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If you couldn’t tell from my Tweets, Collegiate Week was a great week gathered with some 18 or 1900 people – and I’d guess 200 or more were college ministers (including spouses). I figured I’d spend a post on a few items you might find interesting from the week, including some speakers / authors worth checking out and other helpful tidbits.
excellence in the first month
First, I told some of the college ministers I was hanging out with that I’d post links to the articles on using the First Weeks well. You can find Linda Osborne’s and Brian Barela’s articles here, and mine here.
solid speakers
The “biggest” speaker of the week was David Platt, a young pastor (and former seminary prof) who has become quite well known in some circles. He’s one of the most incredible speakers-to-college-students I’ve heard, and apparently students (and others) are already reading and spreading his new book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. And his messages are quite podcast-worthy indeed.
But the other platform speaker, Mike Satterfield, was also very good. Either would be worth checking out for use in your own speaking venues; you can link to Platt above or Mike’s info right here.
recommended reads
The book suggestions given by rather veteran campus-based college ministers included… The Unlikely Disciple, Seven Practices of Effective Ministry, Complete Book of Discipleship (Hull), The Trophy Kids Grow Up, Give Me a Dr. Pepper Please, Religion Saves & Nine Misconceptions, Your God is Too Small
c.s. lewis & apologetics / evangelism
As I tweeted the other day, Dr. Bob Stewart of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary presented a seminar discussing “Apologetic & Evangelistic Tips from C.S. Lewis.” It was the only student-focused seminar I attended, but it was quite amazing (and very good for leaders, too). It also proved something I’ve found to be true – seminary professors are regularly “wins” when it comes to seminar speakers.
And here’s the amazing thing: Dr. Stewart has made his PowerPoints from all FOUR of his seminars available. Find them right here (some may have yet to be uploaded).
threads
If you’re unfamiliar with the organizers of this conference, Threads Media, they really are a group that’s worth getting to know. They publish lots of “curriculum,” Bible study resources, and other materials for students and to use with students. While their focus has mostly been college students and young adults, it’s worth checking out and testing out their stuff as you look for small group materials or teaching guides!
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If you’re unfamiliar with Byron Borger and Hearts & Minds Books, then that’s a major piece of our field that you should add to your puzzle! But it’s likely you have seen him / them, especially if you’ve made it to an Ivy Jungle gathering or the Jubilee Conference anytime recently.
This week, Byron released a gigantic list of books focused on ministry to young adults, by which he means the segment past high school. In other words, this is perhaps the most exhaustive annotated list available for books connected to the field of College Ministry!
Here’s how it begins, and you can click the link to see Borger’s impressive list:
Sometimes I like to share with readers some of the lists I generate for customers who inquire. Just today I did a serious list of commentaries about 1 & 2 Timothy, a brief list about war & peace, a good list of some favorite novels for a church-based reading group, and a bunch of books for a friend who has a seeker at work who may read about a book about Christian faith. Want to see ‘em, such as they are, just give a holla.
Here is another I just finished, at 2 am tonight. It is for a good friend who is writing a paper on how churches might reach out to young adults, and how to better understand that “missing generation.” Since we just did that special offer on the Outsider Interviews I figured this might be good to share now.
Please keep in mind it isn’t exhaustive, and was created for a customer I know well. There could be some others, but this pretty much is just the real list I sent out today. Thanks for allowing me to send it to you, here, as well.
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I had a blast teaching my seminar on “Better Brainstorming” – thanks for everybody who came and everybody who prayed for me. Those at the seminar truly made it better – coming up with some great ideas (as we practiced a brainstorming tool together), asking some great questions, and also offering some phenomenal comments.
