The Case for College: The Supreme Court Case Guide for Evangelizing the Campus Quickly

By Frederick Stutz

Discover How to Take the State College for Christ Quickly

Do you know your God-given rights on campus today?

Are you aware of the new Supreme Court decision giving you free rein on campus?

Have you lost hope for reaching secular college students today?

Are you eager to learn how you can fulfill your God-g

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Aug 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9781637697757

Frederick Stutz

Dr. Frederick P. Stutz is a best-selling college textbook author and has been an instructor and college professor of physical and cultural geography at Northwestern University, Michigan State University, and California State University.He is a leading voice in boldly proclaiming God's love and the case for Christ on campus at American state-sponsored colleges and universities. He resides in San Diego, California. For more information about his inspiring resources and how to conduct Christ-centered campus outreaches, visit FathersLoveatCollege.com

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Dedication

To the saints on campus:

That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:17-19

Anything positive that I have done in this world is due entirely to my mother Margaret and the Holy Spirit. Here is a friend and Russian missionary Rick Renner’s prayer. It may be a helpful prayer for you, too.

"I admit that I am one of those who have been uneasy and fearful about witnessing in the past. I’ve felt so uncomfortable—afraid that I’ll say the wrong thing or that someone will ask a question I can’t answer. I’ve been controlled by fear and dread when it comes to sharing my faith with others. In fact, I’ve even tried to avoid it, even though I know that I am commanded to be a witness for Jesus. I realize now that all that fear, frustration, and anxiety was the result of my attempt to do Your will in my own strength without the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. Starting right now, I want to do my best to surrender to the Holy Spirit—and let Him release His testifying ability through me. Holy Spirit, You love to talk about Jesus, and You know precisely the words to speak because You hold the key to every person’s heart, so speak through me to others and touch the part of their hearts that is ready to hear and receive the truth of the gospel. I thank You, Holy Spirit, for making me an effective fisher of men!

I confess that the Holy Spirit brings to my memory everything I need to recall about the life, words, and acts of Jesus Christ. I have the mind of Christ working in me because the Holy Spirit lives in me and is helping me. Part of His ministry is to remind me of everything that Jesus said or did, and I declare that because of the Holy Spirit’s faithfulness to remind me, I recall everything I need to—on time and in every situation where it is needed.

Preface

A recent 2021 Supreme Court case in the United States is of particular relevance for our purposes in this book: Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, a real-life case for college. This SCOTUS case gives campus evangelists unprecedented freedom to roam the public colleges, community colleges, and state universities like never before.

This SCOTUS case marks a decided victory for those of us who want to see Christ’s name magnified on college campuses across the country and for students everywhere to find the grace and saving faith of God. These are the simple facts of the case from the official eight to one majority opinion of the Supreme Court:

According to the complaint, Chike Uzuegbunam is an evangelical Christian who believes that an important part of exercising his religion includes sharing his faith. In 2016, Uzuegbunam decided to share his faith at Georgia Gwinnett College, a public college where he was enrolled as a student. At an outdoor plaza on campus near the library, where students often gather, Uzuegbunam engaged in conversations with interested students and handed out religious literature.

A campus police officer soon informed Uzuegbunam that campus policy prohibited distributing written religious materials in that area and told him to stop. Uzuegbunam complied with the officer’s order. To learn more about this policy, he then visited the college’s Director of the Office of Student Integrity, who was directly responsible for promulgating and enforcing the policy. When asked if Uzuegbunam could continue speaking about his religion if he stopped distributing materials, the official said no. The official explained that Uzuegbunam could speak about his religion or distribute materials only in two designated free speech expression areas, which together make up just 0.0015 percent of campus. And he could do so only after securing the necessary permit. Uzuegbunam then applied for and received a permit to use the free speech zone.

Twenty minutes after Uzuegbunam began speaking on the day allowed by his permit, another campus police officer again told him to stop, this time saying that people had complained about his speech. Campus policy prohibited using the free speech zone to say anything that disturbs the peace and/or comfort of person(s). App. to Pet. for Cert. 151(a). The officer told Uzuegbunam that his speech violated this policy because it had led to complaints. The officer threatened Uzuegbunam with disciplinary action if he continued. Uzuegbunam again complied with the order to stop speaking. Another student who shares Uzuegbunam’s faith, Joseph Bradford, decided not to speak about religion because of these events.

Both students sued a number of college officials in charge of enforcing the college’s speech policies, arguing that those policies violated the First Amendment.

In an eight to one vote, the justices of the Supreme Court settled a related question of mootness in cases seeking nominal relief, such as this one, but most importantly, it established precedent that colleges can no longer discriminate against our First Amendment right to sharing our faith on campus. For many decades, we have been restricted in our campus evangelism efforts to small free speech zones that do not seem very free at all, greatly limiting our ability to effectively evangelize while keeping within the university guidelines. With the Uzuegbunam Supreme Court case, however, the harvest is now ready for the taking, and this is an opportunity that we, as the body of Christ, cannot afford to leave alone. Thus, the title of this book, The Case for College. Here, once again, I am talking of the recent landmark Supreme Court of the United States case and decision for evangelism on public college campuses. This book is in no way connected to the incomparable works, books, and movies of Lee Strobel, although I regard him and his ministry as unmatched in effectiveness and global importance. After meeting him in person and later corresponding with him, I can say that he is also a wonderfully warm and humble person.

