Confessions of an "I"

Hi.  My name is Guy and I'm an introvert.


No, I'm not a recovering introvert, just one that needs to remind myself - and others - from time-to-time that God has made me this way.


I enjoy my cave time.  A LOT.  


The summers on campus often feel like a blissful hibernation of sorts.  Sure, there are the occasional meetings, interactions with other members of my staff, etc., but for the most part there's a lot of quiet space.  I like quiet space.


Sometimes I wonder, however, if being an "I" makes me less effective as a minister on campus.  Are there any other introverts out there that sometimes wonder this same thing?

What Gives?

About a year and a half ago I had the chance to grab lunch with a very accomplished thinker, educator, author, minister-type.  He has done so much over the course of his life, so I just had to ask, "how do you do it all?"

I was a little surprised by his response, "Sleep is overrated!"  He went on to say how the first thing he plans to ask God upon arriving in heaven is, "what's up with sleep?  It seems to me we could have been a lot more productive if we wouldn't have needed that."  I personally like sleep, but increasingly I've come to understand what he was saying.

There's a lot of good stuff out there.  A lot we can give ourselves to.  But,

When life gets too full, what gives?  Because something's got to!

We've all been there... or maybe we live there.  We find ourselves pursuing so many good things that life simply seems too full... and we know we cannot continue on at our current pace for much longer.

Whether we consciously choose what we eliminate (or temporarily sideline) from our schedules or not, we know that without a change to our current pace of life, our quality of life will continue to decline... as likely will our quality of output in all of the good things we're trying to be a part of.

So what goes first for you?

How's Your [Servant's] Attitude?

In my reading this morning I sat with Paul's encouraging letter to the believers in Philippi.  The first half of chapter 2, on imitating Christ's humility, has always been a challenging word to hear...


This morning was no different.


I find myself humbled and challenged by these words from Paul to its' original recipients... because I know it is just as relevant for me today.


5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.


What a tall order.  It kind of makes me wonder if Paul really knew what he was saying at the time... YOUR attitude should be the SAME as that of CHRIST JESUS.  

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!

When You Pray...

One of the biggest pitfalls that those of us in ministry leadership face is getting too caught up in the 'doing' of ministry that we cease to simply 'be' with Jesus.


Prayer is meant to be the life-line between Jesus and His followers.  It's meant to be the means by which we bring our will into conformity with His.  It's meant to be a means through which He shapes us, prepares us, equips us and speaks to us - in every way - for everything.


Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me ~ Jesus (John 15.4).