Worldview at the Abbey is a Christian gap year program associated with Worldview Academy summer camps. Bill Jack, Jeff Baldwin, August Huckabee, and Hannah Hall founded the Abbey in 2014, and the curriculum centers around a Socratic teaching of classical texts in general education classes such as literature, political science, history, and economics, as well as teaching rhetoric, and apologetics from a Christian worldview. Along with classroom teaching, students engage in community service and leadership initiatives throughout the year to solidify the teaching in the classroom.
Listen to Founder of Worldview Academy and Political Science Professor Dr. Todd Kent speak on the current situation with Syria, and different questions to be asked and answered by Christians in light of the situation.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) This is Jesus’ response to the crowds who followed him around the sea. His heart was for the people, both when they were clamoring to see him and when they were crucifying him.
Last Wednesday, the students from Worldview at the Abbey went evangelizing with the students from Worldview Academy Fall Camp. In Colorado Springs, the students engaged crowds of college students and faculty with the question, “What’s wrong with the world?” If the opportunity arose, the students asked if the problems with the world are internal or external problems. This question directs the conversation towards the problem of sin which perverts our very nature as human beings.
One of main reasons we have students engage in street evangelism at the Abbey is so that they can personally interact with the crowds. As they stare the college students in the eye, the lost cease to be an abstraction and become a series of names and faces in the students’ minds and hearts. When you are learning a lot about the errors in other’s ways, it is easy to become arrogant. This arrogance is broken down by spending time with people who are hurting.
One of the Abbey students asked a young college student, “What is your purpose in life?” The college student responded by breaking down into tears, exclaiming that she didn’t know what her purpose was. The Abbey student embraced her and explained the gospel to her. Another group of Abbey students ran across a college student who proclaimed his position with language so confusing that the Abbey students could barely understand what he was saying. This college student was likely hiding his insecurities behind his large vocabulary.
The crowds are like sheep without a shepherd. The Abbey students learned this first hand, and were filled with compassion. At the end of the day, Jesus Christ is their shepherd, and he will call them to himself. The sheep will be lost no more.
By Nathan Pegors
This Saturday we wrapped up our second semiannual Preview at the Abbey. Students from as far away as Indiana and Washington traveled to Canon City, Colorado to participate in classes taught by Bill Jack, Nathan Pegors and Jeff Baldwin and to learn more about the Worldview at the Abbey bridge year program.
The event kicked off Friday afternoon with a brief welcome in the library, followed by a discussion comparing presuppositionalism and evidentialism in our Advanced Worldview and Apologetics course taught by Nathan Pegors. After a rousing pick-up game of ultimate frisbee and a delicious dinner, students and their parents enjoyed a Night at the Movies with chancellor Bill Jack.
After breakfast on Saturday, prospective students watched our current students lead a museum tour and then reconvened in the library to hear provost Jeff Baldwin teach how to find the central theme in literature and in movies. The cafeteria provided a satisfying lunch highlighted by BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, and then it was time for a short farewell ceremony.
Ten prospective students attended the weekend with their parents. Enrollment at Worldview at the Abbey will be capped at 24 students in 2016. We will offer a second Preview at the Abbey March 18th - 19th. Contact Hannah Hall at hhall@worldview.org for more information.
This past weekend we had the privilege of volunteering at a Christian conference center called Horn Creek. Greeted by the smell of pines and golden aspen leaves, we arrived Friday evening and enjoyed dinner meeting the young people who work at the conference center and attend a gap year program of their own. We jumped in to help them clean up dinner and spent the evening developing new friendships.
Saturday morning came early, and we embarked on a day full of staining porches to prepare Horn Creek for winter weather. Jim, our volunteer coordinator, spoke with our students about the purpose behind volunteer work, describing Jesus’ emphasis on servant leadership. With cans of stain and paint brushes in hand, we broke into groups and worked as teams to stain fifteen cabin porches, a few picnic tables, and almost an entire fence before lunch.
The real test of humility and stamina began when we returned to work after lunch. Tired of moving…of stain…of new projects, we spent the next four and a half hours serving in spite of self-seeking attitudes. We were challenged to evaluate our motivations and learned how to enjoy the afternoon by valuing hard work and looking to each other and God for encouragement. Saturday evening we were exhausted. The day had been a leadership practicum for students to put into practice what they had learned in the classroom.
Sunday we attended church together and helped clean rooms, readying the conference center for a new group of people arriving the following day. Our students cleaned toilets, showers, cabinets, and floors for no monetary pay, yet they saw delight and thankfulness evident in the Horn Creek workers’ eyes. A fulfilling weekend—the students learned about giving without return, working through hardship, developing friendships in short amounts of time, and being empowered with responsibility. Staining our hands last weekend taught us about what it means to have contrite hearts.
By Hannah Sharp
You and I as Christians tend to think the same way as the world around us. It is not because we lack faith, but rather that secular thinking is pressed upon us by the culture. However, we are called to conform our thinking to the truth expressed in the Bible. As Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” How can we conform our minds to Christ’s?
At Worldview at the Abbey, we earnestly seek to conform our minds to Christ’s, and one way we put this into practice is through zoo and museum tours. Zoos and museums are the worship centers of secular culture; people go there to experience the awe and wonder that Christians experience in church. They choose not to worship God and instead worship His creation.
Last Friday, Worldview at the Abbey experienced a zoo tour led by Bill Jack. He gave this tour as an example so students can lead their own tour in the coming weeks. During the tour, Bill sought to undermine the secular concepts that have invaded Christian thinking and replace them with biblical truth. For example, when the students visited the giraffes, Bill asked them whether or not the giraffe was designed or an accident. The students responded that it was designed. He then asked who designed it. Many students answered, “God.” Bill responded that they can use the J-word, Jesus. Bill led the students through this line of questioning at every animal we visited, reminding all of us that Jesus designed each animal.
This reminder is required to retrain our thinking. As we go out into the culture, we need the courage to speak truthfully, to unapologetically describe each trend and object in accordance with the Bible. This mindset is not politically correct, but it is biblically correct. The students learned that secular culture either worships animals or destroys them. Some members of culture seek to preserve animals, but they elevate animal life so highly that human life is diminished in comparison. Examine the laws concerning eagle eggs versus unborn human beings and you will see the difference. Other members seek only to exploit animals for their value, like those who kill rhinos for their horns. This selfish destruction opposes biblical stewardship.
Christians can help non-Christians take care of animals. One way to inspire good stewardship of animal life is to eat the animal. By “eat,” I mean find a way the animal benefits man so others will have a reason to take care of it. For example, bison were nearly wiped out by those who sought to harm the Native Americans by destroying their main food source. Today, around half a million bison are owned by ranchers who sell the meat, which is delicious and low in cholesterol and fat. Bison are now being preserved because man has found a use for them, and thus he is interested in keeping them healthy. We can be good stewards of animals and use them for our benefit.
Retraining our thinking is neither an easy nor fully comfortable process. Confessing out loud during the tour that Jesus designed each animal was uncomfortable, but it is true. We as Christians need to bear witness to the truth. We need to enter the public square and proclaim truth, not only so others can hear it, but so our children can watch us stand for what is true.
By Nathan Pegors
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