Tag: calling

Leadership Development, The Campus Minister

A Rich but Often Overlooked Resource for Self Leadership

While we lead others, we must lead ourselves. I often say to students who are planning on going into ministry, “We lead with our lives.” Ministry is, in one big sense, witness. Not infallible witness (we are all flawed, so please don’t climb on the inadequacy bandwagon), but witness, nonetheless.

In the best ministry, we are transparent, vulnerable, even when we’re assertively taking charge and doing great things.

This is the paradox of spiritual leadership.

Leadership Development, The Campus Minister

Staff Meeting For One

As I walk into a familiar local deli, I am greeted by a hostess who smiles and says, “Staff Meeting for one?” I smile and nod to acknowledge that it is, in fact, Monday morning and time for my weekly staff meeting…with myself.

Over coffee and a danish, I call the meeting to order, seeing that all are present, and I begin the process of getting on the same page with myself for the week. For the next hour, I will spend time in prayer and Scripture reading, then look over my week and begin to chart out the happenings of the next seven days.

This meeting is critical to the overall outcome of my week. The days of going into the week blind, only addressing the issues as they come, are over. If I am going to lead others, I must first lead myself.

Leadership Development

Is Your Ministry Overwhelmed?!

Is your ministry overwhelmed?

It’s a fair question, but one I think we often feel guilty asking.

The picture above is of a Bradford pear tree — that has split in two.

This picture captures the beautiful blossoms that grace this particular kind of tree every spring — which is why so many people choose to put them in their yards.

If you’ve ever driven down a road, lined with Bradford pears in full bloom, then you know what I’m talking about. It’s like driving through a path of gigantic Q-Tips that have been cut in two and shoved into the ground.

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

The Growing Population of “Nones”

A few days ago the Pew Forum Research Center released some new statistics on faith in America. And what it revealed was not good.

19.6% of Americans claim no religious affiliation. This includes those claiming to be both agnostic and atheist.

And this number has gone up nearly 5% in just the past 5 years.

Even worse, 33% of Americans under the age of 30 claim no religious affiliation.

Big Ideas & 'Best Of'

4 Ways to Build a Culture of Inclusivity Within Your Ministry

In a post last week I talked about students who are struggling this time of year because, as social scenes are beginning to solidify, they are finding themselves unexpectedly on the outside looking in.

I suggested that, as ministers and ministries, we have a unique and important opportunity here. We need to create a hospitable place where these students — ALL students, really — can belong and be known.

But this kind of culture doesn’t just magically happen within our ministry contexts. It takes intention. It takes work.

So here are four ways I think we can help to create a culture of inclusivity within our ministries:

Leadership Development

Catalyst Conference and Bloggers Meetup

Next week I’ll be pushing my introverted self to my outer limits, as I once again brave the crowd for the 2012 Catalyst Conference.

I consider it a good exercise in putting aside my own desires (to only be in rooms containing a small number of people — ideally, people I know to some degree), in order to hear from some of the leading thinkers and practioners in Christian ministry, as well as to connect with friends — many of whom I’ve only ever connected with online.

So if you’re going, I’d love to find a time and place to connect.

And if you’re a blogger, or dabble in blogging, or are thinking about starting a blog some day, you may want to consider joining a much smaller crowd on Wednesday evening (Oct. 3rd) at the Atlanta Bloggers Meetup.

Big Ideas & 'Best Of'

The Cutting Edge of Some “Evagelism”

We had a visitor on campus last week — of the “street preacher” variety.

He stood at the edge of campus (where it’s legal for him to be), and shouted at students as the passed by, that they were going to hell — for a whole host of reasons.

Have you experienced this where you serve? I imagine some have.

It’s troubling on a number of levels.

Big Ideas & 'Best Of'

How Big is the ‘Front Porch’ of your Ministry?

How big is the “front porch” of your ministry?

It’s another way of asking if your ministry creates space for students to belong — before they believe.

If the house, in this metaphor, represents the “inside” of your ministry — the place where believers go to be fed and nurtured spiritually — then the front porch represents an important place of gathering that is both inviting and inclusive.

And although we’d all like to believe that our ministries do, in fact, offer this… How do you know for sure?

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

In Christ Alone

This is a guest post I did for one of my new blogger friends, JR Forasteros. He’s a pastor in Dayton, OH and this post is a part of his ‘After Happily Ever After’ series. His blog is a great resource on faith and pop culture. Check out his blog and follow him on Twitter!

In the mid 1990s, the movie Jerry McGuire romanticized the notion of a soul mate — that one person that exists to “complete” us. Maybe you remember these infamous words that still conjure up feelings of desire, destiny, and fulfillment:

Leadership Development

Announcing The Art of Self Leadership Blogathon [Oct. 23-25]

Preparation for the next Blogathon are now underway!

The Art of Self Leadership Blogathon will be a chance for us to talk together about our need to lead self — while faithfully living out our call to lead others. As leaders, we often put our own needs aside in order to focus on those around us. But in order for us to be the effective, healthy, and durable leaders we desire to be, we need to be wise, intentional, and strategic with regard to how we manage our time, establish and protect different boundaries, approach our work, and faithfully live out our call to serve others.

This time will be a chance to explore new ideas and best practices as it relates to our service as faithful leaders, as well as to engage in online conversation about some of the challenges or struggles we face in this area of Self Leadership.