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I believe I first outlined my classification of the “three branches” of college ministry in a post way back in February 2008 (written only a few hundred miles south of here, during the yearlong road trip). I had variously referred to those three branches before and since, including in my book:
- Campus-based college ministry (including parachurch, denominational, and independent ministries centering their activity on the local campus)
- Church-based college ministry (ministries overseen within individual churches)
- Spiritual development at Christian colleges (the specific people or departments in Christian colleges dedicated to student discipleship, often called “spiritual life” or “chaplaincy”) (from Reaching the Campus Tribes, pages 17-18)
Those branches are distinguished, in my mind, by a few major things:
- Campus integration (the connection of the ministry to the college campus, including where it centers its activity)
- Oversight (who tends to hire, govern, and evaluate a ministry’s leaders)
- Function (the way the ministry operates and “feels,” particularly to students)
- Field reception (the lines the college ministry community has tended to draw between these areas)
While any of these factors might be clearer or fuzzier for an individual ministry, I do feel they fairly well delineate between the various branches. So using this terminology has been really helpful to me.
But as I continue to explore and ponder, I always want to be open to tweaking my approach! One question has especially led me to consider adding a “fourth branch” to my classification (it’s the first question listed below). But while I’m at it, I figured I would ask for further input. So if you’ve got any thoughts on these things, please fire away!
The big questions:
- Collegiate Church Planting is a major strategy employed on a significant number of campuses. Should it be considered a fourth branch of college ministry, or does it fit better under one of the present branches?
- Should campus-based ministry be split into two branches: denominational / church-related and fully parachurch?
- Should ministries run entirely by students be considered a separate branch of college ministry?
- What’s the best term for Branch #3? “Spiritual development at Christian colleges”? “Chaplaincy”? Something else?
- Any other adjustments you would make to this system?
Please feel free to weigh in – I’d love to hear your thoughts, arguments, questions, additions, or concerns!
written from my 7th Motel 6 in 9 days (in Vallejo, CA)
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Road Trip 13: Day 9 recap
exploring Cal State Chico, and then down to the Bay Area
T-shirt: the Fighting Illini of University of Illinois
today: Stanford and other Bay Area fun
While Christian Higher Education and Collegiate Ministry aren’t the same field (as I wrote yesterday), clearly there are instances when their purposes and experiences overlap. Plus, plenty of college ministers deal with students attending a Christian college. (Of course, that includes chaplains at those very schools, but other ministers may connect with those students, too.)
So I wanted to post a few of these environments’ spiritual advantages and challenges for students. We could, of course, compile an “advantages / challenges” list for any college ministry context – enormous state schools, schools in Pennsylvania, 2-year commuter schools specializing in technical fields, etc. But in keeping with the debate / discussion this week, Christian schools are the theme today.
(To catch up on the four posts and see another person’s criticism of Christian colleges that prompted this “counterpoint,” scroll down to June 1st or just start here.)
spiritual advantages that coincide with college ministry aims
- Exposure to Christian thought and thinkers, often of a very high caliber
- Regular opportunities to connect vocation with spirituality
- Easier avoidance of some standard “collegiate temptations”
- Often a greater amount of direct, specialized collegiate ministry than at secular schools of comparable size (because the Spiritual Life department fills this role at a Christian college)
- Direct teaching of theological truths
- Direct training for ministry
- An available and visible Christian community of some size, which is lacking at many secular schools (that aren’t large state colleges or located in the South)
spiritual challenges that coincide with college ministry aims
- Less exposure to secular thought or (sometimes) to alternate Christian views on various topics
- Fewer opportunities to interact with non-Christians or others in particular need of ministry
- Special temptations: such as apathy, pride, or finding one’s unique identity in something other than Christ
- (Oftentimes) Only one collegiate ministry available, even though it might not fit all students well
- (Sometimes) Little or no direct, specialized ministry toward students
- Sometimes fewer opportunities or less encouragement (from staff and/or peers) to be significantly involved in a local church
Care to add others for either category? Feel free to comment!
