Cone of Learning

What kind of impact are your ministries having on those who are a part of them?

How much do your students really takeaway from your sermons, small group discussions, experiments and active participation in ministry?

Consider the 'Cone of Learning' (pictured to the right) or 'Cone of Experience' that was put forth by Edgar Dale in 1969. While this depiction may not be what Dale had originally conceived (click here and here to read about this debate), I think this is worth us spending some serious time considering and using to assess whether or not, or to what extent, what we are doing is truly assisting our students to grow spiritually.

I'll probably spend a few days camping out on this...

So stay tuned and speak your opinion!

Waiting to Grow UP :: Part II

So in my last post I talked about the emergence of a new phase of life known as 'emerging adulthood'. At the end of the post I asked:

• What kind of effects is this new phase of life having on the faith development process?
• Are the ways we've approached this age group in the past still effective? Efficient?
• What can we expect from college student in this phase - both as students and student leaders?
• Is there something we should be doing to slow down, stop, or even reverse this process? Is any kind of change even possible?

Here are some of my thoughts:

What kind of effects is this new phase of life having on the faith development process?

• As is the case in all phases of life, there is no 'one size fits (or describes) all'
• A phase of life that is characterized by increased levels of freedoms, without equal or proportionate expressions of responsibility, will undoubtedly impact an 'emerging adults' faith development.
• As responsibility is delayed in many areas of life, taking ownership of one's faith will likely be one of those areas that is also shelved until later.
• A growing and maturing faith would likely lead to an 'emerging adult' who was maturing in other areas of his/her life that would cause them to stand out in comparison to their peers.

Are the ways we've approached this age group in the past still effective? Efficient?

• Some yes, some no
• Degrees don't earn us anything.
• Titles may earn us even less...
• Young people love the idea of community
• Young people live online
• Personal relationships cannot be replaced
• Personal relationships have to be constantly pursued and invested in

What can we expect from college student in this phase - both as students and student leaders?

• Again, not all students will fit into one categorization.
• There have always been students who have been more responsible than others, same with student leaders
• Students like the idea of having a lot of opportunities
• Students like the idea of being well-connected
• Students don't like to be tied down
• Students like to know that their voice is heard and holds power
• Many students don't like to be challenged or denied
• Students expect results quickly

Is there something we should be doing to slow down, stop, or even reverse this process? Is any kind of change even possible?

• I don't know what kind of change is possible in this 'emerging adulthood' phase of life
• I think leaders and minister will have to change our approach/es to connect
• I think we need to challenge students whenever possible to step-up, take ownership and be responsible!

These thoughts aren't complete... but that's what I have right now.

What do you think? What have you seen from where you sit?

Waiting to Grow UP

If you've worked in college ministry for very long I'm sure that you heard the term/s:

• prolonged adolescence, or
• delayed adulthood, or
• "thresholders", or
• emerging adulthood, or
• boomerang kids, or even
• youthhood

in describing a new phase of life that has sprung up between youth and adulthood. If you haven't, here's a good article that USA Today published on it back in 2004.

What this article suggests, as do the many sociologists and psychologists who study this new phase of development, is that today's "young adults" [ages 18-32] are taking longer and longer to assume many of the "adult" responsibilities in life.

With all of the technological advances, adult-themed media and families struggles that have experienced firsthand, it seems that too many kids have grown up too fast.

Upon graduation from high school and "moving on" - be it to college, a job or life outside of their parents home - many struggle to step into new realms of responsibility. They don't however, struggle to step into new realms of freedom!

These 'emerging adults' love all of the opportunities afforded to them outside of the parental home... but don't care as much for the responsibility side of that same coin. Because of this we have seen the birth and rise of the 'helicopter parent' or the more recent upgraded version - 'the Apache helicopter parent' - yes, this one doesn't just hover, it also attacks!

I've been wondering for a while now how this phenomenon shapes our ministry efforts to this age group. Some questions I've been asking myself are:

• What kind of effects is this new phase of life having on the faith development process?
• Are the ways we've approached this age group in the past still effective? Efficient?
• What can we expect from college students in this phase - both as students and student leaders?
• Is there something we should be doing to slow down, stop, or even reverse this process? Is anything even possible?

