I’m not sure I’m in the best position to make a contribution to this blogathon, given its topic, Sex and the Soul. I have grown long in the tooth and I find myself sounding like my parents.
But, I must be honest: I think the topic looms huge, the veritable 500-pound gorilla always there in the corner of the room.
Maybe a story from my own college experience will help to frame my concern.
You can’t do it all. Right?!
If you’re reading this, than you’ve probably already figured this out for yourself — to some degree — because the majority of you (my faithful readers) work with college students and have gone through the process of vocational discernment in order to end up doing what you’re doing right now.
But this is not the case for the vast majority of students we serve.
They don’t know they can’t do it all.
In fact, most of them believe that they CAN do ANYTHING they want.
When I started my blog in 2006, I was planning on blogging 4-6 times a month. Unfortunately, over the last two years, I’ve been largely dormant on the blogging front. I won’t bore you with what’s taken precedence, but I’ve decided that in 2013, it’s time to fire up my blog and get it started again. I hope that there might be some things of interest to readers of Faith on Campus.
In the coming year, here’s what you can expect to see:
Win your way to the 2013 Faith ON Campus Summer Institute!
That’s right, I’m giving away 5 tickets to this inaugural event, and you could win one of them.
Here’s the deal — I need your help spreading the word about this upcoming event — so I’m going to give you the opportunity to tweet, post, and share your way into the drawing that will be held on the last day of every month.
The rules are simple:
I recently ran across this quote while re-reading Parker Palmer’s, Let Your Life Speak:
We will become better teachers not by trying to fill the potholes in our souls but by knowing them so well that we can avoid falling into them. (Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak, p. 52)
As I read and re-read those words, something resonated deep within me, and I was able to see how these wise words apply for beyond the scope of teaching — to touch most of life really.
Given the work that we do with students, my first thought was to replace the word teachers in the aforementioned quote, with the word leaders (or pastors or equippers:
Wow! It’s been another great year here at FaithONCampus.com.
Thanks to all of you who helped to shape these conversations, challenge my thinking, and push me into new realms of research and praxis in the world of college ministry.
Here are the TOP 12 most viewed posts of the year!
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!
60% of college presidents surveyed said they believe we’re going to see major changes in Higher Education by the year 2020 — just seven short years from now.
What’s driving this shift? A major factor is most assuredly is the high price of education.
In fact, 75% of adults polled in a recent Pew Research study said that college is too expensive for most Americans to afford, and 57% of adults said that U.S. Higher Education system fails to provide students with a good value for their money.
So what’s the alternative to traditional Higher Ed.? What’s a more cost-effective way for young people to get further education beyond high school?
I have so much to be thankful for this year… not the least of which is the work God has called me to with college students.
And I’m thankful to have you as a colleague — wherever you serve — on mission to reach this generation of college students for Christ.
As an expression of my appreciation for you — and all that you do — I’m extending to you a 20% discount to the 2013 Faith ON Campus Summer Institute.
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.