Road Trip #11 update (Day 38)
yesterday’s T-shirt: the Golden Eagle tribe of Oral Roberts University
mileage so far: 5,075 miles
(click here to see all the explorations from Road Trip #11)
As I stated in the first post in this mini-series, it’s unwise for me to wade too assertively into areas I haven’t studied well. So tomorrow will be a day of trepidation, as I discuss briefly the apparent advantages and difficulties of students’ spiritual formation at Christian colleges in general.
But first, I should note an extremely important distinction, and it’s a distinction that can help any of us college ministers who happen to be near Christian colleges.
Christian college chaplaincy IS part of the “field” of college ministry. I believe those in Christian colleges’ spiritual life departments are in the same “field of study” as campus-based and church-based college ministers. So while the contexts are different, we can collaborate, cooperate, and even debate as members of the same field.
BUT…
Christian colleges as entire institutions are NOT within that same field of study. That field – Christian Higher Education – is its own field, with its own research, professional organizations, history, etc. So knowing college ministry well gives us no standing to discuss Christian schools as a whole. We might have some insight to offer and questions to ask, but unless we’ve studied this area as well, then we have to remember that we are outsiders here.
In fact, these institutions may even struggle to understand their own in-house college minister, the college chaplain (whatever he or she happens to be called). That’s because what the school does (Christian Higher Education) and what the chaplain does (College Ministry) are different fields.
The subject of Christian Higher Education is actually a much more developed field than our own. From what I can tell, there are more resources, more opportunities for serious and complex discussion of specific issues, and more of a “professional mindset” within this field. Groups like CCCU, NACCAP, etc., allow for field advancement for Christian Higher Ed in ways college ministry doesn’t seem to have found (yet).
So here’s my encouragement: I know there can be frustrations in dealing with Christian colleges. But I would hope we can understand that Christian Higher Education is a separate field from our own. If anyone wants to help impact that field, they have lots to study before broaching the subject in any major way.
In the meantime, whether we’re serving in a church, in a campus-based ministry, or even as a staff member at one of these schools, our best way forward here is our best way forward everywhere:
Approach the campus as a unique tribe, and build your best campus mission in light of this unique context.
Written from Cedarville University, Cedarville, OH
Road Trip #11 update (Day 37)
yesterday’s T-shirt: the Lancer tribe of California Baptist University
update: At the NACCAP conference all day today; please pray as I continue to prepare to speak on Friday!
(click here to see all the explorations from Road Trip #11)
I’m using the term “chaplain” as my catch-all term for the people at Christian colleges involved in impacting students in specialized, relevant ways. It’s easier than writing “University Ministries director,” “spiritual life director,” “Vice President for Spiritual Development,” “Dean of the Chapel,” and so on. But that’s what I mean!
This week, I’m taking a look at Christian colleges and their connection to college ministry as a whole. This is a response to the criticism leveled at Christian schools on another blog, as I discussed yesterday.
I do believe that college ministers can learn much from each other. Today, I want to point out what Christian college chaplains bring to the table for the field of college ministry, elements we in other branches are wise to notice.
1. Academic development of their work. Of any group I’ve met in my research, Christian college chaplains seem most likely to take a seriously academic approach to spiritual development. Their world, clearly, is an academic one; they serve on the staff of a college or even as faculty. I would imagine the Master’s and Doctorate degrees per capita is highest in this branch, too. So it’s natural that this quality would show up strongly here.
So when I’ve met with these women and men, they regularly reference both Christian thinkers and secular thinkers. It’s common for chaplains to discuss generational research, psychological development theories, and a wide range of books (that they’ve actually read!). This kind of broad thought about the work of college ministry – which I would argue we need much more of in our field – seems to be the forte of many of these college ministers, the women and men “chaplain-ing” at Christian colleges.