I'll give some thoughts on these questions tomorrow.

But what do you think?

What questions are you asking in relation to this 'prolonged adolescence' factor to our ministries?

Teaching 'the Dance'

When I was first married my wife begged me to take some ballroom dancing lessons with her. I was reluctant... but who wants to say 'no' to your new bride!

It was quite an experience (right up until the point when I found out that the school I was working at didn't allow their staff to dance - who knew)!

Having been an athlete for most of my life I was amazed at how clumsy I felt.

I think it had something to do with that fact that what I did impacted, and was impacted by, my partner.

Many of the sports I had played were team sports that necessitated each team member doing their part for the whole thing to work... but it was still different.

It was almost as if I was attempting to run a deep route while participating in a three-legged race; or attempting a fast break in one of those two-person costumes that require both parties to move in-step with one another...

It was not easy! In fact, far from it!!

I've had a number of conversations with students recently about their struggles with different habitual sins.

It seems my talks with these students often go one of two ways:

1. They have grown weary of all of their failed efforts and have nothing left to give, OR
2. They confess their faith, hope and trust in God's grace and are waiting for Him to take it away.

In their mind it's all or nothing...

Either it's all up to them and God has no part in the process and is just waiting for them to clean up their act before He will meet with them or show His face again (or they feel worthy enough to approach Him); OR it's all up to God and there's nothing for them to do in the matter.

While one of these paths would be easier... it rarely is the way that God chooses to work. In my experiences our spiritual formation - that which transforms us more into the likeness of Jesus - is more like a dance.

Jesus serves as the instructor and lead dancer in the pair.

We are the willing partner.

We have a role in the dance. But the role is secondary to that of God.

The 'dance' experience is something else - something less - something other - if we're not on the dance floor, or if we've relegated God to a chair over by the punch bowl.

Healing, transformation, becoming more like Jesus... becoming the person that God created us to be requires that we willingly join in 'the Dance'.

We may not be in control, we may not know where we're going - or when, but the experience and the outcomes of joining God in the dance of our life is a dance we must be willing to enter into to and commit to!

Helping students to learn this dance is a significant part of our work on campus.

Don't you think?

How have you helped students to understand 'the Dance' and their role in it?

Profound Change

I just read a quote from a study conducted at Abilene Christian University (ACU) a few years ago that stated:

When we asked students to think of a specific, critical incident or moment that had changed them profoundly, four-fifths of them chose a situation or event outside the classroom.

Does this surprise you?

It's definitely not the message you hear communicated by admissions staffs or administrators... those messages are almost always focused on the significance of what happens in the classroom.

And this post is not meant to downplay what happens in the classroom... I myself have taught in the classroom for the past 4 years - and I love it - and I know students are impacted in that setting!

This statistic does suggest, however, that the kinds of opportunities we provide for students through our ministry opportunities - and God's ability to profoundly change students through those same opportunities - have the potential to be some of the most meaningful and life-changing of a students experience!

What an important reminder - as we move towards the middle of the term and the season of spring break mission opportunities - of our need to be:

• prayerful
• intentional
• unceasing
• and expectant

as we go about the work God has called us to!

Our call is to be faithful to the One who has called us, and those He has called us to... and the profound change is something we can only leave up to Him!

How to Best Reach Your Students

How are you reaching your students?

Do you know?

I found myself struggling to answer these questions toward the end of the fall semester. And what made matters worse was the fact that I have been in this ministry setting for 4.5 years!

Unfortunately I had fallen into a trap that I think a lot of us in ministry are prone to... attempting to use what has worked - or is working - in other ministry contexts, in our current context.

We think, quite naturally, that if it worked "there" than it should work here... right!?

And we hope that it does. Because we know how to do "that." We were good at "that." "That" has become quite easy for us...

Sometimes, however, it goes beyond our ministry programs, to something less obvious... like our approach.

