What's In The Center?

In my post yesterday I talked about the power of words and some of the different ways we wield them - both for good and for ill.  I asked you to take a look at a couple of well-crafted phrases that I've seen used to describe Christian universities and/or ministry communities and share what you thought the difference/s between them might be.  The two phrases were:

Student-Centered Christian Community

and

Christ-Centered Student Community

I didn't get anyone to bite.  I don't blame you.  I know it can be intimidating to scribe your thoughts to the wall of a blog when 1) you don't know who else might read it, and 2) you don't know where the author is headed.  Maybe today's post will evoke some response!

The Power of Words

Words can be very powerful.


Sometimes we forget this and can be very flippant and unintentional with our words.  We are unconcerned with what we are communicating and have the power to hurt others.


Some times we wield this power well as we use words thoughtfully and intentionally to encourage, love and support others.


There are also times when we are too intentional with our words... because we are so set on communicating just the right thing.  We can spend hours working through the precise wording of a phrase because we want it to succinctly communicate everything we want to say in exactly the right way.

Well Curve/Recession Connection?

Last week I posted some thoughts on a disturbing trend I've noticed on our campus... a trend where sophomore and junior year involvement in ministry related activities is substantially less in comparison to that of freshmen and senior involvement; and based on some of the comments I've heard, and conversations I've had with other college/campus ministers since then, it would appear that this trend is not unique to our campus.


The well curve of student engagement in spiritual activity on campus can be tied to a number of things... both good and bad.


On the up side, it can point to:

1. students getting plugged into a local church, which allows them to get involved in a multi-generational and/or college specific ministries, or 
2. students taking initiative to create personalized opportunities with friends on campus.

A Resounding Impact

Have you ever experienced something that was so powerful, so profound, that you just knew you would be different forever because of it?


In my post yesterday I talked about 1 Question that was asked of me as a senior in college that send shock waves through my soul.  This one question opened my eyes to a reality in ministry leadership - and potentially in my own heart - that I needed to be made aware of.  It had the potential to be the different between some form of success and wild failure. The day I was asked that one question my view of a number of things changed... and I knew that my attitudes and actions had to follow suit.


The kind of timely questions that can only come from someone who has been there, someone who has experienced the realities - the pain, frustration, joy, excitement, the highs and lows of life and decisions in ministry - have the potential to leave a resounding impact on the mind and soul of their recipients.

The impact of this one question, asked nearly 13 years ago, has served to shape my approach to female students on campus, my understanding of appropriate and inappropriate uses of power and influence, the need for boundaries in ministry, the importance of accountability and the reality of just how quickly you can lose everything.

Just 1 Question

I still remember it like it was yesterday... but it happened nearly 13 years ago.


I was a senior in college, and out to lunch with my campus pastor, just days before I was to interview for my first campus ministry position.


We had spent some time catching up on our spring break experiences and were waiting for our food to arrive when his questions turned to my upcoming interview:


"So, are you ready for this interview?"


"I guess," I said, "I've never had a phone interview before... so how hard could it be?"


"Well, if it were me, I would just have one question for you..."


I stared back at him.


"Seriously," I said, "just one?"


"Yep, just one question..."


"OK," I said, "I'll bite... what's your one question?"

The Well Curve Trend

Over the past few years I have noticed a trend on campus that has me more than a little concerned.

Student involvement in ministry-related activities used to take on the form of a bell curve over the course of 4 years on campus.  

New students would slowly get involved as they integrated into their new community and became aware of new opportunities.  Their involvement would typically peak during their junior year as their influence and level of connectedness were also at their respective peaks.  And then, as their time and attention began to turn to internships and life after graduation, students would become less involved with on-campus ministry opportunities.

More recently, however, I've noticed that the once bell curve has become more of a well curve.

When Students Struggle

I was out of the office last week, so yesterday was my first day back on campus since classes resumed post-spring break.  


