{"id":301983,"date":"2010-02-22T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-22T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/ready-set-college\/"},"modified":"2010-02-22T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-02-22T17:00:00","slug":"ready-set-college","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/ready-set-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Ready, Set, College!"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Classes are finished, finals are graded, and the diploma is finally in your hand!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2010-02-22.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"21.52M","filesize_raw":"22564210","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2855],"tags":[4705],"podcast_series":[7709],"cwp_profile":[9190,3461],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-301983","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-teens","tag-college","podcast_series-college-ready","cwp_profile-john-bryson","cwp_profile-robert-lewis","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/301983\/ready-set-college","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/301983\/ready-set-college","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"25vWvjiYoQ\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/ready-set-college\/\">Ready, Set, College!<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/ready-set-college\/embed\/#?secret=25vWvjiYoQ\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Ready, Set, College!&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"25vWvjiYoQ\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var 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hand!","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2010-02-22.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Monday, February 22.\u00a0 The host of our program is Dennis Rainey, I\u2019m Bob Lepine.\u00a0 If you know somebody who is a high school senior just about to graduate, maybe headed to college in the fall, wouldn\u2019t it be great if you could get them some time with a mentor who could get them ready?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Robert:<\/strong>\u00a0 So you\u2019re going to college.\u00a0 Congratulations!\u00a0 You\u2019re in for a great adventure.\u00a0 My name is Robert Lewis and I serve as President of LifeReady\u2122.\u00a0 The organization that produced this video series that you\u2019re about to enjoy.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCollege as you\u2019re about to find out is one of life\u2019s most defining moments.\u00a0 It contains a host of new discoveries, eye-opening experiences and personal challenges that, in one way or the other, will forever change your life.\u00a0 That said the last thing you want to do is stumble into college blindly without clear direction or know-how.\u00a0 Instead, you want to be college ready.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, thanks for joining us.\u00a0 You love those drum beats don\u2019t you?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I do.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>You were ready to go, \u201cGo team!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Go back to college.\u00a0 What about you?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, I didn\u2019t get a chance to go to the \u201cHarvard of the Ozarks\u201d like you did.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Where was it that you went?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I went to the University of Tulsa, which is kind of an \u201cIvy.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s a western ivy school.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>\u201cIvy\u201d?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, that\u2019s how we referred to it.\u00a0 And I know you went to one of those big \u201cRah, rah\u201d colleges.\u00a0 We were one of the more intellectually substantive schools.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>And I think we need to move on to a more substantive interview here.\u00a0 We have an old friend joining us on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, Dr. Robert Lewis, along with a new friend John Bryson.\u00a0 John, Robert, welcome back. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Robert:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Thank you, good to be here.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Good to be here, thanks.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>John Bryson is, well he describes himself as a social entrepreneur.\u00a0 What is that John? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I like to be involved in startups and new things and enjoy the entrepreneurial side of redemptive processes.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, he\u2019s a graduate of my alma-mater, Dallas Theological Seminary, teaching pastor at Fellowship Memphis, and does a great job over there.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard a lot of people comment on his preaching.\u00a0 Robert Lewis holds the record for the most number of guest visitations here on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 He was actually checking, Bob before we came on the air, if he was going to get full credit for this.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Even though we have two people in the studio.\u00a0 And, we assured you that you get full credit.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Robert:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I\u2019m trying to stack my numbers up here.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>We also explained that in the early years of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, we were desperate and that is one of the reasons.