I promised the attendees some “end notes” on the talk – areas I left out, links to various things, etc. But this should be helpful for anybody, too, both now and if you listen to the audio once it’s posted.
passages
The Scripture passages I quoted include Psalm 127:1, Proverbs 3:6, I Peter 5:2, I Peter 4:11, and I John 3:18.
backwards college ministry
I’ve been posting quite a bit on “Backwards College Ministry,” and that methodology was definitely a key part of the seminar. For more explanation of that, check out the blogs that discuss it (and just so you know, they’re listed in reverse order at that link).
my book…
…can be found (for free!) at www.reachingthecampustribes.com.
something I left out
One point I never got around to was this: One of the important things to remember as you practice determining outcomes before methods is to keep doing it each time. After awhile, it’s easy to “lose the plot,” continuing with fruitful methods from the past and forgetting to keep being purpose-first each time. Don’t forget that a method is only as good as the purposes it fulfills… so as some purposes change semester-to-semester, your methods should change (slightly or extensively), too.
exploring the axes
Meanwhile, the book that most influenced my “Exploring the Axes” brainstorming method was Free Prize Inside by Seth Godin. You might also want to check out its predecessor Purple Cow, which might even be more useful to most college ministers than FPI is. (Seth Godin, by the way, will be one of the speakers at this year’s Catalyst Conference in Atlanta in October.)
speaking of catalyst conference…
If you haven’t heard, I’m organizing a “cohort” for college ministers in the midst of this year’s Catalyst Conference. And Catalyst would certainly be one BIG way to “stretch your quiver” – it’s one of the best ways I know to gather new ideas. Plus, by adding in the College Ministers’ Cohort, we’ll have some great chances to collaborate, “ideate,” and otherwise spur each other on. (For those at the CMU Conference, Wes Woodell recently encouraged people to consider this, too!) I really encourage everybody to check it out, and let me know if you’ve got questions.
the mad libs ebay road trip
I promised everybody a link to info about my Mad Libs eBay Road Trip. So there you go – it’s definitely interesting reading.
49 decisions
I mentioned my post of “49 Decisions You’ve Already Made about Your College Ministry’s Large Group Meeting.” Very surprising stuff.
finally, a few things to remember
- Creativity has no value in-and-of-itself – only if the creative methods are more effective at accomplishing your God-provided outcomes.
- Limits are a help to creativity. Necessity is the mother of invention. A tempest in a teacup is more interesting than a tempest out at sea.
- The more focused and explicit your purposes are, the more help they’ll be to your creativity.
- Don’t forget: studying college ministries outside your normal circles are more likely to help your creativity, whether or not you adapt the specific ideas you learn.
- Though I am indeed a big believer in starting with outcomes and then determining methods, sometimes God uses methods to help us realize purposes we should be aiming for.
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71010
A few different Book-related items came across my desk recently, so I wanted to point you to these resources!
book sales: Westminster Theological Seminary AND Hearts & Minds Books
Are you familiar with either of these spots? Even if you’re not in the book-buying mood at the moment, they’re worth checking out, for sure.
First, WTSBooks is having a Moving Sale – so some 45 “staff favorites” and all ESV Bibles are a whopping 45% off. Only through July 14th!
And Byron Borger at Hearts & Minds is having a clever Independence Week sale on selected stuff – it’s 17.76% off! Get it? But it’s only this week…
two books worth reading
I have the chance to speak at the Campus Ministry United Workshop this week, on the topic of Better Brainstorming. In preparing for my seminar, I was reminded of the extreme value (for campus ministry) of two Seth Godin works: Purple Cow and its putting-it-into-practice cousin, Free Prize Inside. More people will probably find immediate use for Purple Cow, but they’re both fantastic if you’re willing to both think outside of our normal avenues AND do the work necessary to apply secular, marketing thought to our field. It’s quite relevant, if you let it be (and, of course, if you “eat the fish and throw away the bones” as you read).
two titles I’m anticipating
Generation iY by Tim Elmore. Tim has been my biggest influence in understanding the Millennials (i.e. members of Generation Y), so I can’t wait to see all that in book form. (Tim also influenced my use of “eat the fish and throw away the bones,” as seen in the above paragraph.)
Speaking of the Millennials, Thom Rainer and his son, Jess, are putting out a book aptly titled The Millennials next January. While I can’t find a “page” for the book yet, you can follow the book on Twitter and win a copy!
As I’ve argued before, it’s incredibly profitable to learn our audience, and now that means knowing the Millennial Generation! Hopefully these books will help us do that even better.
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I was working on something recently and was reminded of the excellent (and quite brief) primer on Fasting by Bill Bright, presently titled Your Personal Guide to Fasting and Prayer and available for free online right here.