2. Theological development of their methods and messages. Connected to this devotion to thinking about these things, many Christian college chaplains seem to have developed pretty rich understandings of what they do and the messages they present to students over time. While this attention obviously varies among these ministers, my guess would be that this kind of serious attention to methodology is more the “norm” here than in any other branch of college ministry.
That includes helping students process big questions, whether they be theological “hot topics” or longstanding issues like churchmanship and ecclesiology. In chapel series, missions endeavors, service opportunities, and more, I’ve rarely – if ever – seen more attention paid to analyzing long-term development of students’ lives than in these environments.
3. Longevity. Again, this isn’t evident everywhere. But oftentimes chaplains end up shepherding college students for many, many years. Certainly, there are plenty of “lifers” in the other branches of college ministry, too. But I’m guessing that among Christian colleges, there may be a higher ratio of college ministers who have worked in college ministry – and often even worked in the same location – for 10+ years.
4. Fit with the institution. Clearly, when the institution is your employer, there’s usually going to be better assimilation there! (Although there are certainly Christian colleges where there is tension between ministers and administration.) But beyond that natural affinity, in many cases chaplains seem to have been able to connect well with the purposes of the institution and with individual staff, faculty, and administration members.
Even though chaplains may have a “head start” in that area, we can still notice the benefits – and work to emulate their connectedness. In many cases, even at secular schools, there is a real opportunity for much of our ministry to fit the institution in a way that is both edifying and glorifying. It’s not impossible to become seen as a “colleague” of the faculty and staff at your school, nor is it impossible for your ministry to be seen as invaluable to the campus community.
Continue this mini-series here.
Written from Cedarville University, Cedarville, OH
Road Trip #11 update (Day 36)
yesterday’s T-shirt: the Spartan tribe of San Jose State University
new campus visits: Wilberforce University (#37), Central State University (#38)
(click here to see all the explorations from Road Trip #11)
My friend Chuck Bomar has recently blogged some concerns about Christian colleges, and he said he plans to continue for a few months. So I want to offer a counterpoint based on what I’ve researched. This is a discussion that matters for all of college ministry, for a few reasons I’ll mention below.
I do encourage you to take a look at Chuck’s posts so far – and make sure to read the comments from others, as well. The anecdotal testimonies are worth taking note of. Whether we agree or not with the conclusions people draw, it’s important to recognize that there are many college ministers who feel a tension in this area.
At the same time, Chuck hints at some conclusions and takes a general approach that I question. So my posts will flesh out some of my views and perhaps offer a balance.
Here are Chuck’s posts so far:
- Christian School Environments: a general concern about Christian schools
- Christian College Environments [2]: the history of Christian colleges and why their spiritual life aims concern him (this one received lots of comments)
- Christian College Environments [3]: CB questions whether Christian colleges are properly thinking about Chapel services
- New this week: Christian College Environments [4]: CB claims Christian colleges mostly aren’t pushing students to vocational mission
[My series ended up with four posts:]
- This post introduces the topic
- What Chaplains Bring to the Table
- Two Different Fields: the difference between Chaplaincy and Higher Ed as a whole, and why it matters
- Christian College Advantages & Disadvantages (from a College Ministry Perspective)
For now, two key thoughts to set the stage:
Christian college chaplaincy is an important part of college ministry.
Many Christian colleges have staff (chaplains, ministry directors, student pastors, etc.) who participate in the same thing we all participate in: direct, specialized discipleship of college students. While there is more to Christian schools than the “Spiritual Life” department, that’s the area I consider one “branch” of college ministry. (If you’ve read my ebook, you’ve seen this.)
But I am no “Christian college apologist”! I’m glad to share concerns about Christian schools when needed. But this week I’ll also be discussing some of the amazing things Christian college chaplains have to offer the other branches – church-based and campus-based college ministry. In the field of college ministry, it’s about time we all start learning from each other – and these guys have a lot to teach.
