I’m excited to announce that as a part of next week’s Sex & the Soul Blogathon, we will be giving away 5 copies of Abbie Smith’s forthcoming book Celibate Sex: Musings on Being Loved, Single, Twisted, and Holy.
Make sure to read all the way to the bottom to learn the context rules!
Preparation for the next blogathon is now underway!
As you very well know, today’s college students are more wounded than ever. They’ve been exposed to, or personally experienced, a lot of pain and hurt in relation to sex, issues of sexuality, and their intersection with the Christian faith.
And what they need most are women and men who are willing to “get dirty” with them in order to understand the depths of their hurts.
They need someone like you and like me to come alongside them — suspending judgment — and journey with them towards healing, reconciliation, and redemption.
The 3rd Annual Sex & the Soul Blogathon…
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.
Leading is a challenge.
Leading in the midst of division is all the more so.
But I’m confident that it can be done.
As our nation begins to settle into the reality of last night’s election, and the direction of our country for the next four years, there are some things that I hope our elected officials might consider — and that we, as ministry leaders, might model — as we seek to move forward for the betterment of those that we have been called (or elected) to serve.
“No.”
How often to you use this word? Do you feel the freedom to use it — to tell people no, to turn down a request?
My guess is the answer to that question is “no.” Or at least, not very often.
We feel called by God — to serve others. To be available. To make a difference.
“No,” just feels so unhelpful — even unChristian.
But is it?
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.
We are not professionals.
We’re not.
At least I’m not.
You see, I was reminded this past weekend — at an Ordination Service of all things — that those of us in full-time ministry positions are NOT professionals. We can’t be.
To be a “professional” is to imply a level of expertise — which is attainable in a number of fields — but not in ministry.
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.
I’ve been asked to contribute a few suggestions for resources that can be used to equip those who do campus ministry so that we might do the job well, insightfully, profoundly.
I love that simple verse in 1 Chronicles 12:32 that names the reputation of the “sons of Issachar” who “understood the times and knew what God’s people should do.”
Reading widely can help us become Issacharian, helping us understand our context and how best to serve.
“What are your plans now?” This question tortures most soon-to-be college graduates.
High School Seniors are barraged as well, “Where are you going to college?” They are asked over and over again.
I hear it when my friends ask, “When are you getting back into your Doctor of Ministry program?”
Even my seven-year old twins aren’t immune to our culture’s obsession with the future. “What grade will you be in next year?” What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Truly, middle class North Americans love planning for the future. Perhaps no sub-culture is more future-oriented than that of higher education. Faculty and staff are planning for their upcoming semester or their tenure applications, students are planning for the next week, for the rest of the semester, for next semester, for after graduation, etc.