Practicing What You Preach

Do you ever struggle to practice what you preach?  I do.


As people who work with college students we often find ourselves asking them tough questions, thinking with them about the ways they think and/or approach their life and even challenge them to consider important changes that might dramatically impact the way they live.


One of the biggest challenges today's student struggles with is waiting... They've grown up in an instant society and are not used to hearing the words 'not yet.'  In many ways 'no' is more of a relief than 'not yet' simply because the issue at hand can be quickly put to rest.  But 'not yet' involves waiting... the issue remains open, without resolution, pending... 

Cats, Kittens, Helicopters & College Students

I have to confess to you... I'm not a pet person.  I learned at a fairly young age that I am VERY allergic to most cats and dogs - which was fine in the pet-free home I grew up in, but it did make for challenging sleep-overs as a kid.


Of course, I ended up marrying a pet-person... isn't that always the way it happens?  My wife has been very understanding for most of our first 10 years of marriage.  This past winter, however, her parents asked if they could drop off their "outdoor" cat for the winter.  Having just moved "out to the country" I felt obliged to create some space for this "outdoor" animal.  


While we found ways to make it work during the winter months, you can imagine the shock and horror I experienced as I learned this cat had become pregnant during the active spring months.  Sure, the new kittens she produced were cute and all, but there was no way I was going to become a cat person.


Why am I sharing all of this?  Great question.  And I promise there's a connection to campus ministry coming...

Are We the Local Church OR an Arm Reaching On to the Campus?

I love campus ministry!  There's no doubt in my mind that this is what God has created me for... It's such a unique context for ministry; walking alongside young people during some of the most formative years of their lives.


But I've recently been challenged in the way I think about the work I (we) do on campus.


For quite some time I've believed that our work with college students - in the form of campus ministry - is not meant to replace a students' involvement in a local church, only supplement it.  


I've thought that what we provide students is something that's specifically designed to meet them where they're at in life - a contextualized ministry.  Amidst some incredible life transition, as students are being prepared and equipped to go out into the world and make a difference, we get to come alongside them and: 

• encourage them to love God and others, 
• challenge them to make their faith their own, 
• create space for them to grow and nurture a biblical world view, and 
• model for them ways to live into Kingdom priorities and responsibilities.

All of this gets to happen on campus... right where students do the majority of their living, relating and recreating.

But is it enough?  

Setting the Table

If you had the chance to communicate one message to incoming students - 2 months before their arrival - what would it be?


We are in the midst of our summer orientation here at BU.  It's probably not too different from what happens on most other campuses around the country that practice this same methodology of "introducing" new students to campus.  


Over the course of a day (transfers), or day and a half (traditional freshmen), we bombard these incoming students (and their parents) with a lot of information, introduce them to some "key" people on campus, get them navigating their way through campus, and send them on their way with a lot of material to peruse over the 2 months they have before they return.


Additionally, as a Christian university, we are increasingly intentional about how we communicate our Christian heritage and mission to these new community members during this time - and how these students, in particular, will have the chance to shape - and be shaped by - this place.

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.

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.