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The Third Degree

Pure - sex and relationships God's way

Question: What can get over 100 students out of bed at 7.30 am on a rainy Monday morning in the middle of November

Answer: Pure — a six week interactive course looking at what God has to say about sex and relationships.

Sexual chaos

SEX! SEX! SEX! Walk onto any university campus during freshers week (or any other week for that matter) and you will likely see some such title for any number of activities that students might be involved in — and it’s quite effective! The average student will usually stop, look and listen.

‘Yay for condoms, we love them! The Students’ Union (SU) has lots and lots and lots of free condoms — get them from reception in the SU building, or from the Nightline flat, or from the porters…they’re everywhere. You can barely move without stepping on a condom’ (Students’ Union safe sex leaflet).

The expectation is clear — if you are a student at university then you will probably be sexually active, consequently the area of sex and relationships is one of the biggest pressure points facing students today. Many Christians have felt both overwhelmed and under-equipped to deal with life in a student culture that tells them that if they’re not doing it then they are a) missing out, and b) probably a little odd.

Solid biblical teaching

There is a desperate need to provide solid biblical teaching and practical guidance to a generation of students who are drowning in a sea of confusion and uncertainty. Some of our young people may well have received one session in a year at their local church youth group and some keenies may even have read a book or two. The reality is that it is unlikely that they have been provided with adequate opportunities for discussion, or been allowed to delve deeper into issues of a more personal nature. Even those who may have an idea of what we ‘should and shouldn’t do’ may not necessarily have thought through the biblical reasons why!

‘Pure’ course

Christian Union Staff Worker Linda Marshall has developed the Pure course to help Christian students think clearly and biblically about what it means to live as redeemed people under the lordship of Christ and it’s certainly making its mark! When the course was first introduced to the students of Nottingham University Christian Union back in 2003, over 100 of them made an effort to drag themselves out of bed to take part every Monday morning at 7.30 am!

Since then, a number of different CUs across the UK have taken part in the Pure course. Hundreds of students have benefited massively from the practical wisdom and biblical content that the course material provides. Many have commented positively and have found the resource both challenging and helpful.

‘The first two weeks of Pure were amazing. Learning that God created men and women to be different, and that this was to be celebrated, was really liberating. The practical advice about how to love our brothers, and also how to avoid temptation, were immensely helpful to me’ (student at Nottingham University).

So why all the hype? Why is this particular resource creating such a buzz within our Christian Unions? Here are a couple of reasons:

* Interactive format. The course format provides support from both older male and female leaders and encourages opportunities for discussion in both large mixed groups and smaller single sex groups as well as using a variety of teaching styles.

* Gospel focus. Participants are led through a creation-fall-redemption framework in which they are encouraged to think about how the truth of the whole gospel should impact and apply to their lives. Linda Marshall comments: ‘As evangelical Christians we always talk about the gospel impacting every area of our lives — when it comes down to practicalities though, many struggle to understand how the gospel affects areas such as work, relationships, thought life, etc. Pure is just trying to apply the gospel to that old chestnut, sex and relationships.’

There is no doubt that the Pure course will continue to have a significant impact on the lives of students. The book will be officially launched at this years Forum (UCCF’s national conference for Christian Union leaders) and is due for publication in early September by IVP. The course, which uses material from the book, will be available on http://www.ivpbooks.com/pure.

Pod Bhogal

Pod Bhogal has just been appointed to UCCF's communications staff and takes over this regular column.