1 Glaring Deficiency
One glaring deficiency. That’s all it can take to leave the kind of bad taste in someone’s mouth that they no longer […]
One glaring deficiency. That’s all it can take to leave the kind of bad taste in someone’s mouth that they no longer […]
Why do you lead? What does leadership mean to you?
Faith ON Campus is excited to announce the next Blogathon:
Back to School | August 6-8, 2013!
I know it probably feels like the summer just started — but the reality is that the new school year is just around the corner — so with that in mind, it’s time to make plans and preparations for this upcoming opportunity to come together for some collective thinking and sharing about how to make the most of this critical time of the year!
That’s what the Back to School Blogathon is all about!
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.
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.
Growing up in a larger church, you would think that I could go through youth group picking the best mentors out there and entering college as the next Billy Graham.
That’s what everyone would think at least.
In reality, it was not until my freshmen year of high school that my Sunday School teacher and I began a relationship that changed my life forever. Harry Barber (yes, that’s his real name), who was my interim youth minister and incredible mentor, worked together with me every week for a year and a half as he taught me how to lead my peers at church. We did life together and I learned by watching his example.
The problem with tolerance is both simple and complex — and has everything to do with how we understand it and attempt to live it out.
It’s simple in the sense that this cultural call to create space for those who don’t believe exactly like you speaks to the kind of charity and hospitality that we see exemplified by Christ.
This is good. And something that many of us as Christians have struggled with for a long time now.
I believe that Christians should be a living definition of charity and hospitality.
But it’s complex in that — for far too many followers of Jesus — we understand it to mean that we need to keep our beliefs and opinions to our selves.
The #iMentor Initiative was started to honor the investment of mentors all over the world, and to encourage potential mentors to take the initiative in starting an intentional relationship with a college student today.
Read my story here.
Mentoring.
I think one could easily build the case for this being one of the most challenging times in history to attempt to mentor—especially young adults.
And at the same time I think one could just as easily build the case for this being one of the direst of times for young adults—where mentors are needed now, more than ever.