4 Things Our Students Need Right Now
It’s getting on towards late November — and our students are dreaming of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, as well as the Christmas […]
It’s getting on towards late November — and our students are dreaming of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, as well as the Christmas […]
“Is your ministry geared more toward Christians or non-Christians?” If I drank a Red Bull every time I was asked this question, […]
When’s the last time you asked God for a target? For His target? When’s the last time you asked God who He […]
The game of baseball has long been a popular metaphor used when talking about sex and/or sexual activity. First base. Second base. […]
It’s the time of year when campus goes quiet and graduating students begin to face the reality of life after college.
And for some students, this new reality will mean be a major challenge.
I recently ran across this humorous commercial that seems to have captured (for me) one of the challenges today’s students struggle with — dreaming big while still being responsible and realistic.
And truth be told, I’m not exactly sure how best to help our students with this…
A few years back we asked about 50 students to rank 1 through 17 in order of the value of our different ministries in their minds.
Our 50 students filling out the 1 to 17 list rated it (a one-on-one mentoring relationship) as the number one most helpful and needed thing we did!
I mentor because I’m convinced that being mentored was the single most impactful component for my spiritual growth in college.
Living in a world of helicopter parents who essentially make decisions for their children, collegians need mentors more than ever to grow spiritually and encounter life responsibly.
Helicopter parents tend to believe their child can do no wrong. This sentiment oftentimes positions adolescents for failure. In college, my mentor asked me the tough questions that no one wants to answer; these were questions that I intentionally avoided for the sake of spiritual sloth. However, without these questions, I would not have discovered the spiritual journey that I’m trekking today.
I met the Rev. Jack Fogleman when I was eighteen years old and a freshman in college.
In United Methodist organizational nomenclature, Jack was a district superintendent. That meant he had supervisory oversight for roughly sixty congregations in a particular section of the State (Kansas).
Another responsibility that district superintendents have is to keep track of young ministerial candidates. At the point of our first contact, I was not one of them, but Jack was paying attention.
We all know that conversations — of a wide variety — are what make up the life and work of those in ministry. Much more so than programs.
And we also know that conversations are the bread and butter of mentoring relationships.
While some things will be learned through shared experience, much of what we share with students comes in the form of conversation — over meals, coffee, and number of places across campus.
Conversations are key.
But do we really know what goes into a good conversation?
How about a great one.
Sometime around the age of 13 a friend entered my life. This individual intentionally chose me, though at the time I did not know it. His name was Bruce.
Bruce’s investment in my life seemed inconspicuous. He was, after all, the Youth Superintendent for the Friends churches in the Pacific Northwest. He was paid to do this!
Bruce and I began meeting regularly as I was just entering high school. It seemed to me he had the ability to discern one’s entire life story by simply looking them in the eye.