Matt was the last one to stand up. He had been waiting for this day an entire year. Finally the night arrived when he and five other graduating seniors in his fraternity would give a farewell speech to all 80 of their Greek brothers. Even though most of their chapter meetings were full of drinking and laughing, the custom for this one was different. All eyes and ears were glued to the six men, allowed to talk as long as they wanted (and say anything they wanted) to the underclassmen listening with rapt attention.

Sadly, all six men squandered this opportunity of a lifetime, except one — Matt. The first five took two or three minutes to empty their brains by spitting out insightful statements such as: "it's been fun" and "keep your selves out of trouble." No one had really expected much depth, though, from guys that had shown themselves to be so shallow over the years.

It was different for Matt. He had loved and served these men for four years, doing the dirty work no one else was willing to do. Everyone knew he was the hardest working leader on campus and had often been recruited to run for Student Body President and Fraternity President. Matt would turn them down each time. The reason? He wanted to use all of his free time to individually share the gospel with each member and pledge in his chapter. I know he did. I was with him at least ten of the times where he drew out the gospel, answered questions, and looked deep into the eyes of his young friends, asking, "Would you like to invite Jesus Christ into your life as your Lord and Savior?" Gently asking that question, and then patiently waiting for an answer was Matt's passion and calling from God.

Matt is what I call a "Spiritual Arsonist." No, he isn't a religious fanatic trying to torch the administrative buildings in the middle of the night. Instead, Matt's goal was to ignite a holy fire that would burn bright in his fraternity and spread to the entire university. In short, he wanted to turn his college upside down for the Lord Jesus Christ. He chose to strike his match at the most explosive place of all — the top fraternity on campus. The risks were high, but the potential results were huge.

Well, back to the meeting. Matt started by re-explaining the gospel message to all the guys and then asking them to raise their hands if they had made that decision and considered themselves Christians. Almost all 80 guys raised their hands. "I was afraid of that!" Matt sighed. He knew that most students, especially in the South where many of them grow up in church, think they are Christians. Sometimes we work awfully hard at helping them see that they're lost before we ever attempt to get them saved!

Matt then turned to Matthew 7:20-21 and read:

"So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter."

After sharing his own personal testimony and the changes Christ made in his life, Matt went on to read and explain Matthew 7:22-23:

"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"

Then Matt stood up and looked around the room. He solemnly said, "Now that you know that a real Christian is someone who is a sold out follower of Jesus Christ who does the will of the Father, I'd like to ask you again,

"If anyone would like to make Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of your life, stand up right now."

No one dared move. No one even breathed. Every single eye was riveted on Matt. He calmly scanned the room, one by one returning each person's gaze, and waiting for the first man to make his move. What seemed like eternity was really only about 180 seconds of death quiet.

Finally, one guy stood up with his head bowed. A second popped up and then a third. That was all. Even though it was only three out of 80, inwardly Matt was relieved. These three were the only ones in the entire group who really were Christians. Matt was proud of them for openly identifying with Christ. At least everyone in the room now knew the difference between the "professors" and the "possessors" of the Christian faith.

But Matt was now faced with a decision himself. What was he going to say to the remaining 77 men who chose not to stand up and commit themselves to Christ? He loved them and desperately wanted them to turn from their sin and follow the one true God.

He decided to give the group a short history lesson from the Old Testament and explained the cycle the Israelites would go through over and over again:

1. They would repent and follow God.
2. God would bless them abundantly.
3. They would forget about God and worship idols instead.
4. God would need to punish them to get their attention.
5. Israel would once again repent and follow God.

So Matt showed his fraternity brothers how this sequence of "repentance and reconciliation" applied to them and why they should take the holiness of God seriously:

God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day. If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready." (Psalm 7:11,12)

With head bent and heart heavy, Matt tenderly stated,

"Men, I did not want to do this. I love each of you guys and want the very best for you. But, because I care for you so much, I am going to pray for your destruction. I am going to pray for the fraternity's destruction and each of your individual destruction until you are willing to repent and humble your selves before God."

With stunned and confused looks on the faces of all 80 men, Matt lowered his head and specifically prayed for the destruction of the entire fraternity (as well as each individual member) until they turned from their sins and gave their hearts to Jesus Christ.

Finishing his prayer, Matt looked up to see several of the guys looking at their cell phones. At the exact same time as Matt was praying for their destruction, many of the members were receiving text messages sent to them by a rival fraternity (made up of a number of large football players) who were on their way over to beat them up for a past offense. As each man finished reading the text message on his screen, he looked up at Matt with wide open eyes and gaping mouth.

The air in that room was so thick with the overpowering presence and fury of God, it was almost suffocating. Everyone knew this was no coincidence. The chapter's graduate advisor, who had been the biggest partier on the campus, stood up and said, "Matt, this is from God. What should we do?"

Matt has been answering that question and many others from the men in that chapter room in the days since "the meeting." No, the rival fraternity never followed through on their threats, but the fear of God has been implanted in the hearts of Matt's so-called "brothers." During their lifetime, they will forget the contents of a thousand different meetings, but each of those men are sure to remember every single word spoken by Matt on Senior Night, April 20, 2004. (And no, I am not necessarily recommending you pray for the destruction of the non-believers around you. God is plenty able to bring divine pressure on his creatures without your help or mine!)

But a question remains: What would possess a friendly and gifted college student like Matt to give up the accolades of being the BMOC (Big Man on Campus) in exchange for the fear and loathing he received from others? He could have had all the titles, all the girls, all the popularity he wanted, but instead, he blazed a path of a different kind. This graduating senior was consumed with the glory of God on earth. His desire was to spend every waking moment pointing others to the Savior, multiplying white hot worshippers across the planet.

Matt may not have known the old campfire song "It only takes a spark to get a fire going," but then again, he didn't need to. He was living it out — one person at a time, one fraternity at a time, one campus at a time, one nation at a time. You see, a true member of the "Arson for Christ" club seeks to ignite a fire of eternal consequence wherever God leads them. Their location or vocation is not near as important as living a life of reckless abandon for the person and purposes of Jesus Christ.

How about you? Why are you at college? What club(s) are you part of? Does the "Light of the world" live inside your heart? Don't hide Him under a basket. Let Him out. Your campus desperately needs Him — and you. It only takes a spark. Be that spark. Go ahead ... light it up!

Epilogue: You might be wondering what Matt is up to now that he is an official graduate. He'll be leaving in June to join a year-long team seeking to reach thousands of college students in a major city in central India. Please pray that he and his fellow "spiritual arsonists" can light an inferno that will spread and illuminate the 8,000 college campuses across that country.