You’ve likely heard of the band Mumford and Sons.

Well, it was their song Roll Away Your Stone, from their debut album Sigh No More, that served as the inspiration for my forthcoming book CAMPUS gODS.

The language is rich, honest, and at times raw — and seems to so accurately and eloquently paint the picture of what our campus culture (and truthfully, much of our North American culture) and our search for meaning, purpose, and acceptance.

There seems to be a recognition that life is about something — more.

Yet with all of the darkness that can be found in our world, it’s all to easy to find our way into the pursuit of unworthy things — things that mis-shape and mis-f0rm us — because they are something much less than the One True God.

Have a listen and see if you hear what I hear…

I think it was the following six lines that first captured my attention:

‘Cause you told me that I would find a hole
Within the fragile substance of my soul
And I have filled this void with things unreal
And all the while my character it steals

Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I see

Haunting lyrics for sure…

And while the song starts off with a great description of what we see in the world (and on so many campuses across North America), it does just as good of a job pointing us back to the grace and forgiveness — the fresh start that awaits us — whenever we decide to turn from the false gods we’ve allowed ourselves to follow and return to the loving embrace of the One True God.

I love the lines:

It seems that all my bridges have been burnt
But you say that’s exactly how this grace thing works.
It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart
But the welcome I receive with every start

And later on, as if speaking to each of those false gods that we’ve previously allowed ourselves to be duped by:

But you, you’ve gone too far this time
You have neither reason nor rhyme
With which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine

Amen!

As much as this book is about exposing the idols and false gods of the campus — it’s just as much about pointing students to the incomparable and undeniable love of the One True God.

CAMPUS gODS: Exposing the Idols That Can Derail Your Present and Destroy Your Future releases next Friday, October 25th, by you can find out more about this new resource by clicking here.