I confess, I just ordered a Monsters University t-shirt.
As a College Minister, I was especially excited when I heard Pixar and Disney was releasing a sequel (or prequel more like) to Monster’s, Inc. As I predicted, the movie really resonated with me.
I thought about writing a review of Monsters University, but after reading the excellent review on…
Franklin, Tennessee, June 18, 2013—Seedbed Publishing has entered an agreement to publish Dr. Guy Chmieleski’s second book, Campus gods: Exposing the Idols that Can Derail Your Present and Destroy Your Future. (working title)
“The university campus may be the most strategic soil in the kingdom of God and we must work together to cultivate it for the twenty-first-century world, said Dr. Chmieleski. “With the dual trends of the college years as an extended period of adolescence and the rise of a highly genericized version of the Christian faith, it is imperative to creatively and compellingly infuse the whole gospel of grace and truth into the spiritual life of the campus.”
“One of Seedbed’s core commitments is to the college campus. We have a tremendous interest and energy for publishing a rich theological vision for life, faith, and future vocation geared for college students and the campus ministries who serve them,” said J. D. Walt, Seedbed’s sower-in-chief.
I mentor because I was mentored.
I was young and just starting seminary. My first seminary professor in my first seminary class walked in slowly carrying a large stack of books and papers. He set them down on his desk, looked across the hundred or so students in the classroom and said, “Beloved, let’s begin.”
“Beloved?” I responded with a bit of sarcasm in my mind. He doesn’t even know me. Am I going to have to sit through King James lectures all semester?
But sit under his lectures I did, and I might have even learned some of the content as well. But the real lesson was always, “Beloved.”
June is here!
And I hope you have gotten fully in to your summer rhythm by now.
May was a different kind of month here at FaithONCampus.com! This May, much like last May, became a month for a different kind of writing.
Last May’s efforts produced Shaping Their Future: Mentoring Students Through Their Formative College Years. It’s a resource geared towards parents, pastors, professors, coaches, employers, etc. — really anyone who might serve as a mentor to students during some of the most formative years of their lives.
Well, this May’s efforts were geared towards a book for students — and I hope to share more information with you soon! So, stay tuned.
Many times in ministry, especially college ministry, you feel like you are walking alone. Just drifting along, trying to survive, and isolated from others in ministry.
College Ministry has been described as the Navy Seals of ministry — It’s very hard work and no one ever gives you credit when it goes well (plus, some people erroneously call us Youth Ministers, a pet peeve of mine).
I am surrounded by a great church staff, but they often fail to grasp what college ministry is or have the tools to push me in my goals and desires.
Why I Mentor…
When I entered college at the University of Cincinnati, my goal was to get away from the calling that I knew God had on my life. I knew He had called me to ministry, but I wanted no part in it.
My mother sent an email to the Campus Pastor for the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at UC, Ken Dillard. He contacted me and invited me to a gathering of Christians on campus.
I reluctantly went — and things have never been the same since then.
It’s the dreaded college triangle. If you choose a social life and sleep, you sacrifice good grades. If you choose good grades and sleep, you give up the social life. If you choose a social life and good grades, then you won’t be getting sleep anytime soon.
The moment I thought I had the college triangle figured out, I began my life as a youth and college minister while still in school. At the age of 22, I was a senior in college, engaged to my high school sweet heart, and began serving as the new youth and college director. My college triangle now turned into a rectangle. So what do I choose now? Social life? Good grades? Sleep? Or ministry? What would be sacrificed because of my decision? These very real questions began to haunt my everyday life.
-1
That is my score for music/worship on any spiritual gift/talent inventory I’ve ever taken. Ok, -1 isn’t a score, but it’s my lowest category of any of them.
Growing up, I was told that you needed to spend all your time making your weaknesses better. But I would disagree. No matter how hard I work, I will still have no rhythm or be able to play most instruments. However, I am aware of that.
Knowing my weaknesses helps me delegate them.
Why I Mentor…
I love doing life and ministry with young adult women. More often than not, these young women teach me and pour into my life with their fresh perspectives. Here are three lesson’s I’ve learned from spending time with my “slightly” younger girlfriends that I mentor.
It’s the time of year when campus goes quiet and graduating students begin to face the reality of life after college.
And for some students, this new reality will mean be a major challenge.
I recently ran across this humorous commercial that seems to have captured (for me) one of the challenges today’s students struggle with — dreaming big while still being responsible and realistic.
And truth be told, I’m not exactly sure how best to help our students with this…