Searching for Significance

| Guest post | Nathan Foster | 

I once heard an ultra-conservative guy who had built his ministry empire on the proselytizing of “family values” give his pseudo-retirement address. Apparently, after spending years of working at the ministry 60 to 80 hours per week, he had decided that it was time to slow down. Even at retirement, however, he seemed completely unaware of the notion that he may have spent more time focusing on his work than his own family. He was championing the value of being a workaholic.

My father and I once spent a couple of hours analyzing the lives of influential Christian men, both current and historic. With limited data, we tried to assess just how well famous people bore the name “Father.” It became clear to us that the history of evangelical men was largely a story of men who ditched their families (excerpt from Wisdom Chaser).

Ideas for June

Well, we've made it to June.

For many of us this means that students have been gone close to a month... so, how's your summer going?  If the answer is 'too quickly' than I can relate.

As much as I might like to spend each day of the summer months immersed in the scene to the right, making good use of our summer can be the difference between fumbling our way into the new school year or a GREAT start, between a strong, well-planned year or a chaotic, hap-hazard one.

Here are a few thoughts on how to make good use of the month of June :: please share your additional ideas, thoughts and comments in the comments section below!

• Take a vacation - there's nothing quite like getting away from campus, and work, for a while to renew our focus, passion and perspective.
• Attend a retreat or conference - I'm personally more of a 'retreat kind a guy,' but taking some time to intentionally grow - how ever that looks for you - can also go a long way in renewing focus, passion and perspective.
• Spend some extra time at home - consider working shorter hours (if you can) or 'summer hours' that allow you to come in earlier/later so that you can spend some extra time off campus and with family (if that's you).
• Assessment - if you haven't done any intentional assessment of your ministry efforts from the past year, since your school year concluded, now is the time.  Soon our attention will be fully on prep for the upcoming year... and if we want that time to be fruitful, and tracking in the right direction, assessment is a necessity.
• Soul Care - as a part of our assessment, it would probably serve us well to take our 'spiritual temperature' to see how we are doing in our own relationship with Jesus.  It can be easy, in the midst of walking alongside college students in need, to pay more attention to their spiritual lives than our own.  The summer months can provide some much needed space for renewing our pursuit of the One we believe called us to this important work.
• Connect with your team - if you've got other professional staff that you work with, find some intentional ways to connect now that students are away.  Consider a staff retreat, some extended casual (but intentional) one-on-ones for processing the previous year, staff lunches, a BBQ at someone's house where you can invite families, etc.  Continuing to build bonds with you team during 'slower months' can really serve you well during the fast-paced school year.
• Connect with other key ministry partners - June can be a great time to connect with other ministers who serve the students on your campus, whether they be faculty and/or staff on campus, pastors in local churches or fellow college ministers on campus.  Now is a great time to initiate or further invest in relationships with these important 'co-laborers' in Christ.
• Map out the rest of your summer - I usually like to operate pretty spontaneously, but in order to make sure we aren't scrambling at the end of the summer to get everything ready before students' return, it might be worth spending some time intentionally mapping out the rest of our summer months.  When do I start that new initiative?  When do I take that much needed vacation?  When do I start writing that series of talks or studies?  Can I take care of some of the details for the mission trip that might be close to a year away?

The summer months provide us some much needed space for rest and 'uninterrupted' work.  I believe that God calls us all to be good stewards of this 'off season' on campus.  What are your plans?

Grace and peace to you!

Slow Down!

The margins in my life have been pretty thin this year. 

Our family moved into a new house back at the end of August - yes, just as the new school year was beginning - not the ideal time to move... but we were so thankful to have the chance in the economy that we're living in.


Between this big adjustment at home, and the crazy pace of life that seems to define most school years, my margins have been thin... and one of the things that has regularly been pushed off of my daily page has been exercise.  I hate that.  And I've missed it (another post for another time).


Well, this morning I was able to get out for a run.  It's not the first time since we've been in this new house, but it was the first time I took this particular route.  I've driven this direction numerous times - it's one of the two ways out of our neighborhood - so it's a route I'm very familiar with... or so I thought.

It's amazing what you notice when you slow down.  

On my run today I noticed houses that sit back off the road just enough that I've never seen them before.  I noticed, for the first time, a creek that cuts back and forth under this street in several different spots.  I noticed the hills... OH, how I noticed this hills - so beautiful to look at, but something totally different when you encounter them on an early morning run.


