Navigating the Potholes of Leadership (in the Year Ahead)

I recently ran across this quote while re-reading Parker Palmer’s, Let Your Life Speak:

We will become better teachers not by trying to fill the potholes in our souls but by knowing them so well that we can avoid falling into them. (Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak, p. 52)

As I read and re-read those words, something resonated deep within me, and I was able to see how these wise words apply for beyond the scope of teaching — to touch most of life really.

Given the work that we do with students, my first thought was to replace the word teachers in the aforementioned quote, with the word leaders (or pastors or equippers:

Overcoming the Curse of Our Age

It’s a new year, which means that a new season of ministry with students is upon us.

And as we’ve launched into 2013, I’ve generated a new reading list, and decided to start the year by re-reading a couple of classics.

One of my first re-reads of the year is Richard Foster’s, Celebration of Discipline.

I couldn’t venture a guess as to the number of times that I’ve worked through this book. The first time I read it I was in grad. school — and it changed my life! Since then I’ve re-read it several times on my own, and led numerous groups through it as a way of learning to work on the interior life.

Top Posts of December 2012

December is always a little quieter month here at FaithONCampus.com by comparison to the rest — and this year was no exception.

With the conclusion of the fall semester, preparations for the Christmas holiday, and a paternity leave on top of all that — I posted far fewer posts last month then I have in the two and a half years I’ve been blogging.

But you still showed up! Scanning the Archives, combing back through recent articles that you may have missed, and even enjoying the few new ones I posted — you hopefully found the resources you were looking for as you closed out a fall of ministry, and began to think towards the year ahead.

Below is a list of the Top 10 most viewed posts from the month of December.*

Top Posts of All-Time

Hey! Thanks for stopping by FaithONCampus.com! My name is Guy and I’m the primary author and curator of this site.

Over the course of the past two and a half years I’ve enjoyed hosting a wide-range of conversations exploring the convergence of Christ, culture, and the college experience.

Below is a list of the TOP 10 most viewed posts of all-time.

They are a sampling of the more than 650 posts that can be accessed in the Archives.

2012’s Top 12 Posts

Wow! It’s been another great year here at FaithONCampus.com.

Thanks to all of you who helped to shape these conversations, challenge my thinking, and push me into new realms of research and praxis in the world of college ministry.

Here are the TOP 12 most viewed posts of the year!

The Top 12 Guest Posts of 2012

Merry Christmas — one and all!

As we move further in to the Christmas season, and nearer the end of 2012, it’s time to for some of my annual countdowns.

It seems fitting to start with one of the things I am most thankful for — because it’s what makes being a part of Faith ON Campus so enjoyable for me — and that’s YOU!

Some of you have gone so far as to offer guest posts at different seasons, that have helped to provide a unique perspective and/or insight that I myself could not offer — and the collective Faith ON Campus community has benefited from it — GREATLY!

So for my first countdown of 2012, I bring to you the Top 12 Guest Posts of the year!

How Might Technology Change the Face of Higher Education by 2020?

60% of college presidents surveyed said they believe we’re going to see major changes in Higher Education by the year 2020 — just seven short years from now.

What’s driving this shift? A major factor is most assuredly is the high price of education.

In fact, 75% of adults polled in a recent Pew Research study said that college is too expensive for most Americans to afford, and 57% of adults said that U.S. Higher Education system fails to provide students with a good value for their money.

So what’s the alternative to traditional Higher Ed.? What’s a more cost-effective way for young people to get further education beyond high school?

Because I’m Thankful for Y-O-U…

I have so much to be thankful for this year… not the least of which is the work God has called me to with college students.

And I’m thankful to have you as a colleague — wherever you serve — on mission to reach this generation of college students for Christ.

As an expression of my appreciation for you — and all that you do — I’m extending to you a 20% discount to the 2013 Faith ON Campus Summer Institute.

Top Posts for October 2012

WOW — it’s November!

We’ve turned a corner and can now see Thanksgiving break off in the distance — and so can our students.

It’s been another good month here at FaithONCampus.com. Thanks to all who participated in The Art of Self-Leadership Blogathon. This month’s Top 10 includes a number of great guest posts from this event.

When you’re done checking out these posts, I begin to think more intentionally about the remaining weeks of the fall term, I’d encourage you to check out Ideas for November.

Now, on to this month’s Top 10 most viewed posts at FaithONCampus.com!

Hiding Behind Busy

In the last year, I’ve gotten to a place where the hamster wheel that I feel like I’m on is spinning out of control. Because I’ve been on the hamster wheel for, oh, about 25 years (I perfected managing a schedule, balancing responsibilities, and not lying around at a very early age), I actually know better how to live busy than I do to live balanced. I’ve explained to friends and family for years… okay, decades, that “things are going to slow down soon,” or “I’m just hustling now and I will get a break in a couple of weeks.”

In the midst of the busyness of ministry, I’ve learned that perhaps busyness is masking a dirty little secret. In the last year as I’ve examined both the cause and the cost of my busyness, I’ve begun to wonder if sometimes my busyness is actually…