\u00a0 Robert was local and we just grabbed what we could\u2014No I\u2019m just kidding!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Robert:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Pull me off the streets \u201cCould you fill this today?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, Robert is a good friend, he\u2019s written a number of books.\u00a0 <em>Quest for Authentic Manhood<\/em>, of course he\u2019s the creator of Men\u2019s Fraternity, which is being used in over 20,000 churches across the country.\u00a0 He has helped create something new that we want to draw the curtains back on today.\u00a0 Robert, explain what College Ready is.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Robert:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, College Ready, the genesis of it started with, actually my son and myself and some of his friends when they were about to go to college.\u00a0 My son left me note on the window of my car saying, \u201cDad, I\u2019m scared about going to college.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know anything about it.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even know what I want to do when I get there.\u201d\u00a0 So, I got him in a conversation, and that led to us getting with some other dads and their sons just talking about the college experience.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe tried to break it down into some bite sized bits to take some of the mystery out of college.\u00a0 It actually empowered those sons in a way that, I think even surprised us as dads.\u00a0 Out of that, John and I have a long relationship.\u00a0 John was a resident at our church and a church planner over in Memphis.\u00a0 But, John has a lot more expertise in this area because he worked with college students for over 11 years.\u00a0 We started talking about this and talked about assembling together a video series that could go nationwide, and empower parents, but particularly their sons and daughters, to navigate the college maze with vision.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBecause, vision is what helps those students know what they need to do when they get to college.\u00a0 We\u2019ve found, that most college students have no clue other than that they\u2019re getting into college. But they don\u2019t know how to do college.\u00a0 So, this video series is a way of giving them a vision and taking the mystery out so they look forward to where they\u2019re going to college rather than just going there.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>The reality is the issues that students are going to face as they head into the college years, they don\u2019t even know what those issues are yet.\u00a0 Do they?\u00a0 I mean they know they have to pick a major, they have to sign up for classes, and they have to move into a dorm.\u00a0 But they haven\u2019t really thought through what the next four years of their life are going to look like.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Robert:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>No, as a matter of fact, John can say some more about this.\u00a0 But when we were doing our research for this, we found out that the majority of parents think that their job as a parent is to get their kid into college, and they\u2019re done.\u00a0 One of the stunning things, about 30% of college students drop-out their first year.\u00a0 Part of the reason is they\u2019re totally unprepared for the college experience.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Thirty percent are dropping out their freshman year?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Robert:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Thirty percent.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>You know, the interesting thing is, I did a little research, too, and found out that the average college student spends $1200 in preparation for the first semester.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Are you talking about the bedspread and the furnishings for the room, and all that kind of stuff? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Exactly.In fact, the National Retail Federation reported that $3.6 billion will be spent on dorm room d\u00e9cor.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>They\u2019d like to see that number go up a little bit I\u2019m sure.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I\u2019m sure they would.\u00a0 But, this is a little bit like what we do at the Weekend to Remember Marriage Conference for pre-marrieds.\u00a0 We attempt to equip them before they get married around the issues they\u2019re going to face.\u00a0 And John, that\u2019s really what you do in this series isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 To prepare these incoming freshmen around the issues they\u2019re going to face?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>That\u2019s exactly right.\u00a0 Something Robert mentioned was just so true in my experience and in watching college students for a little over a decade.\u00a0 They don\u2019t know what they don\u2019t know.\u00a0 So these issues hit them immediately.\u00a0 It\u2019s almost like that moment.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tEvery person can remember it where, as soon as the wedding is over, like you referenced.\u00a0 Or when you bring a son home, or child home, or a daughter home, and you think, \u201cWhat in the world have I gotten myself into?\u201d\u00a0 Then everything descends on you at that moment.\u00a0 Robert used a phrase, \u201ctaking the mystery out of college,\u201d that\u2019s exactly what we try to do is equip them in the areas that matter most.\u00a0 That is severely underequipped for most 18-year-olds to head into life.\u00a0 So, we\u2019re trying to equip them for those moments.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I\u2019ll tell you what\u2019s interesting.