Blogathons, Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Gluttony: It’s Not Just For Dinner

“Luke just finished a 10 lb burrito!” exclaimed his friend Colin rushing back from one of our local Mexican restaurants.

Gluttony: to gulp down or swallow; a serious failure in self-discipline. Always the words you want to start the semester with.

I work with two campuses that have the same problem in opposite directions. Campus A is a denominational school that requires chapel twice a week, often bonus chapels, has only one strong Christian organization that many attend, and service opportunities around the school.

Campus B is…

Leadership Development, Spiritual Formation

The Power of Intentional Mentorship

Every four years, I wait with anticipation for the start of the Summer Olympic Games. This year, the world watches the Olympic triumphs of athletes around the world in London.

When I watch these athletes compete and win medals, I am reminded that their journey is a process, not only a solitary moment on the world stage.

These committed athletes train relentlessly with the assistance of coaches intentionally providing strategy, tips and pointers along the way.

As it is with the athletes preparing for their Olympic moment, so it should be with the intentional developing of college students and young adults for the rest of their lives!

Big Ideas & 'Best Of'

Making Oyster Casserole For Your Ministry: Why College Ministries Should Use Recipe Cards

Try as she might, my mother never could quite replicate my grandmother’s oyster casserole. The wisdom of fine tuning and perfecting her shellfish delicacy passed from this world when my grandmother left us. Like so many families in similar situations, we’ve asked the anguished, hungry question “Why didn’t she write that stinkin’ recipe down?!?!”

Not that a written recipe would have guaranteed success but we would have at least had a head start, something to use as a guide. It certainly would have spared my family some of mom’s less than stellar attempts at reproducing grandma’s special dish. And who knows how many countless Pinterest users might be pinning her recipe right now if we had it to put out there and share with the world?

Transitions

Against the Current: Understanding the Mindset of an Incoming College Freshman

When I was in college, I went rafting with some friends. We were coasting down a medium-size rapid when, all of a sudden, we dropped about four feet on a dip that we didn’t see coming.

Falling off my tube, I remember having to swim upstream to get back onto my float that had become lodged between a rock and a hard place.

Tired from the struggle, I remember wondering if the experience was worth it at all.

Blogathons, Spiritual Formation

From Forest to Tree: Changing our view of discipleship to value the individual

Have you ever felt like the only tree in the forest that wasn’t like the others? Like all of the trees around you have roots that suck water through huge PVC pipe while your roots are trying to suck through a coffee stirrer?

At some point I am sure each of us have felt this way.

This awkwardness is felt by many when entering a discipleship group on a week night in the dorm.

You know what I mean–you are so envious when the person next to you starts spouting off quotes from last week’s reading. They eloquently recite half the book of James while you struggle to stay focused and wade through the material in order to participate.

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Strings Attached: Why the “hook-up culture” affects you

[This is an excerpt from an article I wrote for Threads Media on the impact of the hook-up culture.]

The hookup culture — this “no strings attached” paradigm toward casual sexual encounters — has become the new normal among many Christian collegiates in America. According to Relevant magazine, “Eighty percent of young, unmarried Christians have had sex. Two-thirds have been sexually active in the last year. Even though, according to a recent Gallup poll, 76 percent of evangelicals believe sex outside of marriage is morally wrong.”1

Yes, college students are having sex at alarmingly high rates, but truth be told, everyone is not doing it. One out of five young Christians have never had sex. One out of three haven’t had sex in the past year. If you haven’t had sex … you’re not alone. If you have, and you’re ready for a fresh start, now’s the time!

Big Ideas & 'Best Of', Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Are You a Part of the Important Conversations on Campus?

I’m still processing what took place yesterday…

I hadn’t really heard much of the story before I began to notice the steady stream of status updates relating to a certain fast food chain.

At first I thought there was a big giveaway happening — but then I started to read the updates, and corresponding comments, a little more closely.

There it was — a culture war on religion, sexuality, and civil rights being played out by countless Americans — both online (through updates and comments — behind the safety and distance that a screen can provide) and in line (waiting for chicken).

Big Ideas & 'Best Of'

Top Posts for July 2012

It’s August!

And that can only mean one thing — the return of students is now imminent.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that the pace has started to quicken around campus, as we begin to make final preparations for the incoming class of students — and all their returning peers.

It’s an exciting time of year for sure — are you ready?

Now, here are the Top 10 most viewed posts at FaithONCampus.com for the month of July!

The Campus Minister

You Need Doctrine, Not More Kindness

Dwayne was a fairly simple man. His kids were grown up, and he lived in the middle of Kansas in a mid-size town where he ran a flower shop with his wife. He loved Jesus, valued scripture as supreme authority, and he prayed for college students. He cared. We also didn’t agree on a lot…

I got the text while sitting on LifeWay’s patio in Nashville, TN, with my wife, and two younger men who were going to be coming on to our ministry staff. We were there for a collegiate conference when a man from a separate collegiate ministry in our town texted me. Shortly after he had met with Dwayne that morning, Dwayne had suddenly passed away from a heart attack. He thought I should know since many of my guys met with and really respected Dwayne.