To Connect or Disconnect...

Campus has grown quiet here.  The students have left for the summer (well, most of them anyway) and it's time for a change of pace... right?!


Obviously the ministry landscape of the summer months will look different in comparison to those of the academic year; with space for assessing, planning, preparing... and of course, some much needed vacation!  But I wonder how many of us are simply turning of the 'ministry spigot' because it feels like the natural thing to do... I know, for the most part, that's typically what I do.  "See you in the fall!" I say as they we connect before they leave campus.


But is this the right approach?


Most of us are probably familiar with the ongoing debate about year-round education - especially for those in the K-12 systems.  Proponents of the year-round educational experience often site how much students typically 'lose' during their time off.  Teachers end up spending a lot of time at the beginning of each new school year 're-educating' students on things they 'learned' the year before.

Free-Falling [Like Wile E.]

As a kid I loved watching cartoons on Saturday mornings.  I especially liked watching Wile E. Coyote attempt to catch the Roadrunner - forever without success - he always made me laugh!


As I've observed our students for the past 5 years attempt to transition into this place [spiritually speaking] the best [and most unfortunate] image that comes to mind is the one to the left.


80% of our students self-identify as Christians.


What that means [for them] exactly, I don't know.  They may check the 'Christian' box on their admissions application simply because they think it might help them to get in.  Maybe it does really mean something to them. The reality is, however, that once our students get on campus far too many of them get drawn of course [spiritually] by their own roadrunners.


What they are failing to see is that the 'spiritual momentum' they come to campus with will only keep them 'on course' for so long before 'gravity' take over and these students - who honestly desired to make their faith central to their college experience [and life] - are in a spiritual free-fall.

Inspired by BIG Losers

Did you happen to catch the season finale of The Biggest Loser last night? 

I love that show!  The transformation that takes place, on both the inside and the outside of the contestants, is always so inspiring to me. 

Their stories are also very compelling.  It’s heart-wrenching to hear about some of the decisions they’ve made that got them to their tragic weight, as well as some of the triggers of loss or pain that served as a turning point in their lives… and then to hear about the emotional and psychological ‘weight’ they have carried with them, that only serves to compound the hurt and damage… I would imagine that the decision to apply to be a contestant on this show has got to be one of their low points in life.

Then they arrive at the ranch, their context for change.  They’re met by people who genuinely care about them, and will grow to love them, but who are ultimately there to see them change their lives.  Some contestants will not last long.  Those who make it to the end, however, will have been trained for seven months. 

Little, if any of it, will be easy.  But the reward, the end result, is SO worth it. 

Hocking Jesus

:: [Guest Post by Michael McCord] ::

NOTE:   As you read this I will be walking the streets of Nassau while introducing other campus ministers to the mission possibilities there. I wrote this blog post several months ago after returning from a mission trip with eleven students. It is mostly in response to a deep conversation we had about what will happen when the students leave college. See, they get it – they’re tired of churches that are more concerned with creating their own world rather than changing THE world for the sake of The Kingdom.

So as our students walk across their stages and receive their long expected degrees, will there be a church they can be part of? Will there be a movement of Jesus followers who actually pray as Jesus taught us… and believe it?

9 "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread.  12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.

I was recently walking through the straw market in Nassau, Bahamas. I’ve been there close to a dozen times on mission trips through our Wesley Foundation. It’s a familiar experience to me. What struck me during my most recent visit was the likeness that I found between the current church models and this collection of traders.

When you are new to the scene, you instantly become overwhelmed by the shear size of the venue and the number of traders packed into the space. At times, you may be pressed against the musky cigar trader who’s covered in sweat and whispering, “green, mon, want some green” (note: green is marijuana, for those who don’t know) while a little old lady from one of the cruise ships elbows her way through the crowd. That’s just another typical day in the straw market. What one realizes once they have been to the market several times is that most of the merchants are all selling the same thing. In fact, they actually work for the same boss.

Got Milk?

:: [Guest post by Bob Henry] :: 

A couple of weeks ago, as I was driving to pick up my kids from school, I came across an unusual scene.  