I met with a couple of students who, even after a week of attempting to re-engage, were struggling to:

• 'be present', 
• be 'interested' in there classes and what was happening on campus, 
• be 'motivated' to study, 
• 'deal with' all of the apathy they see around them and 
• 'stay put' as they are ready to return to their meaningful spring break locations.

While there are many students that come back from their break renewed and ready to crank out the remainder of the semester, there are also those who come back - having had a taste the summer break to come - and are just ready to be done... but there are also those students who return to our campuses after spring break that have been so moved by how they experienced God over their break that all they want to do is 'go back'.

Avoid Autopilot Syndrome

Last week, as I was taking some time at home with my family after being on spring break with a group of students, and I hopped on Facebook and saw this status for a faculty friend of mine:

Next to last day of Spring Break. Just a heads-up to any of my students out there on Facebook: I'm planning on pretty much "mailing it in" with regards to my lectures for the rest of the semester. Whatever your expectations had been, you may wanna dial 'em back a notch or two.

I have to admit... I laughed out loud.

What honesty!  But it got me thinking about how true the statement can be... possibly for my friend, definitely for most students... and potentially even for me.

The spring semester can be an incredible challenge for those of us ministering to college students.   The first half [February in particular] is often filled with struggles related to a lack of motivation, seasonal depression, etc., and the second half is often a sprint to the finish.


In similar fashion to the students we serve, our temptation after spring break can be to slip into auto-pilot, and coast on into the summer break ahead.  The second half of the second semester [for those of us on the semester system] can be one of the most challenging in which to find meaningful ministry opportunities.  But here are a few that I think we need to be certain NOT to overlook:

Some Great Advice

During my first year in college ministry I was fortunate to work with someone who was concerned with MORE than just what I could bring to the ministry there... she was also concerned with my development as a young minster.

In particular, this savvy campus minister was interested in helping my learn how to establish healthy boundaries as young minister, the kind of boundaries that would set the stage for good health at home and at work... back then... and on into my future.

She said, "you need to remember two things to be healthy in this business:

you should never work more than two of the three time periods of the day

AND

What Do I Believe?

Today's guest post comes from Christy Ridings

In the interest of disclosure I feel I should articulate that I am neither a blogger nor a ‘techno-geek’. That being said, the level of appropriate self disclosure that happens in these types of forums may elude me so consider yourself sufficiently warned. What I am is a fairly transparent, straight shooter who tends to view life, and find God, more in my observations and less in my certainties.

Lately I have been reflecting a great deal on what I believe. Now, I am not speaking in a ‘faith crisis’ kind of way here. I promise this is not an observation about a wilderness experience where foundations are shaken or God cannot be seen from my circumstance. I have been thinking more about how my own beliefs, both conscious and subconscious, construct a framework for how I live and do ministry.

• What are my predominant images of God?
• How would I define God’s mission in the world?
• What does it mean to ‘bear fruit’?
• Who would (does) God include in ‘the least of these’ today?
• What is sacrificial love?

These are a few of the questions that help serve as my compass as I consider where I am finding myself.

A Life of Prayer

Today's guest post comes from Rev. Ashlee Alley

We like cats on the campus where I work in campus ministry. The pet kind. Calicos, tabby cats, but especially black cats. Yep…the ones that are supposed to bring you bad luck. For us, they are actually good luck. You see—it has to do with our mascot (stay with me, here…it’s a little confusing). Our nickname at Southwestern is the Moundbuilders, but our mascot is The Jinx—you got it, a black cat! So…while you may have a Wildcat or Panther, or even a Bobcat, we have The Jinx. The Jinx came about through a fun and (mostly true) story about how we beat a rival football team on Halloween one year in the early 1900’s. So says tradition: our players put a tombstone on the goal line with a black cat and the other team’s name on it. After we won, our guys carried it around, only to get it out again the next year. And the next. And the next! After 14 years of victory on our part, the rivals thought that we had really put a jinx on them! And so…The Jinx was born! Anyway, that’s much easier to visually represent than a Moundbuilder, anyway!