\u00a0 Over the last several months, I\u2019ve been talking to folks, and they\u2019ve been saying, what\u2019s going on at FamilyLife?\u00a0 What\u2019s new? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019ve been talking about different project we\u2019re involved with, and I\u2019ll say, \u201cOne of the things we\u2019re working on is, we\u2019re working with Robert Lewis and the development of some video curriculum for churches, and one of the first things he\u2019s working on is this series that can be used in churches to help get students in their senior year ready for the college campus.\u00a0 As soon as I say this, it\u2019s like you start to see a little drool coming out of the side of their mouth.\u00a0 They\u2019re saying, \u201cWe need that.\u201d\u00a0 The realization of the need is huge.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Robert:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>That\u2019s exactly right.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had that exact same experience.\u00a0 And I think the reason is, because the minute you say that, that we have this series that could prepare a son or daughter for college, it just instinctively hits at the core of a parent, who thinks, \u201cI hadn\u2019t even thought about that.\u00a0 All I\u2019ve thought about is getting my kid into college.\u201d which is exactly what the research says.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, what happens is, these students go and they start the college experience as John just mentioned, and they are clueless other than maybe partying, or having some fun.\u00a0 But that first day at class they realize, no one\u2019s going to make them study, and they\u2019re asking, \u201cIs this the class I\u2019m supposed to be in?\u00a0 I don\u2019t enjoy this professor.\u201d\u00a0 This is clueless.\u00a0 And they can\u2019t connect any of the dots.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo what happens is, they end up like so many college students today, spending thousands of dollars in extra classes as they switch majors.\u00a0 They go extra years.\u00a0 They don\u2019t finish in four any more.\u00a0 It\u2019s five, six, seven years, and they wander around.\u00a0 Even when they finish, they still have no clue what they really want to do.\u00a0 What passion they really want to pursue.\u00a0 So basically what they\u2019ve done is they\u2019ve squandered four years that should have been their greatest years preparing for the future.\u00a0 And now they have to spend their twenties trying to make up for that deficit.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>John, you identified six issues that you think are the core issues that parents and students need to be interacting about prior to college.\u00a0 This series is built around those six issues.\u00a0 Right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Exactly.\u00a0 The first one really is the pre-eminent one, and the one Robert mentioned about us needing to start.\u00a0 Begin with the end in mind.\u00a0 It all starts with vision.\u00a0 We really challenge in the opening session, students to picture themselves on their graduation day.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn each of these key areas whether it\u2019s empowering friendships, or excelling academically, or fun, or doing relationships well, and friendships well and growing spiritually.\u00a0 We get them to think about where they want to be at their graduation day.\u00a0 And then reverse engineer their life to make the wise investments of that freedom we\u2019ve mentioned, so they can be propelled into their twenties and young adulthood, not digging out of a hole, as we\u2019ve already mentioned.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>So you start them on vision.\u00a0 What are the other five things you\u2019re covering with them?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>We\u2019re talking about friendships, dating relationships, academic life, having fun\u2014making great memories.\u00a0 College should be fun.\u00a0 You need to make the right kind of memories.\u00a0 And finally, we end it with growing spiritually\u2014really making your faith your own.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>So, Robert you\u2019re digging into very practical issues as well as the spiritual formation issues.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Robert:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>That\u2019s exactly right.\u00a0 In fact, one big \u201cAha\u201d for a senior in high school is for somebody like John, in a creative way to simply say, let me tell you what the targets are that you want to succeed in.\u00a0 When you start listing those targets, it\u2019s almost instinctive that you sit up and go, \u201cWell I want to have empowering friendships, I want to have fun.\u201d\u00a0 Although John will define \u201cfun\u201d as making great memories, not ones you\u2019ll want to forget.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe\u2019ll talk about growing spiritually.\u00a0 He\u2019ll talk about academic success and talk about a faith that becomes vibrant and it\u2019s your own.\u00a0 And the students simply go, \u201cWell I want that.\u201d\u00a0 Now the question is how do I get there?\u00a0 The magic is, he\u2019s not just putting those big targets up above you, but he then goes and explains it in very practical, user-friendly ways how you can establish wise steps to succeed in each one of those areas.\u00a0 The student gets to craft a vision for themselves off those wise moves.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>You know, you begin with the subject of vision, and I want to give our listeners a taste of the cookie.\u00a0 You tell the story of a college sophomore who had a vision of connecting his friends socially.\u00a0 This shows that college students need vision and those visions can be highly productive.