Well, not that unusual - most of us have done it at one time or another.  Somewhat lost in my thoughts, enjoying the tunes playing on the radio, I caught something out of the corner of my eye.  There, about four lanes of traffic away, and waiting on the adjacent light to turn green, was a man in a car.  That may not seem that interesting, but what caught my attention was the gallon of milk on his roof.   My instinct was to laugh and say, “What an idiot.”  Then I noticed something happening. 

People in cars on all four sides of the intersection were trying to get this guy’s attention.  Motioning with their hands, rolling down windows and yelling – you name it, they were doing it.  I still just chuckled to myself.  Then I realized I was in the man’s view and may be able to get his attention.  I began motioning by pointing at my roof.  He saw me and began looking.   I pointed up and he looked up.  He wasn’t getting it.  Finally, at the last minute, the man in the car behind him, jumped out of his car, grabbed the gallon of milk and handed it through the window to the unaware man. 

Oh, we all felt good.  People drove through that light with smiles on their faces, as if we had solved a major crisis.  The rest of the drive to pick up my kids had me thinking about what I just experienced.  

How many of us have “milk cartons” on the roofs of our lives? 

It's All A Gift

:: [Guest post by Ian Clark] ::

According to the American Heart Association website, "approximately 95% of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital."

Sometime between 12:10pm and 12:20 pm on April 14th my world was turned upside down.  During a run over my lunch hour, I went into full cardiac arrest and collapsed.  At 32 years of age I had a heart attack...at 32!  This was completely unexpected and the circumstances surrounding my survival are nothing short of miraculous.  

For starters,  I've been a runner all of my adult life and I had completed a 4.2 mile run just two days earlier.  I have never ran over the lunch hour before, but on this day, I thought I would run home during lunch.  I happened to collapse in front of someone's house who just happened to be coming home for lunch, which I'm told this person, Carlos, didn't do on a regular basis.  When he found me, I was not breathing, I had no pulse, and my flesh was blue.  Carlos called for help.  A woman named Gayla was just one block away at a park eating lunch with her husband.  When she heard Carlos yell, the two came as quickly as they could.  Gayla was an administrator and former director of nursing at the local hospital and immediately sprang into action.  Gayla began performing CPR, and ultimately saved my life.  She later told me that I had been without air for at least six to eight minutes.  Experts say brain death starts to occur four to six minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest.  There were several others involved in my rescue including the local ambulance and hospital staff.  Everyday I learn more about these events that make my survival seem more like a miracle.

I Weep At The Wonder Of It

:: [Guest post by Tracy Balzer] :: 

My family thinks I have a heart of steel.

And it’s true.  I rarely cry in sad movies.  I’m a rock at funerals.  I’m an off-the-chart “T” in the Myers-Briggs world, with no visible “F”.  It’s sort of embarrassing, really, especially as someone who claims to be following a ministerial call.  Shouldn’t those of a pastoral ilk show more than a little bit of emotion now and then? 

But today I’ve got my supply of Kleenex at the ready.  This is the day when the Iron Maiden turns into a blob of jello.  It’s the day our graduating seniors are awarded all kinds of honors, and we follow with a Baccalaureate service of praise.  Tomorrow they’ll walk across the stage as their names are called, having completed their four years with us.  And I will blubber like a baby.

This is an annual occurrence for me, the time of year when my calling as a campus minister is absolutely confirmed and affirmed.  Because I’m reminded that I’ve had the honor of really getting inside some of these hearts and minds that will be graduating.  They’ve shared their stories with me, we’ve prayed together.  I’ve read their reflective journals in class, and watched them wrestle with God.  There is nothing that touches my heart more deeply than growth – watching a college student take a few more steps toward God, and seeing His hope in their eyes as they grab hold of that diploma. 

Organic AND Pragmatic

:: [Guest post by Nic Allen] ::

Greetings Campus Ministers…my students are heading your way!

Last Saturday I had the privilege of watching a half dozen students I had only met that morning at 8am dive in and get dirty doing flood relief work here in Franklin, TN (the greater Nashville area). You see they were invited by a friend who only months before had begun attending our youth ministry at the invitation of another friend who no longer attends. Sounds complicated, eh? That’s because it is. Student ministry in the world today [at least in my neck of it] is two things: organic and pragmatic.