When Students Learn You're Human

How well do your students know you?

Have you let them into your life?

How much do they really know about you?

What's appropriate?

Do you manage what they know about you in order to shape the way/s they view you?

Is that right?

If you're anything like me, questions like these seem to be ever-present in my mind.

I am, by nature, a pretty private person... and I think that's OK, but I also think there are ways in which being too private [or too public, as the case may be for others of us] can be damaging to our work with students [or our relationships at home].

There are, I believe, important boundaries that are appropriate to maintain between staff and students, ministers and those they serve, home life and work... but where are those lines? And how do you know when you're too far away from a healthy middle-ground?

If we open the door wide to our lives, we risk loosing some of the intended intimacy and privacy that we all need... and is due a family and marriage that God has blessed us with.

If we open the door to narrow, we risk conveying the message that others are not welcome... and relationships with students and ministry become much more of a struggle.

This past week, as I served alongside a group of students in NYC [after a few years of not traveling with students], I found myself in conversations where I had to decide 'how much' of myself and my life I was going to share with my students...

Now I'll admit, it's much easier to share about things that are positive, make me look good, or are likely to create union and harmony amidst the group.

It's a different story, however, when the questions that are being asked... or the comment/s you're feeling led to share, have the potential to create awkwardness, tension, or unease amidst the group... especially when you're traveling, serving and living together. Trips like this, I have found, can also be some of the best places to take take a chance on opening the door a bit wider because students have the chance to watch you, sit with you, ask more questions... and really experience your true self.

On the trip I had the chance to share openly and honestly about:

• the challenges of being away from my family for 8 days [or 9 by the time we finally made it back] and the willing and necessary sacrifice that this was for our family;
• some of the challenges and struggles that we've faced as a ministry on campus this past year; and
• a hereditary skin condition that had me struggling to get around by foot our last few days - letting students see me physically struggle was almost harder than admitting to some of the aforementioned challenges...

As the team asked questions, and as I was willing to be appropriately open and honest with them, you could almost see the bonds forming - or strengthening - between us.

It was a good trip for me. I think it was good for the students in a lot of ways as well. And I think as students got to experience the more 'human' side of me they realized that us 'minister-types' aren't as 'scary' as we're sometimes made out to be.

What do you think?

How have you experienced this tension, this dance, in deciding what you share or don't share with students?

Do you attempt to 'manage' how students view you?

How do you attempt to be 'appropriately' private and open at the same time?

Guest Post :: Simple Church & College Ministry

In an attempt to recoup some time with my family I've asked a couple of friends to write a guest post for this blog... said it could be about anything they wanted to tell those who minister to college students.

Today's post come from Benson Hines.

In the first half of 2007, I read Simple Church, by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger, as part of my duties as a full-time church college minister. That would be a turning point of sorts in my study of college ministry; Simple Church, along with a few other well-timed books that year, helped me see just how much could be gained by appropriating principles from outside the college ministry world.

Little did I know that I would soon find myself observing college ministries all over the U.S. - and it would be quite handy, in a field of ministry where we have very few objective measures, to have some guidelines to inform my questions and observations.

One of those "guidelines" discussed in Simple Church is the principle of Movement. It describes the process of helping a ministry's members transition to deeper levels of involvement. College ministry is certainly accustomed to having different involvement levels available (like large-group meetings, small groups, and leadership), but we don't always place priority on helping our students progress through these levels well.

If your college ministry was evaluated on that basis, how encouraging would the results be?

