Tag: struggle

Leadership Development, The Campus Minister

Here I Go Again

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.

Academics & Vocation, The Campus Minister

Kingdom Work and Homework


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.

Leadership Development

On Strengths and Weaknesses

-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.

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

On Helping Students Dream Big, Responsibly and Realisticly

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…

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

On Helping Seniors Discern “What’s Next?”

It’s that time of the year again…

We’re getting ready to say good-bye to our students — some for the summer, others for the foreseeable future.

And you’ve likely noticed over the course of the spring term a shift in conversations with your graduating seniors towards more future-oriented topics.

If your seniors are like most — they are struggling to know what’s next. Some are fearful. Some are anxiety-riddled. And some are down right paralyzed.

Why?

Because there is a lot up in the air regarding “what’s next.”

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

The Hyper-Connected Life

Just saw this new infographic and wanted to share it with you.

With a high percentage of our student population being described within these stats, what do you think about what you see here?

What are you most troubled by?

For me, it’s the section describing the impact of being hyper-connected. I’m not sure how you look at the two set of possibilities and not believe that the negative far outweighs the positive — but maybe that just me.

Where, within all of these stats, do you see opportunity for ministry and/or meaningful conversation?

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

The Problem With Tolerance

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.

Blogathons, Student Culture, Trends & Issues

The Cost of Being a Bridge Builder between LGBTs and the Church

I feel the costs of the corporate LGBT and Church disconnect have been well documented for what this culture war has left in its wake.

The broader LGBT community’s retelling of this story, in most cases, has the Bride acting more like Bridezilla than the Bride who, when the doors swing open for the first time, is standing in her gown, looking as beautiful as she has ever looked, ready to walk down the aisle and be sacramentally joined with God to the person she loves more than any other on the face of the earth.

And the Church’s retelling of this disconnect, at its core, is in most cases one of denominational and congregations division—separating what many thought was once one of the three unbreakable cords tied to the Lord for good works.