Bright was clearly a big fan of Fasting, and he participated in a 40-day fast once a year for a number of years. His regard for fasting pops up in the first sentence of his resource, where he writes that “Fasting is the most powerful spiritual discipline of all the Christian disciplines.”
Regardless of where you put this one on the priority list (or how we determine “powerfulness” of the disciplines), Fasting can indeed be a phenomenal discipline to teach college students… and to practice with them, whether in one-on-one disciplemaking, in small groups, or even ministry-wide. What a chance to seek the Lord, to build community, to step up a ministry’s seriousness, to let God search students’ (and leaders’) hearts, to “fight together in the heavenlies,” and more!
Have you considered the spiritual discipline of Fasting as part of your college ministry’s available arsenal? There are several reasons this one may especially connect with this generation – its “vintage” nature, its tactile nature, the commitment involved. But more importantly, it seems to have been expected by Christ, we’ve got Scriptural direction in the Old and New Testaments, and it has been a powerful part of Christians’ walk with God throughout the centuries.
And chances are your students haven’t had an awful lot of exposure to this staple of Christianity. So… giddy-up!
Bright’s resource is an easy read and extremely practical – down to noting that Bright preferred a mix of white grape and peach juices when undertaking a long fast. Another classic is God’s Chosen Fast by Arthur Wallis (several versions available new or used), and I remember that one having some real practical tips, too. And when I walked through a 40-day fast several years ago, John Piper’s A Hunger for God was valuable and impactful.
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A college minister buddy asked me recently for some resources for better understanding Millennials. I figured it was just as easy to post that as it was to write him back, so here goes. (Thanks for the blog topic, D-Mo.)
If you read this blog regularly, you know that discussing Millennials (also known as “Generation Y” or various other things) is high on my priority list. More on that later.
For now, I want to answer my friend’s question and I’d love to hear about any resources you’ve found. Here’s the question: What resources can provide the best “crash course” in understanding the Millennials?
In my case, I’ve learned an awful lot from one source through the years: Tim Elmore of Growing Leaders. He does a fantastic job collating others’ research on these things, and “translating it” in a way that’s easy to consume and assimilate.
tim elmore
The very best “package” in that process was a .pdf download Growing Leaders used to sell: “Utterly Updated: Current Stats and Stories to Help You Connect with the Millennial Generation.” They’ve long quit selling it, which is a real bummer – and because of copyright, I obviously can’t upload it. (If you’re local, let me know if you’re interested in taking a look.)
But never fear. Because I’m guessing this kind of stuff – and with better, updated info – will be included in Elmore’s upcoming book about what he now calls “Generation iY.” With this term, Elmore looks at a further subset of Millennials / Gen Y, the group born more recently (since 1990) – which is, of course, the very group entering college these days. The book will apparently be out by August?
This is also the topic of this year’s National Leadership Forum, a summer forum I highly encourage you to consider (I got to attend in 2008). That will likely be a crash course in understanding Millennials par excellence.
But there’s more: The articles available through the Growing Leaders “Leadership Link” are available here. (I’d start with A Crash Course in Understanding Generation Y.) Plus Tim’s blog covers this stuff on a regular basis. You can conveniently click to the Generation iY category – and fortunately for us, he just started a 6-week Monday series devoted to delineating the world of this generation. But be sure to check out Trying to Understand the Mind of Generation iY and How We Changed in the First Decade of the 21st Century.
and more
While I’ve been lapping up Elmore’s wisdom (on College Ministry and Millennials) since 2001, I do know there are other great things out there for understanding our current audience.
The seminal work appears to be Millennials Rising by Howe and Strauss. While that book’s been around since 2001, it’s apparently defined much of the ensuing conversation. But if I was buying now, I would probably take a look at Millennials and the Pop Culture by the same guys.
I’ve heard some recommendations of Generation Me; Twenge is another name I’ve heard plenty; she seems to take a slightly more negative view than some.
Be SURE to check out Pew’s landing page on Millennials, and be sure to notice the downloadable report. Pew’s quiz, How Millennial Are You? is also very cool.
Honestly, the Wikipedia entry on Generation Y does what Wikipedia does well: boils things down.
And the Economist Intelligence Unit put out a helpful free .pdf a couple of years ago.
