Category: Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Blogathons, Spiritual Formation, Student Culture, Trends & Issues, The Campus Minister

Mentors and Friends: Why You Need to Be a Spiritual Matchmaker

Walking alone.

Far too many of our students are doing it these days…

I’m not talking about walking alone late at night (although too many are doing that as well), but I’m talking about their approach to life during their formative college years.

Sure, they have friends.

Well, kind of.

They’ve made acquaintances that are often based off of similar tastes in music, class schedules, fashion sense, hometown, housing arrangement, etc… and while some of these relationships have the potential to drift into deeper waters — most never will.

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Should Your Ministry Have a Blog?

FaithONCampus.com is not a central part of my ministry with students.

Yes, it informs my work in a number of ways, but it is not geared towards students — it’s geared towards people who walk with college students, and invest in them on a consistent basis.

But it’s been through my work here that I’ve become increasingly convinced that I needed to add a second blog to my online work — one that is geared towards college students, and specific to the Belmont community.

We’ve been at it for over a year now — and we’re still working to find a good rhythm, as well as content that draws students in — but I’m thoroughly convinced that having a blog is a MUST for ministry with this generation of college students!

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Social Networking as Ministry

Last summer I had the chance to lead a couple of workshops on Social Networking as Ministry at the United Methodist Collegiate Ministries ‘Prepare’ Conference.

It was a lot of fun and generated some great conversation.

I made sure that they knew I did not consider myself to be an “expert” in the area of social networking and let them know that there’s a lot for us to learn from one another as we think about having a pastoral e-presence.

Student Culture, Trends & Issues, The Campus Minister

A Pastoral Presence Online

Campus — today — is not what it use to be.

Technology continues to advance at a staggering pace and social media is making personal and mass-communication (of a new kind) very accessible to whoever wants it… and our students are well-versed in most of it.

About a year ago I had the chance to step away from campus and spend some time with campus ministers from across the U.S. (and Canada!), thinking about our shared work with college students. On our final morning together I was asked to lead our group in a conversation about what is happening here at Faith ON Campus, but I quickly found us expanding the conversations to explore what it meant (and means) to be a pastor in this digital age.

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Snubbing God

In a previous post I talked about why (most) students side with Rob Bell.

Near the end of that post I suggested that, if push came to shove, many students today would choose loyalty to their friends — over and above their loyalty to God.

The reason?

Because they cannot conceive of a God that would subject their non-believing friends to an eternity of pain, suffering and separation from God.

Many of today’s college students, much like Bell (and plenty of others), believe (or want to believe — or need to believe) that God will make a way for those people who do not confess Jesus as Lord during their time here on earth.