Adapting the recommendations in Chapter 6 of Simple Church, here are three ways in which Movement is achieved:

1. Define how ministry activities correlate with students' various levels of involvement. When a student first comes to our ministry, what activities are they most likely to participate in? As they grow in their involvement (and, hopefully, grow in Christ!), which activities provide deeper impact? Though every student is different and our structure may end up messier than we'd prefer, we should have a clear understanding of how students can progress through our ministry - from the time they enter to the time they graduate. Having a clear picture of this "path" enables us to encourage and facilitate Movement (as described below), and it also keeps us from programming too much at any single level of involvement.
2. Encourage Movement. As shepherds, it's our job to point students to the activities that will help impact them further. Simple Church helped me to get comfortable with discomfort; students should actually feel some urgency to deepen their level of involvement over time. We have to define the levels of involvement for our students, express our hopes for Movement (both corporately and one-on-one), teach students why each level of involvement is right and good, and use each level of involvement to point students to the next level.
3. Facilitate Movement. While we may focus lots of energy and helping students enter our ministries, we don't generally put the same effort into helping students progress, for example, from being "regular attenders" to serving in a committed capacity. Besides defining what Movement looks like and encouraging it to take place, we must help students take steps toward deeper involvement.

Simple Church suggests various ways in which this can take place. Two of the most applicable for our field include creating short-term or one-time opportunities for "trying out" the next level, and creating "bridges" between involvement levels. Sometimes, students might not deepen their involvement because the "step" required to move to the next level simply feels too large. By creating activities that provide more incremental steps, we give students the opportunity to progress easily and successfully.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? How have you seen this play out (or not) in your ministry?

Benson Hines has spent a decade in college ministry, including researching all sorts of college ministry throughout the U.S. for the past few years. He shares what he’s learning at exploringcollegeministry.com.

How Do You Handle Adversity?

How do you handle adversity? I mean real adversity...

Are you the type of leader that:

• curls up in the fetal position and waits for someone else to make something happen?
• struggles to keep it together?
• breaks down, but ultimately pushes through?
• or do you live by the motto 'I will adapt and overcome'?

The way we deal with adversity speaks loudly to those who are watching. Especially students!

If we freak out under the stress and pressure of the situation than our students will likely follow suit. If we're a bit shakey, but ultimately were able to keep it together... that will say something to students. But if we're able to show confidence that, despite our current circumstances, we believe God will work on our behalf... than I think this can a powerful and lasting impact on those who you're with.

Today has been a day of attempting to 'adapt and overcome'. Based on a couple of comments I've overheard from students... I must be doing a decent job. I find it is pretty easy to have faith that God will work something out because I've been doing this long enough to see how He's done it in the past. For students who haven't experienced something like this before... it can be a little more challenging.

So how do you deal with adversity when it rises up?

People of Similar Heart & Mind

There's something beautiful that happens when we come together as the body of Christ.

I've been reminded of that this week during my time in NYC with a group of students.

I think I often take for granted the kind of fellowship that I have built into my daily and weekly schedule and assume that all other believers naturally do that same... but this assumption has been proven false this week as I've heard story upon story from students on our team who have simply been blessed by being in community with people of similar heart and mind this week.

They've even seemed surprised by how good this intentionally community has felt.

I find myself wondering how true this is of the rest of our campus... or even this generation...

It would seem that in an attempt to be accepted by others, and to have friends, many students have set aside any prerequisites for who should be in their 'Fab 5' or 'inner circle.'

They have so desired community, especially in the new context that moving away to college creates, that they have been willing to settle for something less.

Now please don't hear me say that I think Christians should not have non-believing friends... or that relationships with non-believers are 'less than' relationships with believers, because that's not what I'm saying. What I am saying, however, is that it seems clear to me that the kind of 'inner circle' or tight-knit group of friends that Jesus created for himself - and set, I believe, as a model for the rest of us to follow - was that of surrounding Himself with people of similar hearts and minds [or as close as He could get with a rag-tag group of humans]. This was the crowd that Jesus spent the majority of His time with. This was the context within which much encouragement, prayer, accountability and edification happened.

I think this kind of intentional Christian community is something that Jesus still wants for His followers to experience today.

For our students, we must help to facilitate this kind of community. We must help students to see their need for this kind of community, recognize what only this community can offer them, as well as challenge them to make this kind of communal experience a priority for themselves.

