Earlier this summer I had the chance to sit with Dr. Tim Clydesdale, author of The First Year Out: Understanding American Teens After High School.
His current project (which I think will be released sometime this summer or fall) is on college students collectively.
The research he conducted with high school grads (many of whom went to college), that was presented in his first book, was carried on and was the focus of our conversation.
For the past several years our ministries have been challenged to consider how to better reach — and connect with — an increasingly digital world.
From websites to blogs, to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN and Pinterest accounts, online registration and release forms, images and videos — even live streaming.
In many ways it’s felt necessary to obtain additional degrees in web management and social media strategy to co-inside with the ministry degrees many of us hold.
And things continue to grow and change in this area.
Fridays are for ‘Reclaiming Words!’
The intent of this series is to explore words that I think need to be introduced — or re-introduced — to this current generation of college students.
These words have lost their meaning… or have been mis-used or redefined in unhelpful ways… and therefore need to be reclaimed and redefined (again) so that they can be realized by our students!
Today’s word: HOLY.
I ran across this collection of statistics and wanted to make sure I shared with you — in case you hadn’t run across it in your own online reading.
There’s a lot here.
And the good folks at Gallup did a great job of covering a broad range of “moral” topics.
What we don’t know about those who were polled for this data is what religious affiliation (if any) the respondents claim. Likely, it’s a pretty accurate cross-section of the American population, and therefore, it would be safe to say that these are the dominant “beliefs” of American culture.
Some great insight into the benefits of internships!
Do you have standards for your leaders?
You know, those people who mean so much to your ministry efforts — the ones who serve as extensions of you and the ministry you oversee. Those people that multiply your reach and effectiveness exponentially. Those individuals that magnify the effectiveness of your ministry because of the unique gifts, passions, and talents the bring to the table.
You know, those folks…
Do you have standards that might qualify (or disqualify) them for leadership within your ministry?
They’re gone, but not forgotten.
They are our student leaders — the heartbeat of our ministry on campus — and they’ve dispersed for the summer months.
But thanks to all of the advances in technology, keeping up with them this summer has never been easier!
And it will be important that we do, because the pace of life that most students live at is mind-boggling. They are heavy consumers of experiences and information… and they don’t like to say “No” to much that comes their way.
Somewhat ironically, though not surprisingly, I’m sitting in a coffee shop reflecting on the idea of hospitality.
At the Edge House, the place where I engage college students at the University of Cincinnati, I have often described my approach as a mix of discipleship and hospitality.
We think hospitality is a pretty critical metaphor for the Gospel.
But when I use the word hospitality, I sometimes hear reactions which betray a misunderstanding of the biblical/Jewish/Christian practice of hospitality.
From going to class, balancing studying and socializing, maintaining relationships and dealing with financial burdens, today’s college student has a great deal on his or her mind. Take a look at just some of the issues college students may be concerned about on a daily basis.
Offered by: Muhammad Saleem
We need a redeemed and transformed ecclesiology.
Ecclesiology is simply a big seminary word for the way we think and talk about and practice this thing called Church.
It comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which means “a public gathering of people,” and is the word that gets translated “church” in the New Testament.