I've come to believe that our ministries, or the various programs within our ministries, take on one of three forms:

• Pastoral. Those programs that are geared towards our students who already believe and are bought into making faith central to their life and their college experience. We LOVE these... don't we?!
• Missional. Those programs that are designed to reach out to those who do not know the love of Christ, or those who walked away some time ago. Depending on the kind of campus you serve on, this could take on a much larger or smaller percentage of your programming... regardless, it NEEDS to be a part of all of our ministries!
• Prophetical. Yep, I said. And it wasn't until I was earnestly praying sometime last semester that God opened my eyes to this. Just as there was in the time of the Divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah - many of God's people had chosen other priorities... and forsaken their First Love. This population of our campus community NEEDS to be awakened to their present state and lack of Kingdom priorities... but I'm not exactly sure how to best go about that... because the Old Testament I read depicts prophets who served God faithfully and were constantly met with resistance, opposition, threats, beatings and even death!

As we grow in our understanding of the campus culture that we are called to serve, I believe that we must also determine how best to reach the different kinds of students we have.

Not all will be ready for a pastor.

Some will need a missionary to share the good news of Jesus...

And others will need the kick in the pants that only a prophet can bring!

What do you think?

Grace and peace to you as you reach out to each and every one of them!

The Hardest Time of the Year

It's mid-February.

For college students (and probably most people) this is one of the hardest times of the year.

The weather is nasty and they've been couped up inside for far too long. The glee of the holidays are behind them. The newness of a new semester has also worn off... and to make things worse... spring break still feels like it's a long way off!

The month of February tends to feel like "the valley" of the academic year... and students really struggle to navigate that valley well.

How do we, as those who do life with college students, walk alongside them during this challenging season?

I think there are a few key things we can be about:

1. Pray. Pray with intention about the challenges of this season on the campus. Pray for needs you are aware of and let your students know that you are praying for them!
2. Educate. Educate your team, your student leaders, as well as the spheres of influence you have on campus in regards to this valley season. Find ways to connect with the counseling center and offer your partnership. The more who are aware of this challenging season, the more who will recognize it for what it is... and join us in intentional prayer.
3. Provide. Provide programming and space for students to experience the love of Jesus in some new, intentional and significant ways that will help them to journey well through this season... and to begin to view seasons like these as opportunities to draw close and experience His provision in the midst of challenging times. This could include things like: new small groups, fun fellowship times, more open office hours, inviting students into your home, etc.

I'm sure that there are other ways in which we can walk alongside students during the doldrums of February... but these, I believe, are some of the most important.

What do you think?

The 'Fred' in Our Midst

This is Fred.

He started to show up around our house several weeks ago... and he wasn't alone.

Back in the fall, my in-laws were passing through town on their way to Florida for the winter. They thought that since we now live in the country our house might be a good place for their "outdoor" cat (Maggie) to spend the winter.

Apparently Maggie knows how to make friends - or at the very least, attract other cats - as we've had no less than 6 other cats that now frequent our front porch or back fence... (I'm starting to fear our new neighbors might think we are 'crazy cat people').

While most of them will come and go, Fred (as I've started to call him - creative, I know) has almost become a permanent fixture on one of the chairs on our front porch. He is there most hours of the day and seems to be a bit on the rugged side. I don't know where Fred lives, or where he goes on the increasingly rare occasion that he's not on our front porch... and to be honest, I don't really care. I don't often give Fred much consideration (not being a cat person and all) unless he looks like he's about to try and enter our home. Then Fred gets a lot more of my attention than he wants!

The past few days Fred has had me wondering about the "Freds" in our worlds.

Are there some who have become so commonplace in our ministry settings that we unknowingly pass them by without much consideration?

Are there students who seem to always be around, yet because they have never engaged us, we don't bother to reach out to?

I find myself today needing to pray for fresh eyes to see the "Freds" in my midst. Those who I have overlooked... those whom God may very well have brought my way for a specific reason.

I think it might be a stewardship issue... and if I... if we, are not proven faithful with a few "Freds" than we will likely not be given the chance to be faithful with many more.

