Author: guy.chmieleski@gmail.com

Leadership Development

7 Things I’ve Learned From Being on the Same Campus for 7 Years

You may have caught my post last week, reflecting on 15 Things I’ve Learned from 15 Years of College Ministry. If not, you should check it out!

Those 15 years have unfolded on four different campuses — but the last seven have been in the same place. And truth be told, I’m surprised that I’ve made it this long.

It’s not that I’m a bad employee — often at risk of getting fired. Nor is it that I dislike the place I work (or that I’ve previously worked) — all have been great! It has more to do with me — and my propensity for change.

In the past, I’ve enjoyed starting on a new campus, making new relationships, assessing what’s working — and what’s not, and then discerning how God wanted to use me in that place.

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Prescription Drug Abuse and The Good Grade Pill

You may already know this, but prescription drug abuse on campus is on the rise.

It’s hard to get an accurate read on just how rampant the problem is, but some reports suggest as high as 40% of students misuse prescription drugs just to aid in their studies.

And that doesn’t account for students who are misusing drugs for the sake of getting high or “taking the edge off” in order to have less anxiety in different social settings.

With a generation of students that were more heavily (and quickly) medicated as youth, now arriving on campus, the amount of prescription drugs on campus shouldn’t surprise us.

Big Ideas & 'Best Of'

15 Things I’ve Learned From 15 Years of College Ministry

As a way of kicking off my 16th year of ministry with college students (which also marks 20 years since I entered the college world as a freshman myself — Biology major to boot), I thought I’d share 15 of the most important lessons I’ve learned about ministry with college students.

I know that this list could be much longer, but these are some of the things that have shaped my life and ministry the most over the course of the last 15 years — and served to shape my current trajectory.

My guess is that most of these things will not be new to you — but hopefully seeing them all in one place (as a new year begins) will serve to encourage, inspire, or challenge you as you launch out in service of college students — for the glory of God.

So here goes:

Big Ideas & 'Best Of'

The Mindset List for the Class of 2016

They’re here, but are we ready for them?

And what I mean by “ready” is — have we sufficiently done our homework in order to know who, exactly, the students that make up the Class of 2016 are?

If your answer to that question is “no,” — know that you’re not alone.

And thankfully there’s a resource that can help to quickly get us up to speed on this year’s incoming class of college students.

It’s known as The Mindset List and is put out yearly by Beloit College.

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

[ INFOGRAPHIC ] $83.8 Billion Back-to-School Shopping Spree

It started today — for us.

It may have already started for you. If not, it will soon.

I’m talking about the return of students to campus!

It’s time for another academic year to begin — which likely means that there will be a trip (or two — or more) made to the mall, the grocery store, and/or the local Walmart in order to get everything they’ll need to be successful in the year ahead!

And as new and returning students prepare to move to campus, and we prepare to help them lug their belongings from car to room, here’s some insight into what we might be carrying (not to mention the kind of money students — or their parents — will be spending):

Leadership Development, Student Leaders

Failure is NOT Fatal; Perfection NOT a Requirement

It’s one of the biggest messages are student leaders need to hear this year:

Failure is NOT fatal; Perfection NOT a requirement.

Because the truth is that — for fear of failure — many of our students will struggle to really give themselves fully to their leadership roles this year.

Of course, this sounds counter-intuitive at first — but when we give less than our best, less than 100%, we’ve then got an excuse for when things don’t go well.

Student Leaders

5 Lies (Student) Leaders Believe

Yesterday was our day of campus-wide leadership training.

It’s a time when we bring together all of the students leaders of varying student groups across campus for some shared training and team building.

For the day, we set aside the planning and preparation for our specific areas to recognize that we — as leaders — are not alone on campus. There are others who aspire to similar heights, and face many of the same challenges that we do.

From year to year it’s never quite the same — and I think this year might have been one of our best efforts!

Personally, I had the chance to co-present to our student leadership population of 350+ about the lies many leaders believe. Many of these lies were identified by different student leaders who have seen them — in some shape or fashion — played on within the student leadership culture on our campus.

Student Leaders

5 Keys to Your Student Leader’s Success

Strong ministry leadership is foundational to success.

Informed, well-trained, and intentionally supported student leadership is essential to magnifying the power of, and exponentially expanding the reach of, your ministry on campus.

Student leadership isn’t just important for your ministry, but it’s an incredible opportunity for students to develop their gifts, explore their passions, and serve Christ in their campus community.

But good student leaders, and good student leadership, don’t just happen.

Transitions

‘Stuck in a Moment’ That They Can’t Get Out Of

The beginning of the school year — it’s one of our busiest times of the year.

So many students to meet, so many to reconnect with.

It’s a season in which life seems to move at an incredibly pace — nearly impossible to keep up with — or so it would seem.

Yet I was recently reminded that while this might be true for many of us, it isn’t true for everyone.

I’ve got a friend I’ve been visiting in the hospital the past few weeks. In my visits with him I’ve been reminded that time moves slower there. Much slower.