As minister/pastor-types, we must model this kind of communal commitment. We, too, must surround ourselves with the kind of iron that sharpens iron. We must commit ourselves to being with people who's hearts and minds will both challenge and encourage our own. We must be willing to submit our lives to the careful watch of brothers and sisters in Christ who will help us to be better followers of Jesus, spouses, parents, friends, humans...

Yes, being committed to a community of people who's hearts and minds beat similarly to our own - and more importantly, to the Lords - is not just important, it's essential!

Partnering with Former Students

Have you ever thought about working with former students? Wait, maybe 'partnership' is a better way of thinking about it...

Have you ever partnered with former students that you once spent time, energy and effort investing in?

Maybe it was an initiative on campus... or something that took place on the other side of the world? Possibly a one time event... or maybe it was something that was ongoing over the course of a semester or year?

Partnering with alumni from your ministry [be it your present ministry location or one from your past] can be a powerful experience for everyone involved.

For your current students experiences like this can serve as a visual for what someone 'on the other side' of graduation, from both college and your ministry, can turn out like. It can also help them to understand the importance of being committed to your relationship and personal discipleship. Experiencing a partnership like this can serve as a powerful motivation for students who may be struggling with their:

• faith
• vocation
• motivation levels
• desire to graduate
• fears about the future
• among others, I'm sure...

Experiencing a young professional who is 'making it' and who is also willing to 'give back' to you and your ministry efforts can go a long way to strengthen a wide variety of commitments.

For the former student/now partner an opportunity like this can serve as an incredible encouragement to them in that it speaks to:

• your commitment to your relationship with them
• your belief in them
• your belief in their current work
• your belief that this individual is worthy of providing leadership to your group

Opportunities like this, for former students to 'give back' to something that has been an important part of their life, as well as to receive a gift in reconnecting with a piece of their past can be significant! You never really know how God might choose to use an experience like this for them!

And for YOU, the minister/pastor-type, a partnership like this can be the kind of thing that God uses to:

• remind you of how He has worked in the past
• encourage you in your current work
• validate your sense of calling
• strengthen ties with students - past and present
• give you visions of future work

Yes, choosing to partner with students from your past can be a very beneficial thing... for everyone involved!

The Power of Process-ing

I can't remember where, or when, I first heard it... but it was a statement that changed how I did/do/and will always do ministry in the future::

'Thoughtful reflection is the final 33% of a meaningful experience.'

Think about that for a minute. Thoughtful, intentional reflection on an experience is the final 1/3 of the overall experience. Or put another way, without taking the time to intentionally reflect on an experience you only get 66% or 2/3 the FULL experience. In grading terms we're talking about a 'D'... which is only 6 percentage points away from failing. Most of the students I know would NOT be happy with this kind of experience [or grade].

Revisiting Edgar Dale's 'Cone of Learning' one more time, it seems that even one's 'participation in the real thing' which stands atop the cone as the most actively engaged way for us to learn - must include some form of intentional reflection component in order to yield a 90% retention level. And as pastor-types who are working with college students, we want students to do more than simply 'remember' their experience/s... we want them to be transformed by them!

I'm currently in NYC with a group of students on a spring break 'immersion trip.' Each evening thus far we have spent some time journaling and conversing about the experiences of our day. It is amazing to see how God uses the comments of one student to seemingly open a new door of knowing for another student. Or how one students words can precisely summarize what another student had been struggling to articulate. Or how one thread of a conversation can lead down a path that unlocks something in another person's heart or mind that had been previously inaccessible.

Yes, there is power in the process. But when meaningful, intentional processing accompanies the process - the power unleashed is the kind of thing that God can use to change a life forever!

When Students Lead

When students lead something magnificent happens...

It's hard to put into words how it actually happens, but it is spectacular to watch!

I am a product of a student leader model of campus ministry. Because this was so formational for me, I have sought to implement a student leadership model in every ministry context that provides ample opportunities for students to take on as much leadership as possible. Creating space for ownership, growth, failures and successes has been critical to this model. And while it may not have always been easy, or looked pretty, I know students have come out on the other side of the experience transformed as a result!

