We are not professionals.
We’re not.
At least I’m not.
You see, I was reminded this past weekend — at an Ordination Service of all things — that those of us in full-time ministry positions are NOT professionals. We can’t be.
To be a “professional” is to imply a level of expertise — which is attainable in a number of fields — but not in ministry.
Right about now collegiate leaders all around the country are having a severe dose of reality. Pure pandemonium is about to commence because we’ve realized that in just over four short weeks we’ve got students arriving back on campus and our Fall Semesters will be in full swing.
Dang that was a short summer!
All of our well thought out plans and strategies are about to be tested with a vengeance. We’re hoping our student leadership teams are prepared and have brought their A-Games. And we ourselves are screaming like banshees praying like mad that we haven’t forgotten anything because before we realize it we’re going to have incoming freshman crawling out of the woodwork all over our campus.
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.
At the heart of Christian theology lies the idea that God is one. And if God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4), then the implications are astounding, with, perhaps, the largest being (to borrow a phrase from Richard Rohr) that “everything belongs”.
Many of us live with a bifurcated (or muti-furcated…just made up a word) world. College students are bombarded with this constantly. Whether it be sacred vs. secular, personal vs. public, on-line vs real-life, dualism abounds.
Greetings from our family mini-van — oh the power of technology, powered by thumbs!
We’re currently traveling through Wisconsin, on our way to see family and friends in Minnesota; but I needed to get one more post in before my vacation can officially begin.
If you read my post on Monday, then you learned about some exciting news regarding a couple of books I have in the works.
You would have also noted that at the bottom of that post I eluded to ANOTHER BIG ANNOUNCEMENT coming this week…
Well this is that announcement!
Faith ON Campus is excite to announce the creation of the Faith ON Campus Summer Institute!
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