Tag: technology

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

The Demise of (College) Guys?

A former female student of mine recently shared this TED talk on Facebook with the comment, “this sucks!”

I agree.

I’m just becoming familiar with TED talks, so this video may have already “made the rounds,” but if you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to watch it (it’s under 5 minutes in length) and then share your thoughts about how we might better assist the guys on our campus.

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Should Your Ministry Have a Blog?

FaithONCampus.com is not a central part of my ministry with students.

Yes, it informs my work in a number of ways, but it is not geared towards students — it’s geared towards people who walk with college students, and invest in them on a consistent basis.

But it’s been through my work here that I’ve become increasingly convinced that I needed to add a second blog to my online work — one that is geared towards college students, and specific to the Belmont community.

We’ve been at it for over a year now — and we’re still working to find a good rhythm, as well as content that draws students in — but I’m thoroughly convinced that having a blog is a MUST for ministry with this generation of college students!

Student Culture, Trends & Issues

Social Networking as Ministry

Last summer I had the chance to lead a couple of workshops on Social Networking as Ministry at the United Methodist Collegiate Ministries ‘Prepare’ Conference.

It was a lot of fun and generated some great conversation.

I made sure that they knew I did not consider myself to be an “expert” in the area of social networking and let them know that there’s a lot for us to learn from one another as we think about having a pastoral e-presence.

Big Ideas & 'Best Of'

Technology: What is Essential for Ministry?

I’ll be the first to admit — I’m not the most tech-savvy person I know.

In fact, I really dragged my feet when it came to:

getting a cell phone and
getting on Facebook
But I must say, that after slowly easing my way into the waters of technology and social media, I’ve really come to enjoy much of what it has to offer.

So yesterday I posed the questions (on Twitter, Facebook and Google+):

If you have all 3: a smartphone, ipad/tablet and laptop/pc – which do you use the most? Why? Which of these 3 would you give up first if you had to? Why?

Big Ideas & 'Best Of'

Utilizing Google+ for Ministry

Have you heard about Google+ yet? OK, but have you taken the time to check it out? Or try it out?

If not, let me be the first to introduce you to this growing addition to the social media world… and tell you that its intent is to rival Facebook for our all-purpose social networking allegiance.

I found this 4-minute video that does a pretty good job of describing what Google+ is all about:

Student Culture, Trends & Issues, The Campus Minister

A Pastoral Presence Online

Campus — today — is not what it use to be.

Technology continues to advance at a staggering pace and social media is making personal and mass-communication (of a new kind) very accessible to whoever wants it… and our students are well-versed in most of it.

About a year ago I had the chance to step away from campus and spend some time with campus ministers from across the U.S. (and Canada!), thinking about our shared work with college students. On our final morning together I was asked to lead our group in a conversation about what is happening here at Faith ON Campus, but I quickly found us expanding the conversations to explore what it meant (and means) to be a pastor in this digital age.

Blogathons, The Campus Minister

The Connection Disconnect

Somehow, in the midst of my efforts to control my cell phone, it began to control me.

I discovered this on our mission trip to the Dominican Republic last month when I was separated from the magnetic powers of my HTC EVO. Wrapped up in the mini-computer that I held in my hand was a powerful, controlling, tool that was manipulating me, rather than being of service.