We must be careful to stick with what we know.
Ah, there’s the rub. I have no standing to make claims or bold statements about those aspects of Christian colleges I haven’t studied well. This is particularly true because the issues are often so complex; Christian college leaders themselves have discussed and debated many of these things at length. Further, Christian colleges, like all colleges, are highly contextual. Because every campus is different, our research must go well beyond our own circles (geographical, denominational, experiential) to get a true view of what’s going on.
So I’m not sure I’m allowed to “proclaim” or even to “interrogate” Christian colleges outside of the areas I’ve studied broadly. It is certainly appropriate to ask humble questions about areas I’m less familiar with. But it makes no sense for me to die on hills I haven’t even mapped.
And the subject of Christian colleges is a very intricate hill.
As always, you are welcome to comment on any of my posts! Feel free to disagree, agree, or add your two cents this week. Dialogue is always fun.
Continue this mini-series here.
Written largely from Capital University in Bexley, Ohio
Road Trip #11 update (Day 35)
yesterday’s T-shirt: the Owl tribe of Temple University
campus visits: Capital University (#35), Cedarville University (#36)
(click here to see all the explorations from Road Trip #11)
When I first decided to take this trip, it was a result of having two speaking opportunities, about 5 weeks apart, in roughly the same part of the country. (You can view my thinking process here.)
The second of those opportunities is a pretty unique one (at least to me), and it comes up this week.
I’ll be spending Monday through Friday at the national conference of the North American Coalition for Christian Admissions Professionals (NACCAP). Basically, NACCAP is an organization designed for admissions people from Christian colleges to come together. And, in a smart move, they’ve included high school counselors from Christian high schools. (It makes sense that those two groups would want to buddy-up.)
My speaking gig isn’t until later in the week, but I’ll be taking the opportunity (most of the days, at least) to spend time at the conference. Why? Because college ministry learnin’ can take place even when the discussions aren’t specifically about college ministry. We can learn from books like Good to Great; we can learn from missionary biographies; we can (I hope) learn from conferences of admissions people.
But this conference may not be as far afield as it might seem, either. Its attendees certainly connect pretty closely with what we do:
- Christian College admissions people work alongside Christian College chaplains (one type of college minister)
- Christian College admissions people recruit college students – and also decide how Spiritual Life is involved in school promotions
- High school counselors send their students into our world; they, like youth ministers and parents, are passing the baton that we are charged with receiving
- High school counselors may be the only people in most youth’s lives who are thinking strategically about collegiate success
So am I excited to get to hang out with these guys and gals? To learn from them? Even to share with them about our world, our hopes, our collective college ministry wisdom?
Yeah, this should be neato.
Please pray for me as I prepare my talk – sharing with the high school counselors particularly about the “national college ministry scene.” And please pray that I will both learn and help throughout this week!
Written from Motel 6 in Canton, Ohio
Road Trip #11 update (Day 34)
yesterday’s T-shirt: the Wildcat tribe of University of Arizona
new state: Ohio
(click here to see all the explorations from Road Trip #11)
One of the great parts of a road trip is finding good ways to use the car-time. Listening to important stuff is one of those best practices.
(If you want updates on the trip itself, you’ll be able to find that each day at the bottom of the post in blue. So even if the posts don’t interest you, the trip updates might!)
It’s not particularly often that college ministry receives focus on a national stage. But as it turns out, this month 9Marks and Mark Dever interviewed Aaron Messner, Chaplain at Covenant College, about how churches can impact college students. And they talk (briefly but favorably) about campus-based college ministries, too. So that’s all three branches – church-based, Christian college, and campus-based college ministry – discussed in one interview. Good times indeed. BIG thanks to my friend Matt Haste for pointing me to this interview.