Finally, Leonard Sweet spoke at the National Leadership Forum I attended in ’08, and his stuff seems very in tune with Millennials’ learning styles.
But this is where I need your help: What articles (that’s best) or books (especially accessible ones) would you suggest for crash-coursing on the Millennial Generation?
and mine
I have tried here on the blog to help us think about Millennial-ness and Ministry; hopefully some of my stuff will provide a handy crash course, too.
The best thing I’ve done on this is observing the several ways Jimmy Fallon’s show caters to Gen Y. Another go-to post springboards from a Customer Service company’s Millennial research. Or skim through all my posts connected to the Millennial Generation right here – including Millennial movie reviews, links to other sources, and much more.
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O
One year ago today, I e-published Reaching the Campus Tribes: An Opening Inquiry. The response – then and continuing – has been utterly encouraging.
So I want to THANK YOU. Thanks to the many of you who helped spread the book: electronically, of course, but also via CD, via email… even via paper! Thanks to everyone who has said the book encouraged them, taught them, or catalyzed some part of their work.
If you haven’t read the book yet (c’mon, what are you waiting for?), I’ll tell you what I tell everybody:
You can easily read this book in a day… and it’s even got lots of great pictures!
But I’ll also add this: I really believe this book reflects much of the collective wisdom that can be found throughout the country, because it was borne from interviews with hundreds of college ministers. We know that what we do isn’t like most other ministries in Christendom; this book simply gives us a framework to make sense of this incredible thing we get to be a part of.
And hopefully – and this is one area that depends on you guys – those outside of college ministry will read Reaching the Campus Tribes, too.
Because they need to understand this. They need to value this work. They need to support this work.
So, again, THANK YOU for helping Reaching to thrive over the past year. I hope it continues to inspire, encourage, and teach. I’m blessed to have any hand in it at all.
thanks to the many who helped spread Reaching online
(if I’ve left someone out, let me know!)
Center for Parent / Youth Understanding · Chi Alpha Campus Ministries (National) · Emerging Scholars Network of InterVarsity · Impact Campus Ministries (part of the NACCM) · Internet Evangelism Day · The Ivy Jungle Network · Jesus Creed blog at BeliefNet · School Christian Fellowships, Canada · Matt Adair, Pastor, Christ Church Presbyterian, Watkinsville, GA · Brian Barela, Campus Crusade, Cal State Chico · Joe and Heidi Barrale, Freedom Life Christian Center, Christiana, PA · Chris Blair, Kats for Christ, Sam Houston State · Chuck Bomar, Founder, CollegeLeader · Chris Bridgeway, Great Commission Ministries national staff · Alice Connor, Lutheran Campus Ministry, University of Cincinnati · Nathan Creitz, ChurchETHOS · Glen Davis, Chi Alpha, Stanford · Jeff Dyer, Calvary Assembly of God, Dover, DE · Tom Grosh, InterVarsity Graduate & Faculty Ministry / Emerging Scholars Network, Central PA · Michelle Geesaman, Pastor, LSU Chi Alpha · Joel Hughes, professor, Kent State University · Kairos College Ministry, Colorado Springs, CO · Brian Kiley, former and future college minister, Pasadena, CA · Larkin Avenue Baptist Church, Elgin, IL · Steve Lutz, Coalition for Christian Outreach, Penn State University · Nick Melazzo, Baptist Student Ministries, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada · Ben Moore, Nazarene Student Ministry, Boise State University · Morschmellow blog, Xenos network · Kirby Oaks, Youth Minister, First Reformed Church, Mitchell, SD · Peace & Power Christian Fellowship, Drexel University · Nick Stromwall, Campus Outreach Minneapolis · University Fellowship of Christians, University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia · Bill Victor, statewide Baptist Collegiate Ministry, Missouri · Bill Westfall, Impact Ministries, Boise State University · Wes Woodell, Campus Ministry United · Kevin Wright, Sheridan Hills Baptist Church, Hollywood, FL · Xenos Christian Fellowship, Stow, OH · Youth Ministry Institute, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Written from Longmont, CO
Road Trip 14 recap, Day 5
i finally updated the Itinerary page: click here to see all explorations so far!
new campuses: University of Colorado (#6), Colorado School of Mines (#7), & Colorado Christian University (#8)
yesterday: a breakfast with college ministers and visits to THREE campuses! I also took Mark to the airport, so I am a solo traveler once again.
today: several explorations, mostly in Boulder, including an… adventure.
