The Eden Project: Taking Back the Cross of Christ in Colleges and Universities

By Brandon Reed

The Garden of Eden initially provided an atmosphere where man and woman walked in harmony with God, but then, something went wrong. In The Eden Project, Brandon Reed highlights how this wrong is ever invading the minds of the younger generation and continually evading the detection of the church.

He reveals, from four years of firsthand experience at a Division I University, how a concoction of alcohol, drugs, sex, and ignorance is what drives the relativistic mindset that is flooding society today. And he then proposes how the church, the community, and the Christian can work together to reset the mind, heart, and soul on Jesus Christ and His saving work through the Cross in a fresh way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512774221

Brandon Reed

Brandon Reed is the founder of The Eden Project, a collegiate initiative designed to bring young people out of cultural relativism and into a harmonious relationship with Jesus Christ, and he is the pastor of Eden Church in Columbus, Georgia. He is a graduate of Auburn University where he studied Biomedical Science and Psychology, and he holds a Masters in Theological Studies from Liberty University School of Divinity. You can follow him @brandonsreed on Instagram.

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Copyright © 2017 Brandon Reed.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-7423-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-7422-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017901414

WestBow Press rev. date: 2/1/2017

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 Subconscious Transfer

Silence

Comfortableness

Death

2 Defining Me

Me

First Love

You

3 The Status Quo

The Not Good: Alcohol

The Bad: Drugs

The Ugly: Sex and Dating

4 Freedom of Ignorance

Ignorance Is Bliss and the Totality of Tolerance

The Me Mentality

Breaking the Mold

5 The Prodigal Children

The Lost Arrived

The Lukewarm Fled

The Lovers Returned

6 Taking Back the Cross

Disney World Motivation

The Eden Project

The Conscious Transfer

Conclusion

About the Author

To my college roommates, college friends, and any other individual who plans to attend college. My prayer is that this book guides you when others cannot.

Foreword

Ah, the college years! Teenagers long for them, and graduates long to return to them. For the former, it’s a time of finally being free, and for the latter, it was a simpler time with less responsibility. You’re supposed to experiment and make mistakes in college, right? While some young people are experiencing the mistakes for the first time, others are just ramping it up a notch from high school. The general consensus about college life is that it is the time to have fun, let loose, drink, party, waste time, and whatever else you’d like.

Well, I’m writing to you as a post-college follower of Christ. Brandon and I went to high school together and then ended up at different colleges. After graduating from college, we have worked alongside each other in ministry over the past few years, and we have seen the same story time and time again: young adults who are trying to fill a subconscious void and who are at war with an ever-changing morality defined by society. Brandon has continuously pushed me to turn regret into testimony and to break down the walls of complacency. His actions and knack for applying Scripture to life have been a driver for me to draw nearer to Jesus.

God fought for my heart in college, but I decided to live two lives. I lived the college life and flirted with following Christ at times. I was scared to death to mix those two worlds; my Christian friends wouldn’t understand my wild side, and my wild friends wouldn’t understand my desire for more of God. Honestly, some of my friends in college would probably be surprised about my struggle with faith. Not only were they confused, but I must have confused many folks who saw my life and didn’t know me. Living like the world and being a Christ follower don’t go hand in hand, but I sure made it seem that way.

What I’m saying is that college is an incredible time to stand firm in your faith and be a Christlike role model. College is a time of influence and relationship building that we may never have at our fingertips again. I would love to rewind the clock and put Jesus as the forefront of my college career, but I just can’t.

This is now my message to you: please don’t go another day without standing up for our Savior. Brandon and I both know how hard it is to break the mold. We also know breaking the mold and following Christ is more liberating than any social norm. Don’t stand in the gray area between God and society.

Do you want to go against the grain and really be influential in college? Let Jesus invade your soul—fully. I’m not telling you to take all of the nasty college sins out of your life and then follow Jesus. Start following Him now, first, before everything else. Dig into Scripture like your soul depends on it (because it does), and allow God to infiltrate the deepest parts of your heart.

Once God is calling the shots in your heart, it becomes your new decision-making organ. It’s not easy, nor did Jesus say it was going to be. But that’s the best part. A refined soul that goes through trials is literally a glowing flame in a growingly dark place (a college campus). You’re not perfect; the gospel tells us that. But your Savior is perfect, and He deserves all of you.

As you read, take time to do some self-evaluation. I think you’ll find that you’re not alone when it comes to temptation, confusion about morality, and lukewarm Christianity; you’ll also find that you’re not alone when it comes to the desire for more of Jesus. Consciously take some steps to use your college platform for Jesus. Seek some Christ-centered relationships like mine and Brandon’s. Our Father in heaven will help you along the way.

Take it from us, you can make the most of college for Christ!

Ryan Noelte

Graduate of Valdosta State University

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, thank you, Father God, for instilling in me the passion and desire to write with the sole purpose of bringing glory to Your great Name. Thank you, Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, for reconciling me into the harmonious relationship with You in which I find my identity. And thank you, Holy Spirit, for leading and guiding my heart, soul, and mind each and every day. God, it is only through the power of Your truth and love that any of these words can impact a single person. Thank You for Your sovereignty.

A heartfelt thanks to my loving and supporting family that has encouraged me every day of my life. Whether I was walking along the path of righteousness or running away from the calling we knew God had placed on my life, each of you loved me without end. That consistent love has allowed us to arrive at