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.

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? 

'Friendly Fire' on Campus

Do you know what I'm talking about?

Friendly fire?

It's a term most often used in the military or other combat scenarios and involves the inadvertent firing towards a member of  one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces.

It's called "friendly" because the assumption is that it is an accident... unintentional... 

But is it still considered 'friendly fire' when the "fire" is coming from other members of the larger team your a part of?  I'm talking about Christians hurting Christians - ministries working against each other - leaders, student leaders and even casual participants engaging in mean and destructive behavior towards one another.

It happens.

[Lack of] Commitment to Jesus in a Culture of Non-Commitment

Commitment.  It doesn't seem to be a real popular action among college students... especially when it comes to Jesus.


And can we really blame them?

As a culture (both Christian and non) we've not done a very good job of modeling commitment to this younger generation.

In the media, we have promoted programming that displays all of the "fun" that can be had without committing to just one partner, but by keeping your "options open" and enjoying the disconnected physical pleasures with individuals (and/or groups) who are simply interested in meeting an immediate "need" without consideration for the long-term ramifications.

In the home, we shown them that the marriage union is one that can be easily broken if it gets too hard, no longer meets our needs, or simply looses its interest (I recognize this does not categorize all accounts of divorce).  Many of today's college students have experienced the harsh realities of divorce first-hand as they have witnessed the disintegration of their parent's marriage.  Right or wrong, students have lived through the pain of these break-ups and have been profoundly impacted by them.

What Message Are You Sending?

Do you know what message your ministry is communicating to others?  
Does it accurately represent you?  
Your thoughts?  
Your beliefs?  
Do your students reflect this message?  
Do they communicate it with what they say and do?

What we communicate through our ministry says a lot about the kind/s of people that are going to find their way into it.

As I continue to be a student of God's Word, it seems to me that the welcome mat into community with God was extended to ALL - in some way, shape or form - and this, I believe, should inform our ministry.  
His call to love our neighbor as ourselves  is said to be 'just like' the call to love Him with ALL of our heart, mind, soul and strength.  No where does He exclude anyone/s - based on anything - we only read of people excluding themselves based on the choices they make, or are unwilling to make.


As you think about your ministry context, do you extend the welcome mat to:

a 21st C. way of looking at the 4 spiritual laws

i realize that evangelism - sharing our faith with others - serving as a witness to what God has done in our lives - or whatever you might call it, can be an intimidating thing...

and while there's no substitute for sitting down with someone you have a growing relationship with and sharing the evidence of God at work in your life, sometimes it can help to have some other things to draw on...

check out this great illustration put out by James Choung in conjunction with InterVarsity.

as posted on YouTube, Material adapted from "True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In" and "Based on a True Story," both published through InterVarsity Press.

part 1



part 2



what do you think?

how would the college students you know respond to something like this?

have you come across any other creative ways of sharing the good news of the Gospel with college students?

i'd love to read your thoughts...

let's keep the conversation going!