What's So Special About Special Talks

Is belief in God incompatible with science? If God is good, why do we suffer? What does the Bible say about mental health? Aren’t all religions equally valid anyways? 

One refreshing thing about college is that it’s a time to ask meaningful questions. In these four years, barriers are lowered and students have the space and freedom to consider the big questions in life. Christians and non-Christians have pondered these topics and wondered if Christianity has compelling and intellectual responses to them. Because more traditional sermons might rarely touch upon these topics, most people have never heard entire talks dedicated to their intellectual questions. With this need in mind, many Gracepoint mentors have developed special talks that address common questions and misconceptions held by someone investigating Christianity.

Godwin giving his talk on the problem of pain and suffering at St. John’s University

Godwin giving his talk on the problem of pain and suffering at St. John’s University in Queens, New York

Birth of an Idea

The CPIs and New York University students at Daniel Shan’s talk in Manhattan, New York

The CPIs and New York University students at Daniel Shan’s talk in Manhattan, New York

On their mission trip through the Tri-State (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) with the CPIs, Pastor Manny and Sunny realized that students across the Northeast were excited about these special talks even at an improbable time: finals week! At Stony Brook University and St. John’s University, seventy students came to hear Godwin Law’s presentation on the problem of pain and suffering. At Stevens’ Institute of Technology and New Jersey Institute of Technology, Pastor Manny gave a talk on happiness and purpose, and students from across Manhattan came together to hear Daniel Shan’s presentation on how a good God could allow suffering. From Hoboken to Philadelphia to Long Island, college students were excited to consider these big questions. 

Coming back from the mission trip, Pastor Manny and Sunny challenged the mentors to prepare their own special talks during their winter break to give in the spring semester, and people chose a wide variety of topics and angles. Some developed their own angles on talks that were previously given, such as “The Case for the Resurrection'' and “Do All Religions Lead to God?” Some, though, researched and wrote talks on original topics that resonated with their personal interests and hot topics for college students. For example, the Boston University mentors developed several new talks based on their interests and stories. I collaborated with another mentor on a talk called “Why I left Church and Why I Came Back,” and two others worked on a talk called “The Christian Perspective on Mental Health.” Other mentors worked on general interest topics like “The Attention Economy” and “Stress Management.” 

Preparing a Special Talk

“Why I Left Church, and Why I Came Back” talk for Boston University students

“Why I Left Church, and Why I Came Back” talk for Boston University students

Returning to Boston after Christmas, many mentors from the Boston church gathered to dry-run the talks, give feedback, and sharpen the talks for the spring semester. All this hard work led to new opportunities on campus! At BU, Joy, Daniel, and I shared our stories of leaving church as college students after being raised in Christian families and the factors that led us to give Christianity another chance. It turned out that many students could resonate with our experiences and were addressed by advice that we gave. The talk on mental health in college was timely as college students across the nation are facing an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety. We also had a “Do All Religions Lead to God” talk which was helpful for non-Christian and Christian students alike as many had wondered why Christianity makes such exclusive claims. 

I remember clearly times in college where my hard questions were addressed by talks like these and how important it is to hear the best arguments from the best scholars in Christianity. It was exciting to consider the questions of college students on the BU campus, and to do my best to research and prepare material that would resonate with them. It opened my eyes to what even a little bit of hard work can accomplish and how every Christian can equip themselves to share the gospel and address common arguments and questions.

 
Hannah Olstead is one of the college blogging staff writers with Gracepoint Boston
Hannah Olmstead (c/o 2021) graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a double major in Economics and Public Policy. Has been compared to: Hermione Granger and The Wicked Witch of the West.

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