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>They can, I think I\u2019ve told the story of Mark Zuckerberg and the phenomenon of Facebook.\u00a0 How he just started off with the vision to feel connected.\u00a0 I think he was at Harvard, and what took off out of that has been just unbelievable and astronomical.\u00a0 But yes that\u2019s absolutely right.\u00a0 We\u2019ve all got to aim for something.\u00a0 If we aim for nothing we\u2019ll hit it every time.\u00a0 So we really try to build that.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs Robert said, my challenge, and the challenge given to me was to build a walking, breathing book of proverbs that we can drill down.\u00a0 We interviewed hundreds of alumni, in each of these six areas, and said, \u201cWhat were the key steps you took?\u201d\u00a0 We compiled those down, and I think, give them one of the best manuals, or how-to books, to succeed in each of six big win areas.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I\u2019m just sitting here thinking, what vision did I have when I went to college?\u00a0 I had the vision of four years later I\u2019d have a degree that would get me a job.\u00a0 It was high school without all the restrictions, and with some more liberties, but I was going to get a degree, and that was going to get me a job, and that was the next thing.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have much vision beyond that.\u00a0 You\u2019re encouraging students to widen their angle a little bit, right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Absolutely.\u00a0 Peter Craft is a philosophy professor at Harvard and is an expert on Socrates.\u00a0 He wrote a book called <em>Socrates on a College Campus<\/em>.\u00a0 The opening chapter is Socrates asking a college student why they\u2019re there.\u00a0 The college student stumbles and bumbles as most of would have our freshman year, and ends up with this idea, \u201cI\u2019m here to get a degree.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cWhy do you want to get a degree?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cSo I can get a good job.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cWhy do you want to get a good job?\u201d \u201cSo I can get a good income.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cWhy do you need good income?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cSo I can send my kids to college\u2026\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd he starts speaking in this endless mindless cycle that there\u2019s got to be a reason bigger than just graduation, job and income, and uses that fertile ground to talk about some bigger targets than just that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Robert:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>One of the things John mentions in this first session that he saw plague college students every year that he was working in the college campus.\u00a0 He calls it \u201cmindless passivity.\u201d\u00a0 They come to college with the idea that \u201cI\u2019m going to get a degree.\u201d\u00a0 But if you were to ask them, \u201cWhat degree?\u201d they\u2019re still not even clear then.\u00a0 So, what they then do is just get on this ocean called college in this little raft, they just drift around.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThey have fun, and when it gets painful to think about where they\u2019re going at the end of four years, they just put that aside and keep having fun because they don\u2019t know what they\u2019re going to do.\u00a0 So it becomes just high school all over again, except the consequences are much more serious.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>You know I have thought back many times to classes I took in college and thought, I wish I could take that class again knowing what I know now, because, I would have been paying attention to learn, not just to pass the test.\u00a0 My whole orientation was, again I\u2019m going to get the degree to get the job, so all I have to do is pass the test.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t about learning.\u00a0 Since college I\u2019ve gone, \u201cI should have been paying a little more attention.\u00a0 There was some cool stuff they were talking about there.\u00a0 I just didn\u2019t know at the time.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>You know, what Robert was talking about and what John does in the video series, you actually talk about this idea of drifting, and how there are five dangerous currents.\u00a0 Do you remember them?\u00a0 Can you give them to our listeners?\u00a0 Because there are some parents who need to hear these.\u00a0 Just knowing where the dangerous currents are, can really help parents prepare their son or daughter for college.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>John:<\/strong>\u00a0 I use the metaphor that we\u2019ve probably all experienced at a beach.\u00a0 You set your stuff down on the beach, and go out into the surf, you\u2019re playing around for a few minutes and you look up and your stuff is way down the beach, and you wonder how you drifted here.\u00a0 I use that theme of drifting.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI talked about passivity being one of the currents that can take you to places you never intended on going.\u00a0 You\u2019ll find yourself doing things you never thought you would do.\u00a0 Relational chaos is another one of those currents of making bad choices in guy-girl relationships and in dating.\u00a0 Bad choices of friends is a part of that, you end up being who you run with in most situations.\u00a0 So being encircled with a group of people that end up taking you places you never thought you would be.\u00a0 Those are some of those currents that really kind of drag you one way or the other.