When I was a young boy I used to be a pretty particular eater.

I can remember going out for meals with my family and having to stress my order to the server because there were certain things I just wouldn’t eat.  It seemed like I was always asking for things to be cooked a certain way, or for certain items to be substituted, withheld or put on in excess.

I can even remember going out for breakfast on Sundays, after church, and regularly ordering off of the ‘A la carte’ portion of the menu — typically a giant, glazed cinnamon roll, a side of bacon and a large glass of orange juice — no joke.  My dad would roll his eyes upon hearing my order  — I imagine it had more to do with the fact that my ‘A la carte’ order was going to cost him more than anyone else’s regular meal — more so than the fact that it was such a nutritious option.

Thankfully I grew out of this unhealthy and obnoxious way of eating — for the most part.

It would appear, however, that this odd manner of eating must have been a part of my DNA, and somehow passed along to my daughter Kaiya.

This little two and a half year old is the queen of the snack!  She loves anything sweet and sugary — especially donuts.  If left to her on devices, she would likely attempt to survive on some combination of donuts, pretzels, fishy crackers, animal crackers and water.  She can frequently be heard protesting the call to mealtime, stating how she would much rather have a snack.

We’re doing our best to help her understand her need for a healthy, balanced diet — and describing for her how God uses this to grow our bodies in all the right ways — but she’s still pretty fixated on her snacks.

I find myself increasingly drawing parallels to a lot of the Christians I run across on campus today — not ALL of them — but definitely too many of them.  It’s an ‘A la carte’ kind of faith that they seem to be ‘practicing’.

I like salvation and blessing, so I think I’ll ask for some extra portions of those…

And I’m not really into the whole obedience, sacrifice, submission and waiting on God’s timing… so, I think I’ll request a hold on those things…

And worship and fellowship are kind of cool… when I don’t have anything else to do… so maybe I’ll just ask for a smaller portion of those, and maybe get them in a to-go container so I can access them when I’m ready to.

OH! And I LOVE service… so let me get like three of those!

I don’t mean to come across calus or cold, but it seems to me that there are a lot of students out there who seem to think being a Christian is like ordering off of the ‘A la carte’ menu at there favorite restaurant — and they can simply take what they want and leave what they don’t.

And why not?  Isn’t this the message that our culture sends them in regards to just about everything else in life?

The college years are some of the most formative of life.

I’m convinced that God wants to use these years in the lives of our students in some profound ways… but He needs them to choose Him, to put Him first.

I believe that discipleship has become obsolete in the lives of most of our students — and we need to have a part in changing that.  Our students cannot postpone their spiritual formation until some later date.  The time is now!

Worship, discipleship, fellowship and service must ALL be explored, expressed, understood and integrated into the everyday lives of our students. They cannot expect to experience God, and mature into the women and men God desires them to be, if they’re not willing to make the kinds of choices that will include healthy doses of a wide variety of spiritual disciplines and practices.

Convincing our students of their NEED may prove to be as challenging as convincing my two and a half year old daughter that the well-balanced meals she’s offered are SO much better for her than those little snacks she so often craves.

What do you think?

• Are you seeing signs of ‘A la carte’ Christians on your campus?
• If so, what are you doing to address this issue?

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Guy Chmieleski is the University Minister at Belmont University.  You can connect with Guy right here at faithoncampus.com.

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