Organic…living…breathing. That’s a good thing, right? Sure. We’re talking about people and their lives. There is an ebb and flow to student ministry. Homegrown kids are fewer and farther between. Many of the students we funnel toward college ministries today lack the typical Sunday School, Bible Drill, VBS experiences that typical youth ministries build on. Students don’t participate in student ministry [generally speaking of course] because their parents encourage [read: push] them to do so or because it’s the only hang out atmosphere in town. Students have enough options and for the most part, student ministry can’t [or honestly shouldn’t try] to compete with those environments. Students become part of youth ministries because of relationships. While they may check it out once for a myriad of reasons, they’ll only dive in and stick it out if they have friends. You can create an environment where relationships are forged and strengthened but you can’t make it happen. It’s natural. Relationships…that’s the organic part.

The Future of College Ministry is “Down and Out”

:: [Guest post by Stephen Lutz] ::

I have a pastor friend who reads Acts 17, Paul’s “Mars Hill” encounter, a bit differently than many of us. He sees it as Paul’s least effective ministry endeavor, even as a failure and a negative example.  I see Mars Hill as a success. One purpose of Acts is to tell the story of how the Gospel went to everyone and everywhere in the known world, and so in that sense it's part of the successful story. But I think it's a success in more ways than that.

As someone who spends a good time up on the 'Mars Hill' of Penn State University with students who like to debate all the latest ideas, I'm keenly aware of the challenges Paul faced. One aspect of my ministry has been to militant atheists, agnostics, and pagan students. It’s a challenge to redemptively engage with them, particularly during the last couple years when the New Atheist movement has been throwing its weight around.

At the root, my friend’s discomfort with Acts 17 is this: not many people come to faith (Paul’s day at Mars Hill would still be a really good day for most of us, right?) Isn’t this, when compared with the rest of Acts, a failure? I think stories like Mars Hill cause us to reevaluate our grid for what constitutes success. Not every day will be Pentecost, and Paul never gets the instant results like Peter does, but that doesn't mean he's a failure, right? 

Getting It Right

:: [Guest post by Sarah Baldwin] ::


I live a few miles west of the city of coffee aka Portland, Oregon.  Portlanders take their coffee seriously. It must be one of the only cities in the world where you hear people pursuing “going into coffee” as their career plan instead of the gap year job after college.  Experienced baristas opt for the more hipster coffee shops and although there is Starbucks, there is a general disdain for anything that brews cookie-cutter capitalism and coffee together.  For the true Portlander nothing beats Stumptown coffee.  Stumptown is locally owned, committed to fair-trade, and is known for pursuing the best-quality coffee, roasting method and pouring it out all over Portland. 

A couple of nights ago we happened to have one of the Stumptown baristas over to share a meal.  I confessed that sometimes I feel a little intimidated coming into Stumptown.  You have to know what you want, know it quickly, and select from their very sophisticated coffee blackboard-menu with the options: coffee, cappuccino, Americano, espresso, latte.  No white chocolate mochas, no cinnamon- shot vanilla lattes, no Pumpkin Pie Chai. This place is not catering to the sugared/flavored coffee crowd, this is just  good coffee.  That’s what they do.  The barista tells me, “We are the coffee experts.  We know good coffee.  We don’t try and appeal to all the options and flavors.  If people want that, they can go somewhere else.”

Layers of Leadership

For those of us in college ministry, the idea of equipping and developing young people for a life of following Christ is central to what we do.

Some of us have recognized the need for additional leadership in our attempts to reach our campuses - and found an answer in some of our students who really 'get it' - a willing army of moldable young leaders.  We've seen how this kind of experience for them can serve to shape them in some profound ways, while at the same time, multiply our efforts and reach across the campus.

I wonder, however, how many of us have looked into the additional layer of leadership that can be provided by recent grads and/or graduate students.  

My entry into the 'professional' side of college ministry came through a graduate assistant type of opportunity.  It was a great opportunity for me, right out of college, to explore my sense of calling into ministry - and specifically in a college campus context.