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>If you think about it, in high school, kids go through four years with mom and dad helping to guide them and manage those currents.\u00a0 When they pull out of the driveway, they really are on their own facing, probably some of the strongest currents they\u2019re ever going to face in their lives, without the maturity, quite honestly, to be able to handle it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, the difference is, when we\u2019re at home, we may not know everything that\u2019s going on in a student\u2019s life at school.\u00a0 There may be parts of their life that you\u2019re just not in tune with.\u00a0 But you\u2019re getting a pretty good taste of what\u2019s happening at the high school campus.\u00a0 As soon as they leave, you are dependent on whatever you can glean off their Facebook, or whatever they\u2019ll tell you in a cell call, or whatever you can kind of pick up via the grapevine.\u00a0 But you\u2019re not getting a whole lot of data as a mom and dad.\u00a0 You\u2019re just praying and hoping that your kids are making wise choices because you don\u2019t have a whole lot of say left in the equation at that point.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I just talked to a dad whose daughter went to college.\u00a0 I said, \u201cHow is she doing?\u201d\u00a0 He said, \u201cWell, we haven\u2019t heard from her in four weeks.\u00a0 We, got a Facebook post, she called home and talked to us for about three minutes once, but not a lot going on there.\u201d\u00a0 I think the independence of those freshman years can really strike a young person one of two ways.\u00a0 They can either run off and go do a bunch of stuff\u2014I don\u2019t think this young lady is off into bad things at that point\u2014but they can on the other hand become very homesick. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, in some ways, not hearing from your child much in that first semester, you\u2019re going, \u201cThat\u2019s a good thing.\u00a0 They\u2019re making the adjustment.\u201d\u00a0 My first semester of college was the loneliest year of my life.\u00a0 You talk about what influences you to make poor choices, being lonely is one of things that will push you out into it.\u00a0 So, when you don\u2019t hear from your child you think, \u201cWell, good!\u00a0 They\u2019re making friends.\u00a0 They don\u2019t have time for mom and dad, that\u2019s okay.\u201d\u00a0 But by the same token, you don\u2019t know what kind of choices they are making in the midst of that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>So, here\u2019s the challenge.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got a video resource to prepare your sons and daughters for college.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got Robert Lewis helping to produce this, John Bryson being the teacher.\u00a0 Tremendous resource that\u2019s edgy, fun, it\u2019s going to be relevant to young people.\u00a0 Robert, describe how a mom and dad who are listening to this broadcast could use this resource.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Robert:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I think the original vision we had for this resource was that churches would be the first landing pad, all across the nation, because every youth group has a senior class.\u00a0 What I would love to see this video series as part of the curriculum for every senior class in every church in America.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s great place for it to be.\u00a0 I think it gives spiritual nourishment as well as vision for the next season of life. That the kids are going to come together around and enjoy and their parents\u2014this is the exciting thing\u2014their parents get to participate. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe second place I think it could be used in a really effective way is in schools.\u00a0 Particularly schools who want to empower their senior classes for that next step.\u00a0 So there are schools around the country who would take a resource like this.\u00a0 Obviously there\u2019s some spiritual edge to it, but nonetheless, with very practical ways to empower a student to be prepared for college.\u00a0 This would be a great place for schools to consider this College Ready series.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThen I think, a third place is on the college campus.\u00a0 With a lot of campus ministries who are receiving college freshmen for that first semester.\u00a0 Like Bob said a minute ago, they arrive for the first couple of weeks with that \u201cDeer in the headlights\u201d look.\u00a0 They\u2019re lonely, they\u2019re overwhelmed.\u00a0 The campus has so many things going on that they don\u2019t even know where to begin.\u00a0 What a great way for campus ministries to draw those freshmen in and say, \u201cLet us help you prepare for college.\u00a0 Let us give you a vision for college.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, those are the three targets we have for this series.\u00a0 But if a parent were out there listening and saying, \u201cOur church may not do that, but I\u2019d like to get that.\u201d\u00a0 They could get the series and actually host it in their home.\u00a0 Get some other students or their son or daughter\u2019s friends together and host in their home, and show the series.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt\u2019s self-explanatory in a lot of ways.\u00a0 And there\u2019s a leaders guide that\u2019s involved in that for help as well as a website that you can go to for further help.\u00a0 But this series would be a great way of joining the friends of your son or daughter together along with the parents to go, \u201cWe\u2019re developing a language and a vision for college together.\u201d\u00a0 I think, long term, that\u2019s the great win.