Is it possible that the key to unlocking the flood gates of our ministries might have more to do with reaching the overlooked than it does reaching the well-connected?

I'd love to know what you think!

What Keeps You From Ministry?

I'm at home this morning... Again.

We have had a very strange winter here in TN. Far more snow and ice, without warm days to quickly melt it all away... which has created more "snow days" than I would have ever expected. [No, this picture is not indicative of our snowfall amounts... but the way TN copes with the snow you'd think it was!]

Tennessee only sees 10 inches of snow on an average year... and we have matched, if not surpassed, that amount in just the first 6 weeks of this year... creating issues for a state with limited resources designated to assisting the city when have a winter like this.

Living out in the country as I do, our roads are last on the list when it comes to snow plows or salt/brine trucks... if we're even on the list!?!

So I've chosen to stay off the roads and work from home during a few of these "snow days." But when you work in the ministry, not being at your ministry location can feel limiting - or even as if you're not working at all.

But there are simply times when not being "at work" is exactly where I need to be. Whether it's:

• related to personal safety (like staying off the roads when the locals are out on them),
• family priorities (because work already gets some of my best 40+ hours a week), or
• personal sanity (because God created the Sabbath and there will ALWAYS be more ministry to be done).

While it can be a struggle for some of us to stay away from "the office," it's great to know that God is at work... even when we are not. In fact, it's probably important for us to be reminded regularly that God wants to use us - but DOES NOT need us - in order to accomplish His mission.

So what is it for you? What reason/s do you have that you allow to "keep" you from your place of ministry?

When You Don't Have All of the Tools

Do you ever find yourself lacking in experience or the expertise to really help someone else or some situation that requires more than what you have to offer?

Are matters made more complex for you by the fact that you see yourself as the person "in charge" and therefore, you think, "to ask for help would make it look like I don't know what I'm doing..." and that this might give those you lead reason to just walk away?

If so, you're not alone!

I think we too often make the mistake of thinking that because we've been given the title of "leader" that this somehow means we know everything, are supposed to know everything, or are the best at something, and therefore whatever we think - or do - must be right.

When leaders cease to be learners then these same leaders stunt their ability to lead effectively.

It can happen at the "professional" level - with those of us who are in paid leadership positions - believing that our years of experience and education has to show itself for something... but it can also happen at the student leader level when well-intentioned student leaders believe that if they show any sign/s of weakness that the peers that they lead will laugh at them and question the reason for their position...

Leadership is not easy... and I think the world has shown us some misguided notions of what leadership is supposed to look like. It too often places the "leader" on a pedestal as someone who: knows it all, does it all and has it all together.

The Bible, on the other hand, tends to look at leadership from a different perspective in comparison to the worldly models. I like how the apostle Paul talks about this in the book of Romans - and particularly the way Eugene Peterson captures it in The Message - when he records in chapter 12:

4 In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. 5 The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, 6 let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.

God has designed us each uniquely... gifted us with different talents and passions that He wants us to use - TOGETHER - to bring about His Kingdom here on earth! Not that you or I might be elevated... but that He might be elevated in us and through us!

So whether we're a paid leader, or a student volunteer, one of the biggest lessons we can learn in being faithful leaders is how to recognize our short-comings, other's gifts and how best to work as a collective BODY to bring about the greatest good!

What do you think? How have you embraced your weaknesses as a way of inviting others into a shared leadership experience? OR, how have you fought this notion and attempted to be something you are not?

When Your Ministry Doesn't Grow Fast Enough

In an age of instant this, and instant that, waiting has become a serious discipline... especially when it's your only option!

There are many things in life that we can "speed up" if we're willing to cut corners, side-step certain scenarios, or even make do with a sub-standard finished product.

When it comes to spiritual growth, the growth of your ministry, or anything else that can only be grown through the working of God... then patience becomes more than just a virtue... it becomes an absolute necessity.. to your sanity and longevity as a minister.

I like the way Paul talks about this when writing to the church in Corinth about the source of true growth:

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow" (1 Cor. 3:6).

We're in a season of watering right now in a lot of our ministry efforts here...