If this is not a layer of leadership you've ever considered, let me give you a few reasons why I think you should consider finding space in your ministry leadership for a graduate assistant or intern:

Is Graduation Really the End?

They're done, but not gone.  


They're college graduates - prepared and equipped to go out and make a difference in the world - but they don't seem quite ready to step across that threshold from collegiate life to post-grad participation in the 'real' world.

So what are we to do?  Especially if they look to us for answers... or for space to 'hide-out' while they try to figure some things out.

Do we give them a firm, but gentle, nudge out of the proverbial 'nest;' OR do we allow them to hang around for a while?

More Than the Grade On Your Paper

One of the things I love most about working on a college campus is the cyclical nature of the year.  Twice a year we journey through a 16-week semester (or 3 quarters - shouldn't we call these trimesters?) before taking a few months to recover from one year, while also preparing for the next.

Regardless of how the previous year has been, the upcoming year will be filled with its own set of challenges and opportunities, failures and successes.

I'm in the middle of grading final exams for my Old Testament class.  Before we took the test last Friday I said to them the same thing I've said to them before every exam that they took:

You are more than a grade on a piece of paper.

Have We Done All We Could?

It's graduation week for many of us!  The time of the year when we send our graduates off into the world to live out their dreams, live into their passions, and to make the world a better place... right!?

A couple of weeks a go I asked this question in my weekly poll:

What's the biggest issue facing graduating seniors?

Here are the results of the voting:

• A tough job market - 26%
• Unrealistic expectations about the future - 13%
• School debt - 13%
• The need for more education and/or experience - 13%
• A lack of direction for the future - 33%

The responses left by respondents, from all over the country, have left me wondering if we have done all that we could for our soon-to-be graduates...

An Army Behind You

Prayer is our lifeline with God.  It has been of particular significance this past week for me...

Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer.

Last weekend it started to rain and flood here in Nashville and we've been praying in so many ways ever since.

Last Friday I posted some thoughts on our need as pastors and ministers to college students to be engaged in the consistent practice of spiritual disciplines like prayer and fasting, before attending the Pray40 prayer event hosted by the great folks of College Union, in preparation for the 40 Days of Prayer that will kick-off the 2010-2011 academic year in mid-August.

There was so much good stuff that came out of our day of prayer together last week, you can check out some of the teaching times here, but there was a specific idea that has stuck with me and I'm feeling compelled to act on.

Ideas for May

It's May!


That typically means the end of the academic year... unless that came in April for you.  Either way, it's time to start thinking about saying good-bye to students and preparing for a different season of ministry life - the summer.


I've started posting some ideas at the beginning of each month as a way of mapping out my upcoming month - and I thought some of you might need (or have) some ideas for May as well (I would normally post this information on the first day of the month - but we've been experiencing some flooding here in Nashville... so here you go - a few days late).


A few posts from the month of April that might be worth checking out - if you missed them - or if you are transitioning into a season with some more space for rest and recuperation are:

Equipped For Disaster [?]

In case you haven't heard, the greater Nashville area is experiencing its worst flooding ever (at least according to all records on file).

While damage estimates are projected to be in the billions of dollars, much of the BU family is reporting minimal damage - we're very thankful.  Not having to be overly concerned with the campus, we're beginning to look outward.  We've spent the last couple of days in campus-wide meetings trying to figure out how best to respond as a Christian academic community.

The Office of University Ministries and Spiritual Development have been asked to provide significant leadership to our campus-wide efforts, given the fact that we've led teams of students on numerous relief efforts over the course of our time on campus - just never quite so close to home.

Our current situation has me wondering about other campuses out there... If asked,

• would you be ready to lead out on your campus?
• would you be invited 'to the table' to help coordinate a campus-wide effort?
• would you be seen as a team player?
• would you be seen as a credible resource?
• would your ministry be equipped to mobilize teams - if not large portions of the campus - to assist in relief efforts?

We never know when the opportunity to serve is going to present itself.  When it happens in your home town you don't want to be scrambling to come up with a first-time game plan.