Tag: college students

Big Ideas & 'Best Of'

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!

Leadership Development

When Choosing Between Great and (Potentially) Greater

So I’ve got one last post (for now anyway) on the interesting leadership experiment taking place within the San Francisco 49ers organization.

Earlier this week I posted on what young leaders could learn from Colin Kaepernick — the 24-year old quarterback that has been thrust to the helm of a Super Bowl contender.

I also posted on what established leaders might learn from Alex Smith — the long-time starting QB for the 49ers — who had helped to lead the Niners to a 6-2-1 record this season, before getting injured a few weeks ago, and subsequently been replaced by his back-up.

Today I’d like to focus on the man behind this grand leadership experiment — 49ers head coach, Jim Harbaugh.

I think what I’m most taken with is his willingness to take (what appears to be) such a BIG risk.

Leadership Development

Leading in the Face of Unexpected Adversity

How do you handle adversity?

How do you handle unexpected adversity? I mean the kind of adversity that totally knocks you upside the head — because you just never saw it coming?

In the face of that kind of adversity — how do you lead?

These are a few of the questions I’m asking myself as I watch the quarterback situation unfolding in San Francisco.

Big Ideas & 'Best Of'

The ‘Kaepernick Factor’

Have you heard about the “Kaepernick Factor?”

I’m going to guess “No” — in part, because I may have just made it up.

Colin Kaepernick is the new starting quarterback of the surging San Francisco 49ers.

As a 24-year old who has been thrust to the forefront of a Super Bowl contender, he has won his first two NFL starts — leading his team to big wins over the Saints and Bears in back-to-back weeks.

Kaepernick got his big break when Alex Smith, the overall #1 pick from the 2005 draft, got injured during the 49ers win over the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 11th.

Although Smith has been cleared to play, Kaepernick continues to look like the Niners new leading man.

And before this starts to sound too much like a guest post for ESPN, let me tell you what I think any of this matters to you — and the young, aspiring leaders you serve…

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'

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?

Big Ideas & 'Best Of'

How Will You Talk Faith & Politics With Students this Election Year?

Two months from today, most of our students will have their very first chance to vote in a Presidential election.

This is one of many “firsts” that they’ll have the chance to experience while on campus — away from home, and away from those who have been their most trusted voices and advisers for much of their lives.

With such a big decision looming, who will step in and offer some assistance in the decision-making process?

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

5 Reasons Why the ‘Sex Before Marriage’ Conversation Is Such A Big Deal

I started this blog — in it’s original form — three years ago.

On January 11, 2011 I wrote I post entitled Is Sex Before Marriage Really A Sin? for the 1st Annual Sex & the Soul Blogathon.

Since that post went live, it has far and away received the most traffic on my site — accounting for 13,000 views.

Daily — DAILY — I’ll get numerous visits to my blog from people who have used the following terms in search engine searches:

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Prescription Drug Abuse and The Good Grade Pill

You may already know this, but prescription drug abuse on campus is on the rise.

It’s hard to get an accurate read on just how rampant the problem is, but some reports suggest as high as 40% of students misuse prescription drugs just to aid in their studies.

And that doesn’t account for students who are misusing drugs for the sake of getting high or “taking the edge off” in order to have less anxiety in different social settings.

With a generation of students that were more heavily (and quickly) medicated as youth, now arriving on campus, the amount of prescription drugs on campus shouldn’t surprise us.