I previously wrote about Edgar Dale's 'Cone of Learning' starting a little over a week ago and in my second post on the topic I explored briefly the power of experience. The powerful experiential example I talked about in that post was a short-term mission trip. Equally formative, I believe, is giving students the opportunity to lead out in all areas of ministry. Providing space for students to explore the things they have seen, learned, as well as the ideas they have come up with on their own in regards to how leadership works is a critical developmental opportunity that must be incorporated into how we in collegiate ministry do what we do!

I'm currently on a spring break mission trip in NYC with a team of 15 students, being led by two very capable student leaders. Some ways in which these student leaders have lead-out so far are:

• trip logistics - they have been a part of the planning and preparing phases of the trip.
• team formation - they have facilitated multiple pre-trip meetings that were designed to be both informational and relational in scope.
• travel guides - they have taken care of getting the team from campus to the airport, through two airports, from the airport to our site for the week (via the airtrain and subway systems), and daily from site to site.
• on-site logistics - they have had to think through everything from food to activities to how we can spend our free time.
• spiritual guides - they have led out in morning devotional times, as well as important reflective times at the conclusion of our days.
• empowerers and equipers - they have also done a good job of sharing the role of 'leader' with other members of the team as appropriate and when needed.

Yes, I have been on the trip... but only as a team member. I work alongside everyone else, doing whatever they're doing. And yes, I am here if they get into a pinch, but don't we all have someone we can turn to in times of need?

It's been so good to watch these student leaders work together, lead our team, as well as work with our hosts here in NYC. They have done a fantastic job so far... and I've been reminded of just how significant my own opportunities to lead as a college student were in shaping me.

Yes, there's something quite beautiful that happens when students lead.

On Traveling With Students

One of the reasons I've always loved college ministry, specifically working as a part of the university, is because it provides ample opportunity to 'do life' with students in their context - the place where the go to class, eat and live.

I've often thought that those who reach out to this group from 'off campus' have a much tougher road... they just don't have the same 'easy access' that comes when your office is located right next to the cafeteria...

The past couple of days have reminded me, however, that whatever kind of benefit that comes from being on campus with students is trumped 100 times over by the experience of traveling with them.

While trips with students might necessitate time away from family, here are some of the major benefits I've been reminded of so far:

• Relationships are accelerated - the kind of relational work that can be accomplished in just a day, let alone a week, can often take a whole semester - if not longer - back on campus
• Students are less distracted - students are on the trip because they want to be there and are likely looking for the deep, meaningful conversations that might accompany the kind of service opportunity that peaked their interest in the trip in the first place.
• We're more in tune - yes, even us college ministers can benefit from getting away from campus, and the responsibilities of home for a short time, and immersing ourselves in activities alongside students.
• God is more easily recognized - when we're all out of our normal routines and boxes... our eyes have the chance to re/adjust to their surroundings and God is often much more easily recognized and experienced!
• Transformation is made easier - when students (and pastor-types) are less distracted, and more easily in-tune with God in their midst, spiritual transformation becomes much more likely!

Opportunities to travel with students don't present themselves very often... but when they do, they are terrific occasions to grow relationships (quickly), experience new things together, and see God work in new and powerful ways.

Choosing to Cheat

In my post yesterday I talked about the very real tension that a lot of people in ministry feel between 'family life' and 'work life.'

How do we faithfully fulfill commitments to those we love so dearly, and those we feel called to serve?

I was warned of this tension as a young man sensing a call into ministry during my college years... but it wasn't until I read 'Choosing to Cheat' by Andy Stanley that things became solidified in my thinking - and hopefully my doing as well.

The two things that have stuck with me since I read this book several years ago are:

1. My job already gets some of the "best" hours of my days and week... while my family often get's what's left - the evenings and/or weekends depending on the schedule you keep. For too many it's probably much less than this...
2. While there are many people who could do your job, some who might even be able to do it better than you, there is NO ONE who can be the spouse to your mate or parent to your children that YOU can!