Frederick P. Stutz, PhD

October 1, 2021

San Diego, California

Foreword

Rebellion on campus is the order of the day.

It seems like every year, administrators, professors, and students push harder and harder against common sense, objective science, and any kind of rational faith. At this point, we are having arguments about whether or not math is absolutely true or not. It is taken for granted that a person can change their gender, and the Bible is often ridiculed.

So what are we to do? Run away? Hate them? May it never be so. After all, doesn’t Paul remind us in the scriptures that such were some of you?

Christians need to have great compassion for those who do not know Christ, those who are still going their own way, caught up in their sins of resistance and opposition to God. All who are living apart from Christ are under the influence of the prince of power of the air, Satan. Their minds are blinded to the truth of God, and they are in slavery to sin and the ungodly cravings of their sinful nature. At least in America, we don’t have to look very far to see this unfortunate truth manifesting itself, especially on the evening news. Because of the spiritual condition of people who have not been transformed through a personal relationship with Christ, they cannot understand or accept the truth without God’s grace, His undeserved favor, love, and help.

We Christians see everyone from a biblical perspective, especially on campus. The lost should be viewed with sympathy and compassion, remembering that God had to save us, too. Those who are without Christ are still responsible for their sins and offenses against God, particularly because God gives every human being enough spiritual light and grace to turn to Him and escape the tyranny of our flesh. But who is going to reach these people with the truth and the path to salvation?

‘Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me’ (Isaiah 6:8).

Most of the Father’s Love Letter outreach efforts involve finding a receptive group of students and sharing the letter with a kind word. Here at the University of California, San Diego, the student evangelist presents to a student a letter and proclaims on his shirt proudly, God loves UCSD. Most students that are approached take the letter and tuck it away somewhere in a backpack or pocket. At least on day one of the outreach. On the second and third day on campus, many students have already received a letter or denied it. And so, the contact rate, as expected, diminishes over the week. The promises of the love letter are powerful, and our hope is built upon the solid foundation of Christ’s death and resurrection. That very same Lord will return on the last day, and we will enter into glory everlasting. So I tell my workers, by no means give up. The future, in Christ, is yours and the students to whom you minister. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37).

It will have to be the Church with a capital c. Campus is a hostile place to minister, and in order to do so effectively, it pays to recognize your Christian allies who will pray and work alongside you.

Spiritual unity is not a matter of intellectual agreement on all theological issues. There will be some differences between Baptists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Catholics, and others. Unity of love and purpose is what needs to be maintained by being loyal to the truth and by keeping in step with the Spirit. This unity is based on Christ’s love and purpose at work in and through our lives. It cannot be obtained in the flesh through mere intellectual arguments. It will, however, express itself in good works—for example, in banding together to distribute the Father’s Love Letter, with prayer and street evangelism.

There is only one Savior and mediator that is needed to bring us to God. Christ alone provides the opportunity for spiritual salvation. We should all agree on that point. We can come near to God through Christ and Him only.

Before we dive into the meat of this book, for those of you who read forewords, I want to offer a few bits of wisdom to keep in mind:

Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24

I see this verse frequently at my daughter Tiffany’s house, framed in the foyer because it is their family motto. Paul encourages us to consider all of our efforts and labor as a service directly for the Lord. We must work as though Christ is our employer, knowing that all work performed for the Lord will be rewarded someday in heaven.

[Pray] that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains.

Colossians 4:3

We need to be confident that God is directing our lives and our ministry opportunities by opening and shutting doors at just the right times. The effectiveness of our service depends on His providence, care, and guidance—but God does not intend for us to sit passively by and wait for a sign before we take action in serving Him. We should pray that God will open doors of opportunity and help us see those opportunities. We should also pray for the boldness of the Holy Spirit to step through those open doors, trusting Him to help us make the most of all opportunities on His behalf.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13

We can endure and be successful in all things that Christ intends for us to do if we rely on His presence, power, and indwelling Holy Spirit. The phrase who strengthens me uses a Greek term that means to empower. Our ability to do what God desires and has in store for us does not come from our own talent or strength. It comes from His higher power through the Holy Spirit. This simply means that we can do all things through Him, even on campus, that we didn’t think we could do.

Our citizenship is in heaven.

Philippians 3:20

If we choose to follow Jesus, then we have, in essence, become strangers and aliens on earth. We are still citizens of the world, but our legitimate citizenship is in heaven. Jesus, when He prays for His followers in John 17, says, They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world (John 17:14).

We are pilgrims here on earth, working on our way through to a new home in heaven. We have a heavenly homeland, and that helps dictate our values, direction, destination, attitude, and behavior. Our lives need to be guided by the magnificence of Jesus’ words, I go and prepare a place for you (John 14:3).

