Great Sand Dunes National Park: A Practicum in Servant Leadership

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One day, when the Apostles were bickering about who should be considered the “greatest,” their enigmatic teacher turned their worlds upside-­down: “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves” (Luke 22:25­26). Talk about a paradigm-­shift!

Today, we're still wrestling with that paradigm-­shift at Worldview at the Abbey. Christ calls His followers to die to themselves and imitate Him—to look for ways to serve others instead of lording it over them. The Lord of the universe served us even unto death on a cross! We need to be serious about the business of serving others.

In my experience, one of the best ways to teach the biblical concept of servant leadership is through wilderness adventures—especially camping and hiking. Teachers can talk about serving until we're blue in the face, but the sin nature is stubborn. It's easy for students to hear about servant leadership while still practicing subtle forms of selfishness—perceiving themselves as the center of the universe and viewing everyone else as on the periphery. But life in the wild makes such a position untenable!

This weekend, Worldview at the Abbey camped at Great Sand Dunes National Park near Alamosa, Colorado. Our students had a wonderful time, hiking up Mosca Pass to almost 10,000 feet above sea level, climbing in the sand dunes (you can't really appreciate how high those dunes are until you're trudging up them!), and splashing in Zapata Falls. But they also learned, in a practical way, how to serve their classmates.

Camping is a stretch for everyone. You might be good at building fires or pitching your tent, but you might also be a lousy cook. Those who can carry lots of firewood might not be so good at boiling water. We find places where we are weak and places where we are strong. And suddenly we're not at the center of the universe anymore. 

If the team wants to get on the trail at nine in the morning, then those who are good at cutting potatoes need to cut the potatoes, and those who are good at building the fire need to build the fire. Every team member needs to look around and see where he can serve the team. Is your tent-­mate wrestling with the rainfly? Help him out. Do you see that someone forgot to fill their water bottles? Fill them up. You can only move when your team is ready to move, so you need eyes that see how to help your team.

Granted, there could be some selfish motives involved here. But the principle is firm: the team benefits when you notice and serve. The team spins its wheels when you stay at the center of your universe.

And as odd as it sounds, a big part of serving is simply noticing. Once we get in the habit of looking at other people—really looking—and seeing where they struggle, we've put ourselves in a position to serve. The Spirit will still have to lead, but we've opened the door. We'll never serve well if we don't notice where service should happen.

This principle holds true on the trail. Are you a faster hiker than some of your teammates? Well, you can set the pace and walk them into the ground in the first mile— preventing everyone from making it to the top—or you can notice when people need a rest or a slower pace or a sip of water. You can serve them by putting their needs ahead of your own need to show how fast you can hike.

As I mentioned earlier, the whole team made it to the top of Mosca Pass. Everyone! Which tells you all you need to know about the lessons learned this past weekend. Our students took big strides toward practicing servant leadership. We can't wait to see them living this sort of life every day in the dorm!

By Jeff Baldwin

Rafting the Arkansas River through Bighorn Sheep Canyon

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Our class experienced the wonder of God's creation while riding the rapids of the Arkansas River last Saturday afternoon.  The guides challenged each paddler's biblical foundation through presenting rafting the river as an analogy for trusting God amidst the challenges of live.  In the same way it was important for us to listen to the instructions of our guide while navigating each rapid, it is important for believers to be continuously attune to the truth of God's word. 

 

Preview at the Abbey Announcement!

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We are excited to announce that Worldview at the Abbey is hosting its second Preview at the Abbey on October 9th - 10th! 

Preview is a weekend for prospective students to visit our campus, attend classes, meet current students, and receive a hands-on experience of our program. October 9th - 10th is the weekend preceding Worldview Academy Colorado Fall Camp, enabling you to combine two Colorado Worldview experiences into one trip! 

To view a sample schedule for Preview at the Abbey or register for the weekend, visit our website and click Preview at the Abbey under the Events tab. We look forward to meeting you as you explore making Worldview at the Abbey part of your future plans! 

If you have any questions about our program or Preview at the Abbey, feel free to email Hannah Hall at hhall@worldview.org. We would love to serve you as you seek God's guidance for your next steps! 

Worldview at the Abbey: Apprehend, Apply, Articulate Your Faith

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At Worldview at the Abbey, we have nine months of discipleship and academics with students. In that time, we want them to take away three primary objectives:

1.     To apprehend their faith. When commonly thinking of the word apprehend, one thinks of taking hold of or arresting, but it also means to comprehend or understand. We want both for our students.

We teach using the Socratic method, which means that the classroom is driven by dialogue rather than only by lectures. Because of this, students have to prepared ahead of class in order to do well academically, which teaches initiative and responsibility for their studies. 

But taking hold of education is not where we stop. We also use classical literature for our reading, and our curriculum constantly revolves around examining the foundations of the concepts being dealt with, the biblical understanding of the subject, and the consequences of those foundations on modern society. This allows students to better evaluate and understand the worldview behind the art, media, and classrooms of our culture. 

