The Fuel and the Flame Highlights
Honestly, this book was an easy choice for our first book review (and not just because of its title)! The Fuel and the Flame, written by Steve Shadrach (Global Ambassador at the Center for Mission Mobilization, and Founder of Student Mobilization, the Traveling Team, and author of The God Ask) and Paul Worcester (Founder of Campus Multiplication Network and Senior Editor for Campus Ministry Today), is a must-read for every Christian college student and anyone doing college ministry.
Steve and Paul have been directly involved in college ministry ever since their college years, and they never slowed down - ministering to hundreds (if not thousands) of students since then. Their zeal for reaching the college campuses is infectious, as is their passion for sharing all the wisdom they’ve learned along the way.
This review will mostly be an outline of the book with some particularly convicting quotes, and will hopefully be a good review & resource for those who’ve read it before. But if this is your first time hearing about this book, I encourage you to stop reading and order your own copy from Amazon (I don’t get any money from this link, so this is an unbiased review), and read it now! As someone who’s personally involved in college ministry, I think this is a must read every summer. And it’s a great book to read with your students as a discipleship group! I guarantee it will change the way they view both themselves and their campus.
PART 1: The Fuel
Open Your Eyes: How’s Your Vision?
Chapter 1: What’s Your Story
"No reserves. No retreat. No regrets." - quote from William Whiting Borden (1887-1913), who was an American millionaire who gave it all up to devote himself to mission work. It was said of him, "It didn't matter that Will was fabulously wealthy; he was always about his Father's business not wasting time in trivial pursuits." Although he passed away from spinal meningitis before he even reached the mission field, his example inspired many others to devote themselves to missions.
No reserves - he gave up his wealth, safety, and comfort to share the gospel
No retreat - he didn't compromise when he could have taken an easier way. His motto was, "Say 'No' to self and 'Yes' to Jesus every time"
No regrets - he never viewed his life as a waste, even though he never reached the mission field, because he had peace with God
👉 What are you going to spend your life pursuing? Is your life going to be about you, or about what God’s doing?
"For most Christians, the Great Commission is really the Great Omission, because they have no visible, tangible strategy to fulfill this mandate the Lord has given every believer... If you are a follower of Christ, you have been called by God to play a key role in the greatest cause on earth. The Lord is waiting for us to join Him in His mission."
Chapter 2: The Real World Starts Now
College is the most strategic time to evangelize and create disciples!
“University students represent the most reachable, recruitable, trainable, and sendable category of persons on the planet. Many students on your campus are just one conversation away from giving their lives to Christ. You don’t have to wait to graduate to start changing the world for Christ. You can start living on mission now.”
“The university is a clear-cut fulcrum with which to move the world… More potently than by any other means, change the university and you change the world.” - Charles Malik, former Secretary-General of the United Nations
“The question isn't, 'Does God want to change me and use me?' The question is, 'Will I let Him?'"
Chapter 3: Jesus’ Prayer Request
The campus needs us! So, are we going to be a laborer?
"Our estimate is the average university campus is less than 5% followers of Christ. If so, that means 19 out of 20 of the thousands of students rushing to class alongside you doln't have a relationship with Christ. These students are living without the full and eternal life Jesus died to give them. Many of these students are wondering if there is purpose beyond popularity and parties… Even those who seem to have it all together on the outside have hidden fears and insecurities and may be hopelessly enslaved to sin. The average student on your campus is hurting and broken, wandering through life without the direction or protection of God. Sorry to be so blunt here, but if nothing changes, they are headed for disaster - in this life, and the next."
“Matthew 9:36-38 says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." … A laborer is an obedient follower of Christ who continually seeks to win and disciple others. Laborers give their time and energy to helping others follow Christ and grow as His disciples.”
Dig Deep: Laying Your Foundation
Chapter 4: Groundwork
“Before we can reach the campus, we need to make sure we are deeply rooted and connected with God. These are the building blocks of our Christian lives that must come first: God’s Word, Prayer, Fellowship with other believers, and Evangelism.”
"Talk is easy. I can fool you, and you can fool me. I can tell you I believe Bible study and prayer are important. I can say, "Amen, brother" when you speak of personal holiness or servanthood. However, the proof of my Christian maturity is whether the things I say I believe have trickled down from my mind and mouth into my spiritual bloodstream to become a reality in my life. If I'm not ordering my life around the things I say I believe are valuable, then I must not really believe they are."
“The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.” - Saint Augustine
Chapter 5: First Things First
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? - Luke 6:46
“The fruit of devotion to Christ is obedience to Him. If we are thankful for Jesus as Savior, we will be obedient to Him as Lord. These two aspects of His person cannot be separated… Know this for sure, if you do not choose what the center of your life will be, the inertia of life will choose it for you. You can't just live life on autopilot and by default be devoted to Christ and reaching others with the gospel. No, our hearts are too sinful and the world is too deceitful for us to ever be able to "accidentally" glorify Christ with our lives. We will always gravitate towards putting ourselves at the center. We must (with God's help) intentionally choose each day to be devoted to Him and not live for ourselves, but for Him who died and was raised for our sake. Whatever you exchange your time and money for is what you value. Take a look at your schedule and bank statement, and you'll know exactly what's important to you.”
“Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important.” - Charles E Hummel, Tyranny of the Urgent
Chapter 6: Fully Charged
“God doesn't look at the outside, He looks at the heart. And He isn't as interested in someone's ability as He is in their availability. Are they willing to empty themselves of their own self-reliance and look to and rely totally upon the grace that is in Christ Jesus?”
“One way to get in the right frame of mind each day is to pray the prayer John the Baptist did after He saw the Messiah: "You must increase. I must decrease." Jesus doesn't want to just be present in our lives, or even prominent in our lives. No, if we are going to be truly be used by God, Jesus Himself must be preeminent - above anything and everything else - in our lives.”
Image taken from The Fuel and the Flame
Chapter 7: Living and Active
If we are to know God, we need to be in His word. Here’s the “Hand Illustration / Get a Grip” method to get into God’s word (including common barriers and where to start):
Hear
Read
Study
Memorize
Meditate
Apply
“Don't say God is silent when your Bible is closed.” - Matt Brown
“Philosopher Dallas Willard describes Bible memorization this way, "It is absolutely fundamental to spiritual foundation. If I had to choose between all the disciplines of spiritual life, I would choose Bible memorization, because it is a fundamental way of filling our minds with what it needs." Think about all the song lyrics you know by heart. If you could hold on to so much data long after you need it, you can certainly memorize a few verses! By committing portions of God's word to memory, we are adding His words into our thought life rather than just the sinful things our minds typically run to. This is why the psalmist says, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to your word... I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:9, 11).”
Chapter 8: At His Feet
We must be spending regular, daily time in prayer! Here’s a way to get started (CATS):
C - Confession
A - Adoration
T - Thanksgiving
S - Supplication
“The key to prayer is simply praying.” - AW Tozer
“The greatest thing anyone can do for God and man is pray. It is not the only thing; but it is the chief thing. The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; not those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time and pray.” - SD Gordon
“Take a moment to take stock of your prayer life and whether it is primarily inward- or outward-focused. What if God were to answer all your prayers over the last three months? Would it be only you that was changed? Or would your campus and world be changed too?”
“I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want You; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Your glory, I pray, so that I may know You indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me.” - AW Tozer, The Pursuit of God
“I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, I want to want You; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Your glory, I pray, so that I may know You indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me.”
Chapter 9: Contagious Community
We must find and get plugged into a community of other believers who are on mission. We can’t live Christian life on our own, and the way we’re going to get close is by being like-minded and on mission together.
“If you are so busy working at your part-time job, studying, investing in a dating relationship, or pursuing extracurricular activities that you never make significant time to get networked into a biblical community, you will struggle spiritually. That is a fact! These other areas may be important, but not more vital than getting deeply connected with other believers.”
“It can be easy to keep thinking, “I’ll just get connected next semester when things settle down.” The problem with that thinking? Life never settles down! You must intentionally choose to pursue and join a strong network of committed believers - now. You are deceived if you think you can follow Christ on your own.”
“One of the enemy’s primary strategies is to get believers isolated… Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “Sin demands to have a man by himself. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive the power of sin is over him.””
Chapter 10: Landmines
We need to be on guard against the landmines that Satan has left us to try and take us out of the battle, including being fearful of openly identifying with Jesus, losing the battle against our lust, and looking for love in all the wrong places.
“Sin is not simply a mistake or oversight; it is a direct violation of the holiness of God. If you do not address a sinful habit, you can bring destruction and pain into every area of your life… Sin is not something to mess around with. Our own fleshly nature is our greatest enemy, so know this for sure: your fight against sin is literally a fight for your life.”
“In a recent anonymous survey of Christian college students involved in campus ministries across the US, ninety percent of males and fifty percent of females admitted to regular porn use. Look at those percentages again. These percentages aren’t of all the students on your campus, they are the percentages of students in your Bible study, large group meeting, and leadership team.”
Chapter 11: Hustle Mode On
"The sad reality is many reading this may not be actively following Christ ten years from now. The reason? It's the little things. Jesus tells us in Luke 16:10, "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much" (NASB). Little things include choosing to be honest with your accountability partner instead of saving face, opening the Bible app rather than your favorite social media, hanging out with a lonely freshman instead of your bros, or giving to missions rather than buying more stuff. These seemingly small choices will either build strength into your Christian foundation... or add up to a life not really grounded in Christ…. There are no shortcuts to becoming the person the Lord is calling you to be.”
The Father's first concern is developing you into the kind of person He can use. Faithfulness in the "little things" of life develops the kind of unshakeable convictions you will need for a life of impact. Building a life God can use happens one day at a time and one decision at a time. Are you faithful in the small things?
“Becoming the person God wants you to become will require you to embrace discipline in your life. Fight to develop the daily habits that will build the life the Lord wants you to live. Your life is actually the sum total of your habits. Change your habits, and you will change your life.” 🔥
“Part 2: The Flame” is coming up next! Let us know if there’s any other books we should be reading!