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What else could be said about this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament? It’s been phenomenal, and I hope it’s a cool chance for you to revel in the awesomeness of this portion to which God has called us.
Other than that note, I’m going to jump right in to this week’s review of some of the great content from the college ministry blogs around the internet! And because of Spring Break last week, this one’s bursting at the seams with two weeks’ worth of great stuff! (Be sure to check out the bottom, where I link to great college ministry methods as well as books worth checking out for you or your students.)
And away we go…
connected to the ncaa tournament: An awesome Wall Street Journal article explains how the game of basketball originated from college ministry! Then, the New York Times checks out how John Calipari uses social media. (Hat Tip for both of those links to Emerging Scholars.) Lance Crowell offers some college ministry events that could tie in to the remaining tournament games. I provide some links to other various stories – even a short essay – right here. On top of all that, Tim Ehrhardt examines how this year’s gorgeous Cinderella, the University of Northern Iowa, provides traits campus ministries can learn from.
scripture for campus ministry: We need more of this! Billy Crain examines planting, watering, and trusting God about growth – from I Corinthians 3:6 – on the RUF Blog. And Michael Mears riffs on Acts 19:26-27, wisely dreaming of great college ministry that leads to a decrease in idol-purchasing.
understanding millennials: A simple & very helpful quiz by the Pew Research Center: How Millennial are You? provides a lot of understanding (about several generations) along the way. (HT: Emerging Scholars) Tim Elmore, meanwhile, looks at the problems associated with “extended adolescence” – starting here and continuing here.
and more college student understanding: Tom Greentree very intriguingly asks, “Are college students homeless?” Meanwhile, Mark Parker suggests that college ministers have at one thing to offer college students that they desperately need: skill in Discernment.
no more boredom (why speaking well matters in college ministry): A well-developed article on the topic, by a smart college minister who happens to be well-known for his speaking ability: Curt Harlow.
backwards college ministry: I finally started posting about one of the principles most fundamental to my understanding of college ministry. That series is still underway, but you can read the first installment and the second!
various tensions when working with college students: Guy Chmieleski remembers an enormously important discussion he had as he began college ministry – about the under-discussed tension of sexual purity in college ministry. On a related topic, he also examines how to wisely let students in to our lives. Another tension is explored as Guy gives a very timely encouragement to avoid “auto-pilot” after Spring Break. And finally, he shares his own longtime view on how we’re supposed to have a healthy life balance in the midst of our work.
How-tos, Big Ideas, and other Methods posts
- Nick Melazzo ponders experiments in practical missionality in the middle of campus
- Steve Lutz examines integrating with the campus, which he cleverly calls “breaking down the glass wall“
- Brian Barela examines student leadership: wondering whether we’re handing out too many student leadership positions and offering an encouragement to “double down” on truly potential leaders.
- Brian Barela also looks at encouraging change: first, by discovering “statues” in your ministry that might need to go – and then tips for making those changes, despite predicted negatives!
- Exploring College Ministry (that’s me!) looks at using specific methods for the various niches within our ministries
- D. J. Chuang offers links for finding a ministry job (including college ministry)
- Scot McKnight‘s thoughts could come in handy for teaching students how to choose a church
Books (& potential curriculum!) discussed
- Tim Keller’s new book and curriculum: The Gospel in Life, reviewed by Byron Borger
- a satirical assault on the New Atheism: The Loser Letters, reviewed by Scot McKnight
- …and many other books covering belief topics, annotated quite fully (as always) by Byron Borger (with a 20% discount if you order something!)
- Seth Godin’s newest – Linchpin: Steve Lutz connects it to college ministry!
- mini-reviews of various recent reads: here and continued here, by Youth Ministry guru Mark Oestreicher
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You might know that I’ve been exploring the campus ministry scene in the great town of Fort Worth; as I began preparing this post, I was still there. Then a birthday dinner with my sister and her buddies, and then I finally made it back across the Metroplex to home.