We don’t pray to Amazon, Harvard, or to Washington D. C. We pray to heaven. Some of our friends and family members have already departed and are now with Christ in heaven. We look forward to the time when we are with them and with God forever. Therefore, we should not be ashamed to tell people that that is our final destination, our home, and that dictates how we live our lives here on earth.

That’s why we stand here on campus, reaching out to students with offered friendship, engagement, and personal testimonies, using the Father’s Love Letter, other tracts, holding billboards, and practicing street evangelism (see photos).

Introduction:

You Need a Father’s Love

My father was a good man—a strong leader in the church and a personality of true charisma. When I was six years old, he was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukemia, and four weeks later, he passed away. My understanding of him is, as you can tell, mostly second-hand. To this day, I can’t remember him in any way: No memories of special trips together, shared sports, hearing from him, I’m proud of you, son, or helping me with my schoolwork. Just… nothing.

My mother was left with three small kids to take care of when my father died. She was a Lutheran school teacher without a college degree, trying to make it in our town, nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. She only made $1,900 a year, so making it was quite an accomplishment. But we did have indoor plumbing, smile!

The Lutheran church was more than just my mother’s employer; it was central to our community. It was our family, our friend group, and our point of reference for understanding the world—and in that particular environment, being fatherless made you a sort of outcast. It wasn’t intentional, most of the time. It simply was. Frederick Stutz was the kid without a dad, and that got me some looks of pity, some condolences here and there, and a whole lot of awkwardness. My brother, three years older, inherited my father’s warm personality. I, unfortunately, did not.

My father went to be with the Lord two weeks after this picture was taken. I grew up in the South with what they now call the father wound. I struggled, and I overachieved in life to medicate the pain. I became a professor, yes, but I was a slow learner. It took me a long time to realize that I had the perfect Father in heaven (Matthew 5:48). And it was His desire to lavish His love upon me (1 John 3:1). He offered me more than my earthly father ever could (Matthew 7:11), for He was my provider that met all of my needs (Matthew 6:31–33). For in Jesus, His love for me was revealed (John 17:26). Yes, I grew up in the church, but it took me a long time to assimilate the Father’s love for me. My hope was that I could somehow share the Father’s love with the thousands of students I saw every year on campus as a professor. It wasn’t for many years that I stumbled over the Father’s Love Letter.

The resulting insecurity from growing up in poverty and being alienated from my peers was a deep wound given by my father, though not of his own choosing. I might have ended up being a timid kid regardless, afraid of strangers and unfamiliar things like I was, but it took a father’s absence for me to feel like I really had the chair pulled out from under me. I needed a father to teach me baseball, tell me how to ask a girl on a date, to look up to and learn from, but life didn’t wait for my needs. I did not have time to love dad.

Robert Bly, the American poet and book author of western adventures and novels, in his famous book, Iron John, says,

Not receiving any blessing from your father is an injury. Not seeing your father when you were small, never being with him, having a remote father, an absent father, a workaholic father, is a great injury.

When your parent dies at a young age, as John Eldredge said, it’s like when your house burns down. It isn’t for many years that you realize the full extent of your loss.

That was me. My father was well-liked, very active, a great businessman and church leader, president of his own business, and the Chamber of Commerce in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but this meant that he had a meeting every night. Even for my six years of life that my father was around, he wasn’t around. The questions that I was left with as a child were:

Do I have what it takes in life?

Will I be successful in my career in life?

What is my career anyway?

Am I a real man?

What does God expect of me?

In those early days, silence was the only answer, and I was left to think:

I don’t really know.

I will just have to wait and see.

I’ll have to find out for myself the hard way.

Mother’s too busy. There’s no one at my game to root for me.

So I felt isolated, like the world demanded more of me than I could possibly deliver. I longed for a relationship with a father—a source of strength and someone who could love me, teach me, stand up for me, and tell me the truth about a gearbox, golf, God, and girls! If this scenario sounds like the life of John Eldredge, from his seminal book, Wild at Heart, on the topic of the father would, it is. It is a very close match. I didn’t know what the father would was until I read that quintessential book back in the day, 2001.

To make matters worse, my mother was busy teaching school, trying to get a college degree, and taking care of three small children and a house. It was easy to feel overlooked.

For boys in the South, sports was everything; then came proficiency in school, and after that, a distant third, was being cute, personable, and being able to dance. James Dobson calls these The three coins of human worth for a young boy. My father wasn’t alive to teach me how to play sports, and my mother was too busy. So, strangely enough, that task fell to my grandmother. She would visit from St. Louis, and she was a St. Louis Cardinals fan (Stan the Man Musial was her favorite player). I remember her pitching with me in the backyard when I was five. Did your grandma teach you how to pitch? might have been a good taunt on the field, but in my case, she actually did. And the funny thing is, I wasn’t half bad. When I turned eighteen years old, I was being recruited to one of their rookie camps. Dizzy Dean, the perennial all-star pitcher for the Cardinals, liked me. He was sure that I was going to be a bonus baby with the team. The Cardinals weren’t so sure!