Category: Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Blogathons, Student Culture, Trends & Issues

The THIRST

Jesus told the Samaritan Woman that ‘whoever drinks of this water will thirst again.’ (John 4:13 emphasis mine)

Never before has this Scripture come screaming at me as it does when I watch some of the interactions of students on the college campus. The phenomenon of dating is evolving, and the church isn’t keeping up. The idea of a more traditional mindset of dating where the guy talks with the family…especially the father…about courting his daughter is nothing more than a manuscript of a 1950’s sitcom that airs reruns on TVLand.

Gone are the ideals of respect, trust, love and commitment.

Blogathons, Student Culture, Trends & Issues

How Far Is Too Far?

“If God was looking down on you, would it look any different to Him?”

I was in college and struggling with setting physical boundaries with my current boyfriend. I knew that God intended sex for within the confines of marriage and believed there were consequences if I disobeyed, but I wasn’t sure where the line was. How far is too far? I knew I felt shame and guilt for some of the behavior I had engaged in, but was it really wrong or was I over re-acting?

I shared these thoughts with my friend and mentor, Jenn.

Blogathons, Student Culture, Trends & Issues

The Final Rose: Deciding on “The One”

College can be a confusing time—figuring out what we are, what we want to do, and most importantly, who we want to marry.

Okay, maybe not most importantly.

I’ve previously written a post about marrying “The One” and whether or not only one actually existed.

I created this video post for those wondering how to tell whether your current “one” is actually The One. I’m sure you get that question all the time from your students.

Blogathons, Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Sex in the Digital Age: What to Remember About the Perspectives of Young Adults

The digital age has completely changed any conversation relating to sex. Statistics tell us that by the time a college student arrives on campus, they have been exposed to sexually explicit material for an average of seven years.

Those of us who work with students on a regular basis recognize the emotional and spiritual toll this takes on those on our campuses. We see the numbness, the apathy and the brokenness that often accompanies this saturation of explicit material.

Increasingly, I am becoming more aware of the physical manifestations of a sexual identity formed in the digital age. There is a growing amount of research relating to the actual neurological changes caused by long-term exposure to explicit material. The scientific term for this is neuroplasticity. Neurologically speaking, route behaviors we participate in have the ability to wire our brain to respond in certain ways and to specific stimuli.

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

The Naked Truth about Sex in College

The primary reason that college students leave their faith in college is their personal desire for sexual freedom and its incompatibility with religious morality.

Approximately 65% of all college students have had sex.

25% of college women’s first encounter with sex was unwanted or forced.

Less than 30% of college students have had a healthy conversation with their parents about the “birds and the bees”

GK Chesterton says, “The guy knocking on the brothel door is knocking for God”

Blogathons, Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Sex Does Affect Their Souls

I’m not sure I’m in the best position to make a contribution to this blogathon, given its topic, Sex and the Soul. I have grown long in the tooth and I find myself sounding like my parents.

But, I must be honest: I think the topic looms huge, the veritable 500-pound gorilla always there in the corner of the room.

Maybe a story from my own college experience will help to frame my concern.

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Are Long-Distance Relationships Better???

With 7 out of every 10 students claiming to have been in a long-distance relationship at some point, they are probably something we should know more about.

Long-distance relationships are not new, but advances in technology have made staying connected to high school sweethearts — or significant others from a previous school — a lot easier.

Yet, what do we really know about long-distance relationships???

And how do we assist students when we typically only get to see one side of the relationship.

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

The Problem of Future

The problem of future is simple — it’s not now.

And today’s student has a hard time grasping much that is “yet to come.” It’s not that they’re dumb — in fact we know that quite the opposite is true of them. But with so much going on in this very moment, it’s hard to think much beyond it.

They understand the here and the now — because they’ve grown up in an “instant” culture.

About a year ago I wrote a post entitled: Overcoming a Culture of Instant Gratification. In it I talk about needing to introduce students the discipline of slow. Why slow? Because in slow — and only in the slow of life — can some things truly grow and take shape in the ways that they need to.