We’ve officially survived January! I’m not sure what it was like where you live — but I’m thankful to not live in the location of the photo above.
With the flip of the calendar page we’ve started the spring term, as well as the second half of the ministry season. In some instance we carry forward our ministry efforts that began back in the fall term — and in other instances we are given the chance to start afresh.
And before you know, we’ll be on our way to spring break!
Below is a list of the Top 10 most viewed posts from the month of January* — hope you enjoy!
Parents play a powerful role in the development of their children.
Seems obvious to say, yet I think we can tend to forget this truth when we work with students on college campuses — primarily because we don’t see parents, just students.
Sure, from time to time our students might bring their parents up in conversation. But it can be all to easy to forget that the ways in which our students think, believe, and live are without doubt a product of the ways and environments in which they were raised.
It’s true for all of our students — those who are thriving and those who are not. (Keep reading)
9. Overcoming the Curse of Our Age
It’s a new year, which means that a new season of ministry with students is upon us.
And as we’ve launched into 2013, I’ve generated a new reading list, and decided to start the year by re-reading a couple of classics.
One of my first re-reads of the year is Richard Foster’s, Celebration of Discipline.
I couldn’t venture a guess as to the number of times that I’ve worked through this book. The first time I read it I was in grad. school — and it changed my life! Since then I’ve re-read it several times on my own, and led numerous groups through it as a way of learning to work on the interior life. (Keep reading)
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. (Keep reading)
7. The Relational Attachment Model
How do you avoid falling in love with a jerk?
That’s a million dollar question if I’ve ever heard one!
We’ve got Dr. John Van Epp on our campus this week, as a part of our campus-wide, Sex & the Soul emphasis. Dr. Van Epp is our first of three guests this week and is the author of: How to Avoid Falling in Love With a Jerk: The Foolproof Way to Follow Your Heart Without Losing Your Mind.
Dr. Van Epp is also the innovator of the Relational Attachment Model (RAM). I really like this model and think it can really help us to explore and unpack relationships and relational issues with our students — as well as point them to a better way of approaching relationships all together. (Keep reading)
6. A Look at the Modern College Student
It’s not your parent’s college anymore.
With technology, the landscape of college education has done a complete turnaround. Gone are the days of notebooks, printed syllabi, and textbooks.
Now it’s iPads, smartphones, and ebooks.
Here’s a look at the modern college student and how they fare technologically on the university campus. (Keep reading)
5. A Cure for the Stressed Life of a College Student
A cure for the stressed life of a college student — REALLY!?!?!
I think we’d be the most popular office on campus if we professed to posses such a golden ticket — because we can all testify to the fact that we hear our students complain about this far more than we hear them complain about anything (or even everything) else.
Our students struggling — and they need our help.
I recently ran across this INFOGRAPHIC depicting the many things that today’s college students are stressing about… and a rather surprising set of cures for the student who feels too busy, broke, lonely, and/or stressed to keep it all together. (Keep reading)
4. Why Would God Ask Singles to be Celibate?
Here are some thoughts on our first campus session withChristine Colon, Associate Professor of English at Wheaton College and co-author of the book Singled Out: Why Celibacy Must Be Reinvented in Today’s Church.
For most college students, marriage is a foregone conclusion.
It’s just going to happen.
Therefore most students never consider the fact that they may never get married.
And if the thought ever does cross their mind, and they confess this fear to a friend or pastor, they are most often met with: just have faith and God will give you the desires of your heart. (Keep reading)
This is another post in my series of reflections on my two days with Eugene Peterson at Q Practices.
Our focus was on Cultivating the Inner Life in an Age of Distraction.
I continue to marinate in all of the wisdom that was shared…
Our third and final session on Day 1 was focused on Prayer.
As Peterson spoke, you could tell that his wisdom was gained through the long, challenging task of living a praying life — and not merely through studying the subject. (Keep reading)
2. 5 Reasons Why the ‘Sex Before Marriage’ Conversation is Such a Big Deal
I started this blog (about ministry with college students) — in its original form — three years ago.
On January 11, 2011 I wrote I post entitled Is Sex Before Marriage Really A Sin? for the 1st Annual Sex & the Soul Blogathon.
Since that post went live, it has far and away received the most traffic on my site — accounting for more than 13,000 views.
Daily — DAILY — I’ll get numerous visits to my blog from people who have used some variation of the following terms in search engine searches: (Keep reading)
Have you heard about the “Kaepernick Factor?”
I’m going to guess “No” — in part, because I may have just made it up.
Colin Kaepernick is the new starting quarterback of the surging San Francisco 49ers.
As a 24-year old who has been thrust to the forefront of a Super Bowl contender, he has won his first two NFL starts — leading his team to big wins over the Saints and Bears in back-to-back weeks.
Kaepernick got his big break when Alex Smith, the overall #1 pick from the 2005 draft, got injured during the 49ers win over the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 11th. (Keep reading)
And there you have it! Thanks for making January the best month ever at FaithONCampus.com!
(*) This list excludes posts found on the Top Posts of All-Time list — in order to highlight other great posts.
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If you like the kinds of conversations you’ve found here at FaithONCampus.com, then I highly encourage you to check out The 2013 Faith ON Campus Summer Institute! This year I will be joined by author and leadership guru Tim Elmore for a two-day conversation about the unique challenges and opportunities that exist in mentoring this generation of college students! Find out more here. And find out how to win your ticket to the conference here.
