For those of you reading who are in your teens or twenties, let me say this: When you get to be about 50, I can assure you there will be times you look back on your life and wonder what you would do differently if you could do it all over again. Little did I know when I was in high school—playing hangman and signing up for Basic Math just to get an easy A—that there would come a day in which I would write and speak for a living. How I wish I would have paid attention more in class, studied harder afterwards, and taken more English, history, speech, literature and composition classes!
Yes, I now regret how I wasted countless hours of junior high and high school. But as the saying goes, “You can’t unscramble scrambled eggs.” What I can do though (hopefully) is let you know that there are people like me who kick themselves for goofing off and working solely for a diploma. Hopefully, just by reading this, you’ll take your education more seriously.
Speaking of seriously, I also wish I could have attended the Focus (on the Family) Leadership Institute (FLI) back then. It wasn’t even an option for me when I was in my 20s. Focus on the Family was launched while I was in college and was celebrating its 18th birthday before FLI commenced its first class in 1995. (Since then, 3,200 students have walked through its doors). So, although I could not have been a student, it doesn’t change the fact that I would have loved a program like this!
And those who’ve participated in FLI seem to love it, too—and appreciate it far more than I did Basic Math. “I loved my overall college education,” wrote FLI student Matt B., for instance. “However, my time at the Institute was, hands-down, the greatest asset to my life and carried the deepest impact in my relationships, worldview and ministry.”
So just what is FLI that it can make such an incredible difference as Matt B. describes? In a nutshell, it’s an eight-week rigorous summer leadership experience for college students and recent graduates who want to use their lives to make a redemptive difference in the world for Christ. FLI packs in:
• Discipline-specific, professional internships here in Colorado Springs
• An applied worldview trip to Washington D.C. engaging with influential Christian leaders o Two courses in leadership essentials (one titled Personal Competencies for Leadership taught by Dr. Robert Thomason, the other called Biblical Foundations and Cultural Paradigms, taught by Dr. Del Tackett, architect and host of The Truth Project).
• Lunch and lectures with guest speakers such as Ray VanderLaan of That the World May Know
• As someone who has been honored to teach a media discernment class many times to Institute students, I can honestly say I’ve never talked to a single one who was disappointed with his/her time here. If you’re privileged to be an FLI student, you’ll know what I mean. Definitely no regrets! Plus, you won’t have to play hangman (or Angry Birds) to pass the time.
Editors Note: The dates this summer are June 5-August 1. Apply by March 15th and receive a $500 discount off your tuition. Inquire at studentservices@focusleadership.org.
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