All of this got me to thinking about our routines on campus.


If you're anything like me, your days are probably pretty full of meetings - with students, colleagues, administrators, etc. - and those times in between meetings can often easily be consumed with checking email, returning email, planning and prepping for what is next on you calendar... even the walks between meetings can be filled with checking in on our 'smartphones'... and there's something that doesn't seem quite right about it all.


I wonder how different our days might be if we created more space in our schedules... If we chose to intentionally slow down, make ourselves more mentally, emotionally and physically available.  I wonder how different our walks through campus might be if we chose to leave our phones in our pockets and attempted to greet students as we passed them (I recognize that about 99% of them will be on their phones, but... that's a whole other post as well).


We need to challenge ourselves to slow down.  To take in all that makes up the unique place that God has called us to... if we don't, how will we ever see Him at work, or know how to come alongside what He's already doing in that place?


So what do you think?


How thin are the margins in your life?


What are some of the things you might see differently in your ministry context if you chose to intentionally slow down?


Do you know what God is up to on your campus?


I'd love to hear about your experiences!


Grace and peace to you.

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?"

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!

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?

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?

Building bridges between the Church and the Campus

This past Sunday, as a part of Welcome Week on our campus, the University Ministries office hosted a Church Fair. We told students that this was there one-stop-church-shopping experience... the Walmart of church shopping.

We invited 40+ local churches who have a heart of college-age students and are interested in finding ways for them to be both nurtured to grow and challenged to serve, to come to this 2 hour event. They were encouraged to bring staff members, students involved in their ministry and information. New students had the chance to "work the room" and hear from pastors and students about their church and how they could be involved.

I spent some time walking around the fair and talking with the different church leaders that were present. Time and time again I was thanked for the opportunity to be on campus to talk with students. As we talked a bit longer, I was surprised to learn that most church leaders did not feel welcomed on most campuses.

What a tragedy!

While every campus will operate differently, and even have certain policies about who can be on campus and for what reasons, I cannot understand why (especially Christian universities) would not want to help students to get connected with the local church.

I am increasingly aware of the need for the Church and the Campus to see their work in a new light... One that speaks to partnerships and collaborative efforts! One that sets aside pride and puts the spiritual development, character development and vocational preparation of young people at the forefront... regardless of who's doing it!

If our mission is NOT about having the the most students, but instead, about the ongoing spiritual growth and formation of young people, then does it really matter who "gets the credit?"

I think this falls under the category of working smarter... and not harder.

What do you think?

The Church and the Campus

We need to recognize that we are on the same team!

It's high time that all of us involved in ministry stop working against one another and start working with each other... towards the same end - the spiritual formation and redemption of those that God brings our way!

While some of us may be already approach ministry in this way... I think there are far too many of us that do not.

Instead of seeing each other as brothers and sisters - co-laborers in the field - we see each other as competition... or even worse, the enemy!

Of these failing relationships, one falls more heavy on me...

It's the rifts between the Church and para-church and/or campus-based ministries that reach out to the millions of college-aged students around the world.

We must begin see our collective work as the stewardship of souls that God brings into our company... and what starts in the Church, at some point - in many instances, needs to get passed on to the campus.

Students who move off to campus can really struggle to connect with a local church in the midst of this great transition.

Campus ministries are in the strategic position to step in at this point and help students to find their feet - physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Now please, do not hear me advocating for campus ministry involvement at the expense of finding a new church home... because that's not what I'm doing!

However, what we offer on campus is something that is designed to meet the unique and specific needs of college students, while also pointing them towards the local church!

We want them involved in both!!

We see ourselves as missionaries - to a unique and specific field - and hope to connect with students as they enter a new environment filled with new people and new ideas.

The critical college years are often when students make decisions about faith - whether or not they believe what their parents and/or pastors taught them, as well as how central it's going to be to how they live their life.

These really are CRITICAL years!!

Ultimately, as campus ministers, we hope that after our students leave our campus... they take their campus ministry and "new" local church experience and translate them into new levels of commitment and involvement in the local church... wherever God might take them.

Friends and colleagues in the Church... we need you to see us as your eyes and ears on campus... we need your support, encouragement and prayer.

We need your friendship and respect.

Know that you have ours!

Grace and peace

Day 2 of 40 Days of Prayer for Campus Ministry