These two thoughts have served to shape most of the choices I make about life and ministry. It's why I haven't been on an extended mission trip with students for the past few years. It's why I try to limit my time away on trips to a few days only a couple of times a year. It's why I try to leave the office promptly at the same time - everyday.

No, I've not mastered this... but I strive daily to faithfully fulfill the call God has placed on my life - first to my family, and then to my students.

Together, my wife and I have decided that this was a good year, and important year, for me to utilize my spring break to journey with students to NYC and walk alongside them through some formative opportunities...

My prayer is that God will bless my family in my absence, bless my time with students, and bring us to the other side of the break closer to Him and to each other as a result of our willingness to sacrifice precious time together.

How have you experienced the blessing that comes through faithful sacrifice?

How have you seen God bless your ministry as you have put your family first?

What other struggles have you found in your pursuit of living out your commitments to your family and ministry?

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Should I stay or should I go now?

Should I stay or should I go now?

If I stay there will be trouble

And if I go there will be double

So come on and let me know

Should I stay or should I go?

These lyrics from the band 'The Clash' sum a very serious question that many of us in ministry often ask ourselves... or should be asking ourselves...

Should I stay or should I go?

I mentioned in a post yesterday on my other blog that I am headed to New York City with a group of students for spring break... and that this is the first spring break in the past few years that I have done so.

In a post from earlier this week, on this blog, I talked about short-term mission trips as one of the most formative experiences we provide for students... and so it seems like it would only make sense that as someone involved in college ministry - who has sensed God's call to walk alongside college students during a very formative season of life - that I/we would want to be on every short-term mission experience with students that we possibly can... because we know just how 'fertile the soil can be' in those places.

Yes, aside from the past few years, I have traveled with, and served alongside, students over spring break all over the U.S. dating back to the mid-90s.

Even after I was married, my wife was graciously willing to give me up for a few days, or weeks, to walk alongside students because we had both experienced for ourselves the power and transformation that can accompany such experiences. Yet, when I got married I made a vow to my wife that I would put her [and a few years later - our family] under God, but above all else.

But how does this work?

We've all heard stories, if not experienced first hand, instances of 'family' being neglected in the name of 'ministry.' So this [putting our family first] doesn't seem to be a lived reality for all who are in ministry...

So for those of us who take seriously God's call on our life to walk alongside college students, and take just as seriously our call and commitment to our marriage vows and family life, there can be a great tension... especially when it comes to longer hours, evening hours, weekend events or mission endeavors that can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks in duration.

How do we respond to this tension?

How do we honor God in these two areas of our life?

Should I stay or should I go?

I'll give some thoughts on this tomorrow... but would love to hear what you think!

Cone of Learning :: Part IV :: Getting More from 'Less'

I've spent the past few days thinking about Edgar Dale's 'Cone of Learning' and what it might have to say to us about how we minister to college students.

In my second post on 'the Cone' I focused on the high, or active, end of the cone and explored how short-term mission endeavors might be some of the most formative - albeit infrequent - experiences we provide students - based on Dale's model.

In yesterday's post I then suggested that some of our 'less formative efforts' - based on Dale's model - might be made more formative with the introduction of some more active elements added to them - like discussion.

Today I'd like to end this thread of thought by suggesting that some of those 'experiences' that fall low on Dale's 'Cone' might actually be those of the things that eventually provide some of the greatest opportunities for powerful, consistent and long-term growth!

Learning to do the simple, the mundane, the ordinary things of life... like reading, listening and looking - with an openness to, and an awareness of, God in our midst... is a way of understanding spiritual growth that does not fit easily into Dale's 'Cone.'

When we consider some of the spiritual disciplines that Jesus modeled for us in the stories of scripture we see average become divine!