It was a good few days, though! I’ll probably blog sometime soon on how valuable a 3-day excursion could be for you, too – lots of learning, lots of observing, and lots of collaborating are easily available to you in this incredible way.
For now, however, there are other great ways to learn, observe, and collaborate – namely, plenty of cool online discussions that relate to college ministry! Eat up, and enjoy (and don’t miss all the great college ministry methods people have been describing – they’re at the bottom!).
vocational theology & transitions: Mike Hickerson of InterVarsity’s Emerging Scholars Network interviews Derek Melleby of the CCO and Center for Parent / Youth Understanding – about Derek’s book (The Outrageous Idea of Academic Faithfulness) and his work on the Transition to College that’s such a struggle for so many Christian kids. A lengthy interview – in a good way. For more on one of those topics, Tim Ehrhardt posts some great thoughts on helping students consider their education and vocation theologically.
why college ministry matters: A great profile of one college minister’s work way up at Syracuse University could be really helpful for sharing the value of College Ministry – and presenting College Ministry as missions. All the more helpful for getting the attention of outsiders, it’s from the major Christian news service Baptist Press.
thinking theologically about the iPhone: The Washington Post looks engagingly at information-obsession, smartphones, and public connection with others. A lot has been written along these lines, but this is better than much of what I’ve seen – in large part because it asks questions more than it offers answers. It could be a really good, basic piece for waking up your students to this important discussion. (HT: Rhett Smith)
weeding out students?: Brian Barela continues his helpful posts on Starting a College Ministry, this time looking at creating purposeful ministry aspects that work to weed out students who aren’t really aligned with the ministry. A tricky topic, and one that I don’t have completely settled in my own mind – but a good read, and definitely worth pondering.
lifechange opens up ministry opportunity: Tim Ehrhardt provides a cool evaluation of our opportunity to minister to students because of – not just in spite of – all the transitions taking place in their lives.
you can help…: …Chad Logan develop a brochure for explaining the basics of Christianity to international students. …Tom Grosh develop a bibliography of resources for understanding the various Generations and how to minister to them!
learning from others: Justin Wallace posts a phenomenal apologia for exploring other college ministries – complete with results from a couple of recent visits he’s gotten to make. A great post, and very worth reading. (And if you could use even more basic motivations for collaboration, Russ Martin provides one.)
two famous new presidents: Christianity Today has posted a couple of interviews with the two new (famous) presidents of two major Evangelical schools: Wheaton College (Philip Ryken) and Baylor University (Ken Starr – yep, that one).
a new college ministry partner to consider: Guy Chmieleski had several helpful posts this week – including reflecting on his NYC mission trip from this week. Perhaps the post with the most heuristic value discussed ministry partnership with alumni – an endeavor that could certainly be worth putting some energy toward in the coming months. (But you should check out the others while you’re there.)
How-tos, Methods, and Under-the-Hoods
- …for starting in a new college ministry position: Lance Crowell has been writing a series on how college ministers (particularly church-based ones) should get going in a new college ministry. Solid stuff, with five brief parts so far. You can find the first post here, and then two, three, four, and five.
- …for engaging students in play: Wes Woodell gives detailed instructions for playing “Humans vs. Zombies” – an interesting way to draw people to your group and have a good time, campus-wide
- …for engaging students in discussion: Mike Hurt provides a really solid look at using discussion groups (instead of “lectures”)
- …for engaging students in spiritual conversation: Mike Mattson of a secular recruitment consulting organization describes his interaction with a Christian campus ministry’s great discussion-starting table at USC. Great chance to see an outsider’s take on a method that has become pretty popular within college ministry.
- …for raising up college ministers: Steve Lutz has been posting his content from a talk he recently did on discerning the call to college ministry – and preparing for the call. Definitely worth giving your students who are (or should be) considering a campus ministry vocation. Start here; 4 posts so far.
- …for getting support for college ministry: Jerry Beavers notes an effort within one denomination to re-emphasize collegiate ministry. While the example applies specifically to their group, it’s a really helpful example for others, who need to consider doing the same within their own denominations or networks! Work the system!
- …for evangelism: Tom Greentree takes a look at one simple evangelistic presentation that’s growing in popularity – and even links to a book that helps go further on this tool and its theology.