You can find the interview here: http://media.9marks.org/2009/04/01/college-students. Messner and the 9Marks guys have some really great things to say about college ministry in general. Listening might really be worth your time, especially to give you good fodder for explaining how important college ministry is.
(They talked about several other things, as reflected in the number of categories I’ve put this post in.)
Even if you don’t get to listen, here are some things that struck me as particularly notable:
- First, this is a great thing to pass along to your pastor, other local pastors, or other people who need to value college ministry. It could be really influential, especially if they already respect Mark Dever and/or 9Marks.
- I was reminded of the awesome perspective Christian college chaplains bring to the table of college ministry. These ministers – more than campus-based or church-based people – are likely to make use of a wide range of materials – Christian, secular, academic, current literature, etc. I saw that time and time again on my big trip.
- A great note Messner made: reaching college students doesn’t necessarily require a “cool” pastor. His example, in fact, was the professors on his campus; he said those with the most impact are simply those who are most authentic and relational with the students.
- A strong belief in God’s sovereignty fights students’ narcissism. Good word.
- They discussed churches not choosing to impact students because they seem them as “migratory birds.” That’s true (about churches) and not a bad word picture, either.
- Around the 51-minute mark, they discuss college ministry as similar to missions. What a wonderful thing to hear.
- Right at the end, Messner makes a strong point: Even though research is valuable, no matter how much we research college students and this generation, knowing college students requires hanging out with them. He’s right.
Written from Memphis, Tennessee
Yesterday’s T-shirt: the Red Raider tribe of Texas Tech University
Yesterday’s campus visits: Henderson State Univ. and Ouachita Baptist Univ.
What do you get when ministry to college students is organized within the “Halls of Academia”? What does that particular branch of collegiate ministry – the Spiritual Life offices of Christian colleges – offer to the rest of us?
A few weeks ago, I discussed the three big branches of Collegiate Ministry (here) and then started the discussion of how we can learn from each other. In that post, “Learnin’ Fun,” I noted one lil’ thing that the campus-based ministries seem particularly good at – and that’s building relationships through fun & fellowship.
This year, I’ve had the chance to explore several major Christian colleges throughout the country. This has included meeting with staff members and directors in the spiritual life depts. at many of these schools – whether those directors be called “Chaplains,” “Campus Pastors,” or otherwise.
Those have been some great meetings.
Probably the biggest thing that has jumped out to me from this branch of Collegiate Ministry is this: Many in these positions have thinking and learning as part of their ministry DNA.
These Campus Pastors are the ministers most likely to talk to me about some new journal article that has helped them do ministry better. These people point me to books – and not necessarily college ministry books, which are in short supply, but to books on Spiritual Development or Organizational Management or Higher Education or some other field where principles can inform what they do. They tell me about conferences they attend, questions they ask of others in their field, and papers they read (or write) that discuss even small details of their jobs.
Plenty, for instance, have mentioned the works of Fowler and Erickson from the world of psychology. Some have read Good to Great to streamline their operations or Generation Me to better understand their audience. They might be keenly interested in the best ways to package (and enforce) Chapel services, enough to discuss it across multiple years at CCCU conferences.
No, not every secular or Christian resource that informs Collegiate Ministry work gets everything right – but these Campus Pastors know that. They eat the fish, throw away the bones, and build impactful ministries in the process.
For us outside this branch of Collegiate Ministry, let me tell you: there really is a whole world of contribution and collaboration there for helping us impact students. If you’re within sight of a Christian college, you might just wanna sit down with those guys, because they may have really brilliant thoughts, resources, and ideas to offer.
I think being in an academic setting very naturally provides this focus. Of all the ministers I’ve encountered, these guys and gals treat this as normal, as expected, as simply part of what they do. I think that may be something the rest of us need to see.
Just like with churches, not every Christian school sees excellence in this area in the same way. But those who do take it very seriously offer all of us a chance to learn the value of learnin’, as we all seek to impact students.
