It's that time of year again. Christians and Non-Christians alike all around the country are signing up to join fraternities and sororities at their college. I've watched many pledge classes and I've seen Christians fundamentally change the way their fraternity or sorority functions and I've seen Christians who were further from their faith Senior year than when I met them because of their Greek Organization. For that reason with comes this article of 4 things Christians who "Go Greek" need to remember.
1. Jesus is Lord
Now this may sound dumb or even feel like beating a dead horse, but this is where we need to start. The simple phrase Jesus is Lord is a starting point and ultimately the end point. Your big, chapter president, or even brothers and sisters are broken human beings. The greatest human being ever doesn't hold a candle when compared with the Glory of a Holy and Living God. Many people in the Greek system will demand your attention, but put none above Christ. This leads us to point two
2. Put Christ First
I can't tell you how many times I've seen people who have come to college and been active in church and campus ministry until they joined Greek Life. After joining Greek Life they would often have events (often "optional") on the same nights as campus ministry nights so even though they were optional the students chose the Greek event rather than be ostracized. These same students would often miss church on Sunday morning while sleeping off the events of Saturday night. The refrain I would often hear when mentioning this is "well we have a Bible study in our chapter room" and "we all go together to church as a group on Sunday". That's outstanding and I'm glad they happen but there is more to it.
3. A Day to Day Faith
As I said before many chapters especially in the south will have some sort of informal Bible Study etc. This is not a substitute for true Christian community. A Bible Study while great means absolutely nothing if the people you are doing it with don't hold you accountable and show the light of Christ the other 6 days of the week. I've seen Bible Study leaders from fraternities and sororities carried out of the clubs and bars (yes seeing them means I was there. I'm not against people going out) on the "party nights". You must find a way to maintain a day to day faith that is consistent.
4. Keeping the Faith
Life in a fraternity or sorority can make or break your faith during college. The sheer fact of the matter is that 6 out of 10 people who start college with a strong faith will walk away from their faith in college. While Greek Life offers many great things, to deny the fact that there is a dark side of Greek Life where random drunken hookups, binge drinking, and occasional drug use happens would be to tell only half the tale. Things like this may never happen in your fraternity or sorority, but then again they may. You must keep the faith. Remember that your commitment to Christ is more important than a commitment to any person or organization. It won't be easy but in the tough times when it comes to choosing between your commitment to living the holy life God has called you to and making a bad decision with some of your sisters or brothers you must draw yourself closer to Christ. The fact of the matter is you will make the wrong decision and you will do it more than once, but there is grace to cover all including our mistakes when we choose worldly desires over God.
My prayer is that if you are joining a Greek Organization out there that it is an amazing blessing to your life. That you grow closer to Christ and grow in holiness so that you choose Christ over peer pressure that would have you make bad decisions. I pray that you are an agent of change in your respective organization that when you see something that is wrong within your organization, you draw upon the strength of Christ to speak out against it. May the Lord bless you and keep you this year. May you and everyone you encounter know the grace and mercy of a living and risen Christ.
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