- …for celebrating Passover with your students in a few weeks: Derek Leman goes all-out on the instructions and other helps. (HT: Scot McKnight)
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If College Ministry as a field ever becomes as valued in greater Christianity as it should be, it’s conceivable that we’d have a standard Love the College Ministry Month. While many might vote for August or September as a helpful focus-month, I might offer March as a more arresting selection.
Arresting, because this is the month when the whole nation (including the Church) turns to collegiate thoughts – with wide attention to both Spring Break happenings AND the beautiful, truly collegiate extravaganza called the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. What better chances to emphasize the dangers and glories of our wonderful mission fields?
March can also be kind of a bummer-month for college ministers, right? Spring Break and Easter (either during or soon after March) can squash our momentum, sadly – and the following senior-itis and summer-itis don’t help, either.
So if you’re looking ahead in a less-than-excited way to March, just remember I’m celebrating Loving the College Ministry Month. :)
And as part of that celebration, here are some of this week’s more intriguing online discussions for our field:
reflection on a library visit: Nick Melazzo writes a post that starts with Harry Potter in 67 languages and then turns the corner to the profound. It’s been awhile since I’ve enjoyed a college ministry conclusion this much. This is what it means to love your mission field.
two places your response could really help: Tom Grosh asks good questions about building community through Social Media, and he could really use our input for an upcoming talk on the matter. And collegiate church planter Aaron Proffitt is pondering starting a blog about his branch of our field. Encouragement and suggestions would be appreciated!
evangelism debate!: Brian Barela has facilitated an important discussion on his blog (as he often does), this time about “Ministry Mode Evangelism” (more commonly known as “random evangelism” or simply “campus evangelism”). While this campus ministry debate has elicited some helpful comments, watching the debate itself is also quite instructive. (I linked this last week, but there have been a bunch of comments since then.) Campus evangelism strategy is one thing that desperately needs to be discussed well, and this discussion definitely reveals some of the underlying tensions and theses.
atheist reactions to a college ministry conference: Jonathan Weyer posts some of his Atheist friends’ reactions to their involvement at the Jubilee conference.
is our campus ministry work actually working?: Guy Chmieleski offers a strong multi-post discussion on whether classic college ministry methods are actually producing transformative results. He springboards from an academic model called the “Cone of Learning” – and “springboarding” is something we need a lot more of in college ministry discussion. The posts take some interesting turns, too – my favorite is probably the third of the four posts. The posts start here and continue with numbers two, three, and four.
college ministers, learning, & web2.0: Matt McComas asks why more college ministers don’t use social media tools (and gets quite a few helpful comments). Then Matt follows that up with another VERY key question. Good times.
big week: This week at Exploring College Ministry was one of the more popular of the semester! My post on forty decisions you’ve already made about your Large Group Meeting received the most attention; I followed it with a key related observation urging us not to miss the trees for the forest (yes, in that order). I also posted about upcoming opportunities for college ministers, which include a very missional experience in Brazil and two church-based college ministers’ conferences in April.
spring break, by the numbers: Glen Davis provides an “infographic” on Spring Break – it’s certainly interesting, might be good for showing your students, and could also come in handy for sharing the importance of college ministry. I’m assuming the source is accurate, but I did check a couple of the references listed at the bottom. If you’re gonna use it in a broad way, you might want to check it out (as with anything stat-based!).
stay with family or go on a mission trip?: Guy Chmieleski wrestles with the family-balance issues that many married campus ministers have to deal with. Very worth checking out – as well as adding your own thoughts on this vital discussion. He raises the question here, and offers some first answers here.
books!: Steve Boutry posts a great review for college ministers of Sex and the Soul (and he highly encourages reading it). Meanwhile, Derek Melleby reviews Eugene Peterson’s new Practice Resurrection, which discusses both Christian maturity and church – two vital topics for college ministers, right? And the ever-faithful Byron Borger posts all the books he wishes had been released in time for the Jubilee college ministry conference (WITH a big discount – especially if you order some books on the list today!).
for more of this kind of thing: While scouring some saved web pages from the past, I posted a total of 14 college ministry-related items that might interest you – here and here! And you can always check out last weekend’s wrap-up of campus ministry discussions right here.
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