\u00a0 Because you\u2019ll get your kid in college with a language that you can interact with around things like, your empowering friends, or dating right, or you\u2019re excelling academically.\u00a0 It gives something that the son or daughter can talk with to their parents about vision and succeeding in college well.\u00a0 That\u2019s what it\u2019s about.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>We know that these days are incredibly determinative.\u00a0 A child going off to college is a dangerous time.\u00a0 Here is a practical way for parents to build a fence at the top of the cliff.\u00a0 Rather than running an ambulance service at the bottom of the canyon.\u00a0 I\u2019d just challenge every parent listening.\u00a0 If you can get it in your youth group, but if not, fire up your DVD player and take a group of young people through this series.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>We\u2019ve got clips from the video series on our website at FamilyLifeToday.com, so if folks want to get an idea of what this looks like, just go to the web, FamilyLifeToday.com and you can watch a couple of the clips.\u00a0 You can order the entire DVD series, if you\u2019d like, get workbooks for the students to use as well.\u00a0 Again all the information about the resources that are available can be found at FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhile we\u2019re on the subject of high school graduation and getting kids college ready, for the last couple of years we have suggested to parents a possible graduation gift you can give to a son or daughter.\u00a0 It\u2019s a CD\/DVD combination called <em>ConGRADulations.<\/em>\u00a0 A music CD with 20 tracks on it, including tracks from Reliant K and Toby Mac and Lecrae and Skillet, Flyleaf, and Owl City.\u00a0 Then there\u2019s a companion media DVD that has interviews and speakers and graduation video greetings. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThere\u2019s a 48 page graduation gift book that comes with it.\u00a0 Then we send you a gift as well.\u00a0 The gift we send you is some thoughts from Dennis and Barbara Rainey about what we need to do as parents to make sure that we\u2019ve done our part in getting our sons and daughters ready for the launch to college.\u00a0 Making sure we\u2019ve covered our bases.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, there\u2019s information on our website, again FamilyLifeToday.com, information about the <em>ConGRADulations<\/em>: <em>Class of 2010 <\/em>CD\/DVD package.\u00a0 There\u2019s information about the College Ready material, how you can order that.\u00a0 Or if it\u2019s easier for you to call, 1-800-FLTODAY is the number.\u00a0 1-800-358-6329.\u00a0 That\u2019s 1-800 F as in \u201cfamily\u201d L as in \u201clife\u201d and then the word TODAY. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOne of the things we love about our radio program is the opportunity it gives us each day to connect with listeners all across the country.\u00a0 To be a part of a dialog on strengthening marriages and families and what we can do to effectively develop the kind of godly families who change the world one home at a time.\u00a0 I know many of you are new to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 You just started listening recently, or somebody told you about it.\u00a0 You\u2019ve just tuned in.\u00a0 Maybe you\u2019re not connected.\u00a0 We were thinking the other day, is there a way to get folks connected?\u00a0 We thought; well let\u2019s just send our friends a book.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe came across a book called <em>99 Ways to Entertain Your Family for Free<\/em>: fun creative ways that you and your family can just have a good time together.\u00a0 So, we thought that, maybe that can help us get connected with some of our new <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> friends.\u00a0 So, if you\u2019re a new listener, or if you\u2019ve been listening for a while, and you\u2019d like to get a copy of the book, <em>99 Ways to Entertain Your Family for Free, <\/em>just call 1-800-FLTODAY, and say, I\u2019d like that book they were talking about on the radio about entertaining your family.\u00a0 And we\u2019ll get it out to you.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt\u2019ll be nice to connect with you, we appreciate you listening to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, and we hope you find the book a helpful tool and helpful resource for your family.\u00a0 Again the number, 1-800 F as in \u201cfamily\u201d L as in \u201clife\u201d and then the word TODAY.\u00a0 We look forward to hearing from you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tTomorrow we\u2019re going to talk about one of the key issues your son or daughter is going to face on the college campus.\u00a0 That\u2019s the issue of friendships.\u00a0 Making the right kinds of friendships can be an important part of success at college.\u00a0 Making the wrong kinds of friendships can be dangerous.\u00a0 We\u2019ll talk more about that tomorrow.\u00a0 I hope you can back with us for that.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today Phil Krause and our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our host, Dennis Raney, I\u2019m Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you back tomorrow for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts for you. However, there is a cost to transcribe, create, and produce them for our website. If you've benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>www.FamilyLife.com<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/301983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301983"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=301983"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=301983"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=301983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}