• Reading becomes meditation on, and study of, God's Word
• Listening becomes prayer
• Looking becomes seeing the world with the eyes of God

Learning to experience God in the ordinary of life does not come naturally, nor is it as 'exciting' as the mountain-top or extra-ordinary experiences that come every now and then... but the kind of consistent, hearty fruit that hangs on the trees of the spiritually grounded, growing and strong!

Yes, there are definitely some things that we should take away from the 'Cone of Learning,' but we can never presume how, where, or through what God will choose to work!

What are your experiences with learning to experience God in the midst of the 'ordinary'?

Cone of Learning :: Part III :: Too Much Emphasis on the Wrong Things?

For the past couple of days I've been thinking about Edgar Dale's 'Cone of Learning.'

I suggested in a post a couple of days ago that Dale's 'Cone' might have something to tell us about how we do spiritual formation with students.

In my post yesterday, I looked at the top end of the cone - the end that suggests people learn best through actively participating in what is being taught - and suggested that we might see this most noticeably through the short-term mission experiences we provide for our students.

Today I want to focus in on the other end of the 'Cone' - namely, the end that suggests that passive learning methods [ie. reading, listening to someone else, or even looking at pictures] can be some of the least effective learning methods practiced. When any one of these methods are practiced alone the retention rate is incredibly low.

I wonder how many of our ministries fall into these categories?

Hopefully not many! But is that because we've planned intentionally... or did we just happen to get lucky in how the program came together?

Consider what the 'Cone' suggests about discussion... a 70% retention level.

So we add to a reading group [or a students charge to read their Bible daily] a chance to converse with someone/s about it regularly... and what they retain jumps by 60%!

Or we add a discussion element to what Benson Hines refers to in a recent post of his, "the classic 'sing and speak,'" - our weekly large group gathering - an opportunity to:

• break into small groups to discuss the message,
  
• or a chance at the end to ask questions,
  
• or the encouragement to seek out the speaker after the service - or later on in the week - to follow-up,
  
• or even the opportunity to participate in a small group with a curriculum designed to co-inside with message for the week

... it increases the rate of retention by 50%!

I wonder if there aren't some simple, yet creative ways in which we shape some of our more passive programs such that the potential for impact is significantly increased...

I mean, who doesn't want that for their students... right?

We want our students to be more than just 'hearers of the Word...' We also want them to be 'doers of the Word'!

How have you seen this to be true in your ministry with college students?

Cone of Learning :: Part II :: The Power of Experience

In my post on Saturday I asked the question, "what kind of impact is your ministry having on those who are a part of them?

I suggested that the 'Cone of Learning' put forth by Edgar Dale back in the late 60s might have something to say to us - both about how we should program and assess what we're doing - in relation to how people best learn and retain information.

As much as we are concerned about students "knowing or believing rightly" [orthodoxy], we must be just as concerned about their "living or practicing rightly" [orthopraxy].

How much of our ministry is intentionally focused on connecting right knowing with right living?

I know that we assume that when we talk with students about the ways we think, or what the Bible has to say about how we live, or even the example of life lived out by Jesus; that they will know what conclusions to draw.

Or that when we intentionally take it a step further to talk about life application that because we have spoken the words that now students will adopt 'what they've learned' as a new way of living...

But isn't it when we've gone into 'practice' with them that the most noticeable change often occurs?

In them and in us?

Of all of the ministry opportunities that we provide for students, and that I myself experienced as a college student, it was transformational experiences of a short-term mission trip that God used to shape me the most.

If you think about it, in how many of our ministry opportunities are our students::

• removed from their comfortable environments?
• exposed to people not like them?
• removed from their daily routines?
• given a completely different agenda?
• given intentional space to be with God?
• exposed to people with very obvious need?
• put in a position to work closely with those in need?

It would seem that the kind of 'faith meets life' experience that we offer students in short-term mission endeavors have the potential to be some of the most formative...

What can we learn from these kinds of powerful experiences that should inform how we do small groups, local and consistent outreach and worship services? I'll give some thoughts on this tomorrow...

Where [in what kinds of ministries] have you seen [or experienced] the greatest levels of change or transformation?