One of the sentiments I’ve heard a lot from fellow college ministers is their hope not to overburden students’ schedules. This feels like a new emphasis, at least in some quarters, and hearing it time and time again in the past year has really rubbed off on me.
Those guys and gals give a few reasons for regulating how much time they request from students:
- We don’t want students to live entirely in a Christian bubble, but to be around non-Christians, as well.
- We don’t want students to disregard their education.
- We don’t want students trapped by redundancy (a few big worship services each week, 4 Bible studies, etc.)
This effort is shepherding taken to a higher level. “Programming” is one thing, but meta-programming, programming how we program, is another.
Those many ministers have reminded me that I need to respect my students, their schedules, their time, and their callings. Those callings, of course, aren’t just with my ministry; they include callings to their suitemates and friends and classes and families and futures and personal relationships with God.