wrapped her child in bubble wrap so he won’t get any bumps or bruises.
No, Bible college is not exactly that… but it’s close.
Most Bible college students are entering college right out of high school. It is their first time away from home. It is their first taste of “freedom.”
For a parent, giving a child any freedom is terrifying. “What will my child do? Will he make the right choice? Will she follow what we taught her to do?”
Scary thought.
Now, imagine if she was in a situation where everything she had been taught her whole life was being turned on its head. Imagine, for instance, that your child goes to a secular university as a biology major. All her life, all she has known is the Bible and creation. Now, she is immersed in a hostile, Bible-hating environment. She is taught every day and by everyone that creation is a myth and evolution is true science. In essence, she is taught that everything she has ever known is wrong. Her whole world is intensely attacked. From the classroom to the dorm room, from the textbook to the internet chatter—everything is against her.
Safe environment? Hardly. No matter how strong she is, she has to be at least a little bit affected by it all, right?
Now imagine a boy who has been taught that the Bible is God’s Word and that it is absolute truth. Perhaps he does not know all the depths of theology or perhaps he is not able to defend every point of Christianity, but he has a solid grasp of basic Bible doctrines. He has always been taught to use the King James Bible and serve in a local, Independent Baptist church. While he may not completely understand all the reasons, he knows that is what he believes. Imagine, now, that he goes to Bible college. At Bible college, instead of everything he has ever believed being turned on its head, it is reinforced! Rather than hearing all the objections to his core beliefs, he is receiving systematic reasons as to why, in fact, he should believe that way.
Bible college reinforces
Bible college is a safe environment because it reinforces rather than breaks down everything a child has learned in a godly home and in church. At a good Bible college (one recommended by your pastor), the student receives encouragement to follow the Bible. Any prospective student should be wary of any institution that will cause doubts about whether the Bible is God’s Word.
Will a child fail at life if he does not attend Bible college? Of course not. But Bible college can only help reinforce what has always been taught at home and in the home church.
Bible college in general is safer
Not only is Bible college a safe place for a person’s beliefs, but life in general is safer. I do not necessarily mean that driving conditions are safer or the weather is milder; rather, I mean that living in a structured environment with rules similar to home will help in this transition time of life.
For many students, their first time away from home is when they attend college. Should we automatically assume that they are grown up and can make godly decisions all the time? I don’t even assume that about myself now!
Bible college is regulated, scheduled, strict, and clean
Bible college provides a safe environment because it is regulated, scheduled, strict, and clean. Students are required to sign in and out rather than just given complete freedom to come and go as they please. Having a curfew and lights out rather than allowing an open free-for-all until late into the night. Students are monitored on their ministry involvement, class attendance, workload, academic excellence, church attendance, chapel attendance, and more.
“That’s so strict!” you might think.
Safety always has boundaries and limits. Freedom is never the absence of limitations. Rather, it is an understanding and compliance to those boundaries.
A Bible college student will have much more freedom than he had in high school, no doubt; especially if he is away from home for the first time. However, without unlimited freedom, Bible college is a safer environment than almost any other environment in the world.
Bible college provides a safe environment for all areas of life
Parents, are you worried about what will happen to your child after graduation? Are you battling the internal conflict of wanting them to grow up… but not wanting them to grow up? Are you concerned that no place will be as safe as home? Are you worried they will not be taught well? Or that they will not find good friends? Or that everything they have ever known will be undermined?
Bible college is the safest place you could put them, most likely. As much as humanly possible, Bible college provides a safe environment for teaching, for socializing, and for all areas of life.
About the Author
Ryan Rench serves as the youth director and associate pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Temecula, CA, under his father’s leadership, Pastor W. M. Rench. Ryan’s family moved to Temecula in 1987 to plant the church where Ryan was reared and is now on staff. He earned his Master’s Degree in Ministry from Heartland Baptist Bible College in 2010. Ryan Rench married his wife, Jamie, in 2008, and they have three children: Abe, Charlotte, and Gwen. Ryan blogs at RyanRench.com and has published several books, including, A Case For Bible College and One Youth Pastor’s Toolbox, available from Calvary Baptist Publications.