Every year around May we get people in looking for graduation gifts. It’s not May yet but it’s never too soon to have some ideas ready. This year I plan on recommending Derek Melleby’s newest book Make College Count. Not every graduate is going to college. I know that. But for the ones who have their eyes on college this book is a gem. Let me just give you my three selling points which I think makes this a great gift.
1) It’s short. Why is that important? Well, if you want them to read it you can’t give them something that reminds them of their school text books. It is just over 100 pages and can be read in a couple of hours or sooner if you’re a speed reader. I’ve seen a lot of students get books but didn’t even crack the cover because they looked at the 200+ pages and thought “Who am I kidding? I’ll never finish this.” Now a short length is no guarantee they’ll read it but if the size is manageable that’s half the battle.
2) It places college in a bigger picture. Derek’s second chapter is called “Finding Your Place in God’s Story.” This is an important chapter because not only does the student position himself in the broader picture of God’s story (i.e., It’s not all about you.) but it helps the student to see how college fits in that story. Here’s how Derek puts it (the quote is from Cornelius Plantinga’s book Engaging God’s World):
“One theologian provides a nice summary of the place of education in God’s world: ‘One way to love God is to know and love God’s work. Learning is therefore a spiritual calling: properly done, it attaches us to God. In addition, the learned person has, so to speak, more to the Christian with.’ Learning is a calling. If we do it well, we are attached to God and we have more to serve him with. This is the vision we need: college is about increasing our serviceability for God.” (34, emphasis his)
3) It’s full of good, sound advice. There is some important counsel that every teen needs to hear before leaving the security of a home such as the importance of owning your faith and securing your identity in Christ. There is a great chapter on the importance of community. But it doesn’t stop with just a simple admonition of “go to church.” Derek explains some of the wisdom behind this advice.
“Earlier I tried to get you to think about your life story, about the direction that your story is going to take, and about these next few critical college chapters of your story. Remember, your story is not about you. It’s about finding your place in God’s story. But it’s also not about you in another way: there are other people in this story. There are other characters who will often determine the way your story will go. Surrounding yourself with a good cast of characters is crucial to transitioning well. The cast you choose should include people who will care for you, look out for your well-being, and bring you along in the faith. Choose wisely.” (76)
I can attest to this. When I first went to college I went with my best friend at the time. We both were active in church and our youth ministry. Once we got there I wanted to find a good campus ministry–he wanted to find the closest night club. I went to the night clubs with him but he opted out of the campus ministry. Within a year he had given up on anything to do with Christianity and we eventually went our separate ways. Surrounding yourself with the right people is crucially important.
Derek’s book is also filled with additional resources and each chapter includes a short interview with a college student. If you’re looking for a graduation gift I would highly encourage you to check out Make College Count.
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