The students who helped us plant the seeds of a number of ministry efforts have graduated and moved on... and while we think we might some some sprouts starting to poke through the dirt of our campus, there's no clear sign of much happening.

We are waiting, in faith, and believing that God is at work beneath the surface of our prayerful efforts!

It's the watering season...

And while that's hard enough for the staff - that has a long-term vision and buy-in to our ministry efforts on campus - it's much harder, I believe, on student leaders who want so badly to see God move in mighty ways right now - especially on the heals of big prayers, creative efforts, new ideas and a strong belief that something "more" should be happening.

In an instant society, waiting can often feel more like death or dying...

But learning to listen for the leading of God - above all of the noise, distraction and promptings from those who struggle to be patient to try something new - must become a well-practiced spiritual discipline.

That and waiting!

How do you deal with the "watering seasons?" How do you help students through times like this?

How SEXy is your College Ministry?

I'm not sure what exactly you were expecting to find here... but I'm glad you made it!

Statistics tell us that college students are inundated with sexually explicit images, media items, thoughts, experiences and addictions.

I'm convinced that sexually related vices are one of the biggest stumbling blocks to college students experiencing a dynamic and fully engaged relationship with Jesus. The guilt, shame and lack of grace towards themselves becomes too deep a pit for them to believe they can ever escape.

And the worst thing...

We don't know how to help them.

At least that's what the vast majority of our ministries, conversations and programs tell them.

We have not done a good job, as The Church and/or as Jesus-filled ministries and leaders, of creating safe spaces for our students to express what they're thinking, feeling, experiencing, etc. And if we have, we've not done a good job of communicating that to students.

For the first time in my 12+ years of ministry with college students, I helped to put on a week of spiritual emphasis designed to help students explore the links between sex, sexuality and faith.

We brought in some great folks, with powerful stories, that God used to help begin some important conversations on our campus. We talked about things that most Christians feel like they cannot talk to anyone about (and most ministries choose to ignore)... like: pornography, masturbation, premarital sex, what do healthy relationships even look like, how far is too far, arranged marriages, shame, guilt, grace, healing, etc., etc., etc....

And in my almost 5 years at this university, this week of emphasis was the most widely and consistently attended of anything our office has put on... and I would dare say it would rival just about any other series of programs that have ever been provided on our campus.

We're still trying figure out the level/s of impact this week had (and continues to have) on our students... but if there's one thing I learned over the course of this powerful week it's this...

If you're not talking with your students about sex with your college students... YOU NEED TO BE!

And the great folks who helped us through sharing their stories and asking some important questions were:

• Anne Jackson
• Mike Foster
• Michael Johnson
• Micah Weedman

I am forever grateful for these folks and the conversations they started...

I'm grateful for the work God is doing in our students lives and the healing and freedom that students are beginning to experience...

And I'm excited about how God will use the ministries of these individuals, and the ministries of folks just like them, in the future to help sick people get well and enslaved people become free!

When Men Invest In Men

Had my first meeting with a new group of guys tonight...

Groups like this have been some of the best things I have ever been a part of in the past! Men coming together to connect with other men and talk about life and faith and such.

My first experience came when I was a freshmen in college. I was a new Christian, young in my faith, and for whatever reason I was given the chance to be a part of a group of guys that was meeting regularly with the campus pastor.

This time and space became the place where I learned what it meant to be a man who sought hard after God. I learned what it looked like to be open, honest, vulnerable and accountable. I learned how to pray for others and to be prayed for. I learned that God's power truly is made perfect in weakness!

Too many men walk through life alone! We need more who are willing to step up and invest in other men. We need men who are willing to walk alongside each other - willing to hold each other accountable, prayer for one another and encourage one another. We need men who will follow hard after God and invited others to come along with them!

Can you image how different things might look in our relationships, marriages, homes, campuses, workplaces, the marketplace... our world... if men will start putting their relationship with Christ above all else?

It won't just happen... and it can't happen without coming together under the leadership of Christ.

I'm excited about what God might do in us and through us as this group continues to meet!

Tonight was, after all, just the first meeting! ;)