[An addendum with some resources for doing this can be found here.]
Posted from a falafel restaurant near University of Washington
Last week, for the first time I can remember, I hit the trifecta…
That’s right. In one day, interviews with college ministers from what I consider the 3 “branches” of collegiate ministry. As you can see on the West Coast Itinerary, I met with Drew Aufhammer, staff member of UCLA Campus Crusade (the first Crusade chapter, by the way); Joe Keller, Dean of Students at The Master’s College (who oversees much of the spiritual life side of that Christian campus); and Ross McMeekin, Director of University Ministries at Malibu Presbyterian Church.
In other words, I got to explore campus-based ministry, the ministry of Christian colleges, and church-based ministry. All on the same day.
(In fact, I almost hit the double-trifecta, because that night I attended the UCLA Cru meeting and the college study over at Bel Air Pres. If I had attended a Christian college’s chapel or other ministry activity… DOUBLE TRIFECTA. So close!)
Anyway, that very full day and some other recent explorations have gotten me thinking about those 3 branches. So you’ll probably see some thoughts over the next week along those lines. [Here's the first of those posts.]
Since that’s the case, I figured I would first give a little primer on the 3 “branches” I see in the field of Collegiate Ministry. These are definitely working categories, and I may eventually categorize things differently. But hopefully they’ll work for now – and if you’ve got notes or thoughts, feel free to comment!
Branch #1: Campus-Based Ministry
This is probably the branch of college ministry most people outside our field think of when they hear “college ministry.” Read the rest of this entry »
Is a Christian college actually a church? What about a dorm Bible study? What about a major campus-based ministry, like Campus Crusade or InterVarsity? Do Christian communities like these equate to “church involvement”? Do they need to?
In EACH of the first four issues of Wheaton College’s school newspaper, The Wheaton Record, students and professors discussed this question – through an editorial, a response, another editorial, and two more printed responses. I’ve got each of those as a PDF below.
Remember, at the end of the summer we learned once again that most “church kids” don’t stay in the church through their college years. So this is an important topic anyway. But when this rather “spontaneous” discussion arises at the school some call the “Harvard of Evangelicalism” and continues for a month, it deserves special notice.
These are real and smart arguments, even when you or I disagree with them. In fact, they state generally well-reasoned versions of very common church views among this generation. These articles provide an incredibly important, first-hand look at this issue as it exists at a pinnacle of Christian education.
Second, it’s clear from talking to the Wheaton Chaplain that the college cares about the issue and works to disciple students in this area. I’ll write more on that – with links to some pertinent Wheaton chapel messages – in the follow-up post in a day or two. (Click here to see the follow-up post.)
Finally, as you read these articles, I encourage you to ask yourself:
If you heard regular preaching from amazing individuals (like Erwin Lutzer, on spiritual warfare, on Halloween); if you had regular “Bible studies” taught by the likes of Doug Moo, Karen Jobes, and Gary Burge; if you had very regular community with members of God’s family, both your age and much older; if you had access to organized discipleship groups with your peers; if you had oversight from a Chaplain and community discipline; if you worshiped with other Christians at least three times a week – and took the Lord’s Supper together once a month; if you had lots of opportunities to serve and lead… might you possibly ask these same questions about your involvement in a local church?
This may be trickier than we think. I figure it’s something worth figuring out. Look for the follow-up shortly.
Week 1: “We like shopping.” The Record staff argues for 4 years of NON-involvement in church.
Week 2: “Wheaton is not a church.” In a letter, a Wheaton prof rebuts the first article.
Week 3: “Wheaton fits definition of Church.” In an editorial, a Wheaton Junior argues that the school may very well be a church.
Week 4: “So what is a church?” and “Wheaton not a church.” In two letters, a Wheaton Senior theorizes why we face this confusion, and a well-known professor/author rebuts Week 3′s editorial.
After you take a look at those articles, click here to see the follow-up post on this topic!
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