2.     To apply their faith. If students grow in academic and intellectual knowledge but miss out on the practical difference that makes in their lives, we consider ourselves to have failed. Our students participate in formulating their own evangelism tools, synthesizing their own biblically correct zoo and museum tours (courtesy of Bill Jack), and participate in numerous hands-on leadership practicums such as a camping trip, rafting trip, and high ropes course where the concepts they are learning in class have the opportunity to be acted on in a real-life scenario.

On top of these, we require students to have a certain number of community involvement hours per week. We call it community involvement very intentionally because we don’t want students to segregate doing evangelism and being in an everyday community, but rather to go into the community and make friends with people who may not be believers. Doing this allows them to put a face and name with a different Worldview than their own, which brings in the element of compassion to what they are learning. 

3.     To articulate their faith. In this present culture, our safe areas in Christianity are shrinking, and we will increasingly be viewed as bigoted, judgmental, and close-minded. The vision of the Abbey is to train up leaders who not only apply the Christian faith to their lives, but can speak eloquently, persuasively, and coherently on what Christianity is, and the practical consequences it has on our lives.

It is vital that we stand out ground on issues such as abortion and homosexuality, but can we articulate why we do so in such a way that communicates care and love for those around us? We believe that Christianity has consequences not only for the future life but for this present one, and we want to train leaders who can stand, lead, and give a consistent defense of their faith in truth and grace.

As 2 Corinthians 10 reminds us, we wage a war against ideas and lofty arguments that set themselves up against the truth of God, and the whomever it is in the next generation who can speak well and give an answer to the questions of society will lead the culture – and that is what we’re teaching and training students to do at Worldview Academy’s Bridge Year. That is our vision, and we hope you will consider us in your future. 

Servant Leadership at Teenpact Oregon

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Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Teenpact Leadership School's State Class in Oregon and teach a few evening sessions. If you haven't heard of them, Teenpact is an organization that travels to state capitols across the country and puts on student-led classes on how state government works, what students can do to be involved in the political process, and what the Bible has to say about government. 

One of the evening sessions I had the opportunity to do was the Worldview Academy staple on Servant Leadership. If you have a little time to spare I hope you can benefit from hearing it! 


Why a year at the Abbey

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We recently had a Preview at the Abbey weekend here in Colorado. Prospective students from across the nation had a chance to come sit in on classes, meet current students, and speak with professors of our program about just what is going on in the inaugural year of our program.  

On the final morning of the weekend, one young man pulled me aside and had a very legitimate question for me. He said, “It has been great to be here and be a part of experiencing this place, but I wanted to hear from you: Why should I come here instead of going straight into college once I graduate from high school?”

It’s a question that we’ve been working to answer all year, and that we will continue to define in the future. What sets us apart – not only in terms of academics, but actual experience? Students considering coming here have to be willing to give up a year of “progress” that they could be working on in college – are we really better than that?

My answer is unequivocally yes, and though I may be biased, it is my job to implement that answer for every student that chooses to attend our program. I wanted to share the response I gave him in case someone considering us had a similar question:

1.     Academics: Regardless of whether or not a student comes from a classical background, our curriculum is meant to be challenging.  With a reading list that includes Plato, Martin Luther, Thomas Paine, and Milton Friedman, students from all educational backgrounds are sure to be intellectually and academically challenged.

2.     Hands-on: During a year with us, students go on a rafting trip and then talk about teamwork, go on a camping trip and then discuss being a member of the body of Christ, and participate in a ropes course practicum and relate it back to epistemology. Colorado affords a wide variety of opportunities to connect physical activities with concepts covered in the classroom, and we make sure students take advantage of that opportunity!

3.     Community Involvement: We don’t want students to have a solely intellectual understanding of the Gospel, nor do we want them to think that evangelism is an event. While students do evangelism as part of an apologetics class, community involvement is meant to encourage them to meet people in our city and build relationship regardless of whether or not the people they meet are Christians.  As with evangelism at our summer camps, this involvement puts a face and name with opposing worldviews and provides compassion and humility in contrast to the black and white logic of the classroom. 

4.     Discipleship: This year students have traveled to faculty members' homes for different holidays, professors have joined us regularly for game or movie nights, and our Men’s and Women’s Directors live on the halls with students and lead weekly Bible studies. Students also take a class on personal development where they complete personality and spiritual gifts assessments, give presentations on vocations they are hoping to pursue, and teach classmates skills that can serve others in whatever community they end up in after our program.

These are the main qualities that I believe set us a part from a “normal” freshman year of college and from other gap-year programs, and the team here at the Abbey is committed to serving students and creating a culture in this program that is unlike any other in the nation. This program isn't for everyone. We place an emphasis on education that integrates the heart, soul, and mind and goes fay beyond simple academics. So if that mindset might be of interest to you or someone you know, then we would be honored for you to consider us. Click around on our website and check out our academics page for our full reading lists, and look over our blog or Facebook page to see more about who we are and how we obtain this vision. 

Our goal with Worldview at the Abbey is to create an academically rigorous, hands-on program that challenges students to think biblically and lead the culture for Christ. If you have any questions or would like to speak with someone about our program, go to the Contact Us tab. We can’t wait to hear from you!