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I’m currently walking 4 of our future leaders through the book, In the Name of Jesus, by Henri Nouwen. This is the second group of leaders that I’ve walked through this book…I would highly recommend it for future leaders.

This morning I was preparing for our conversation tonight and this paragraph jumped out to me.

“After twenty-five years of priesthood, I found myself praying poorly, living somewhat isolated from other people, and very much preoccupied with burning issues. Everyone was saying that I was doing really well, but something inside was telling me that my success was putting my own soul in danger. I began to ask myself whether my lack of contemplative prayer, my loneliness, and my constantly changing involvement in what seemed most urgent were signs that the Spirit was gradually being suppressed. It was very hard for me to see clearly, and though I never spoke about hell or only jokingly so, I woke up one day with the realization that I was living in a very dark place and that the term “burnout” was a convenient psychological translation for a spiritual death.”

Is ministry suppressing the work of the Spirit in you?

Are you preoccupied with execution and effectiveness?

Is your soul endangered?

*The following post was written by Brian Jones, founding pastor of Christ’s Church of the Valley in Royersford, Pennsylvania.

A few years ago I brought in a nationally recognized pastor to do some consulting for our church. One of the things I remember most about my time with him was a side conversation we had about small groups.

“I haven’t really figured out the small group thing,” I confessed to him.

“Well, Brian, that’s because they don’t work. Small groups are things that trick us into believing we’re serious about making disciples. The problem is 90 percent of small groups never produce one single disciple. Ever. They help Christians make shallow friendships, for sure. They’re great at helping Christians feel a tenuous connection to their local church, and they do a bang-up job of teaching Christians how to act like other Christians in the Evangelical Christian subculture. But when it comes to creating the kind of holistic disciples Jesus envisioned, the jury’s decision came back a long time ago—small groups just aren’t working.”

“Finally,” I said, “I’ve met someone who’s got the guts to euthanize this small group sacred cow.”

I have been leading, participating in, championing, and applauding the efforts of small groups for the last 20 years of my ministry.

But now I’m done. In my opinion, they just don’t work. Let me share why.

Continue Reading…

Our staff here in Charlotte is having this conversation right now. What’s the future of small groups? Are we pushing superficial community? Should we just allow community to form and when we see it, cheer it on? This is a tough conversation…I’m not sure there is a right or wrong…but it’s a worthy topic.

So, what do you think?

*The following post was written by Bill Westfall, The Director of Ministry Development for Impact Campus Ministries.

How much should donors drive ministry?

Have you seen the story today on ESPN?  A “major” University of Connecticut donor is demanding a refund of his $3 million donation.  It seems this booster is upset with recent decisions surrounding the football program.  You can read the full story here: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6057094

I immediately thought of experiences I have had with both current and potential donors.  Maybe you have too?  A donor makes a “suggestion” for changes in your campus ministry program, and you immediately feel the tension (perhaps you disagree with the advice he has offered).  Or, better yet, a potential new donor has a substantial “gift” waiting for you for a “special program” she, the donor, has just dreamed up.

There is often a tension that exists between benefactors and beneficiaries.

How do you deal with these?

Continue Reading…

 

* The following post was written by Steve Lutz, Campus Minister with CCO at Penn State University.

How do we as campus ministers help students be faithful in their academics on one hand, but not make an idol of academics on the other?

One of the ways campus ministers can do this is to reframe how they see fellowship and ministry involvement.

Too often, we default to the view that our ministries are but one more extracurricular activity, to be opted in and out of at a student’s convenience. The problem with this is that it pushes ministry to the periphery. (The prefix extra- means “on the outside,” after all).  We might as well call our ministries “Pericurricular,” since that’s how many students regard us.

Of course, this is both inaccurate and a disservice. This is not the snowboarding club, or Anime club, or yet another honor society. As enjoyable as those clubs might be for their members, they are the definition of extracurricular. But what our ministries do is facilitate something we believe is not optional, but essential.

Continue Reading…

 

*The following post was written by Tamar Lewin for The New York Times.

The emotional health of college freshmen — who feel buffeted by the recession and stressed by the pressures of high school — has declined to the lowest level since an annual survey of incoming students started collecting data 25 years ago.

In the survey, “The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2010,” involving more than 200,000 incoming full-time students at four-year colleges, the percentage of students rating themselves as “below average” in emotional health rose. Meanwhile, the percentage of students who said their emotional health was above average fell to 52 percent. It was 64 percent in 1985.

Every year, women had a less positive view of their emotional health than men, and that gap has widened.

Campus counselors say the survey results are the latest evidence of what they see every day in their offices — students who are depressed, under stress and using psychiatric medication, prescribed even before they came to college.

The economy has only added to the stress, not just because of financial pressures on their parents but also because the students are worried about their own college debt and job prospects when they graduate.

“This fits with what we’re all seeing…” Continue Reading…

Are you seeing this trend?

Why campus ministry?

It’s a great question considering the plethora of other great, God-glorifying ministries and opportunities today.

My response?

I think that one of the unique aspects I love about campus ministry is its “catalyticness”.

As we see through the gospels, Jesus was very focused and obedient to his mission stated in Luke 19:10, “To seek and save that which was lost.”

But how was it done with Jesus knowing that his life on earth was limited?.

He could have spent years creating a mega church that would have sent chills down caesar’s spine. He could have created multiple food distribution centers, orphanages, and homeless shelters. He could have decided to start Antiquity’s first Theological Seminary. But no, instead Jesus centered his mission around the humble concept of spiritual multiplication.

Jesus knew that to reach the world, it had to be by the Holy Spirit starting through 12 men. And it is through those 12 men whom were faithful to Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew 28, that you and I are reading this blog. Crazy.

You see, campus ministry, I believe, is one of the few ministries that entrusts, empowers and equips broken vessels to share and be the gospel in whatever vocation God has appointed them to be in. But what is  amazing is that it never stops there. The discipleship process never ends. Leadership and vision and the call to answer the great commission is passed on.

Jesus loved being with his disciples and he dedicated himself to them.  But He knew that the fulfillment of His (and consequently their) ministry was not the few years Jesus  had with them, but the years that followed when each went his own way fulfilling the commission through the holy spirit–even to their death.

One of my directors shared this insight with me that forever changed my perspective of campus ministry:  My main goal as staff CANNOT be to equip these students to walk with the Lord and be light for just the four years I have them here on campus. My goal is to equip them and send them to be in love with God and be light for the 40 years they have after campus. I feel its so crucial that we get that!

Ironically, campus ministry has taught me that ministry is less and less about me and the ministry itself. And you know…its amazing how the goodness and glory and sovereignty of Christ shines brightest when there is a lot less me.

What if the first step in changing the world began with your next discipleship time?

*Today’s post, by Andrew Baron, is part of a blog series titled “Why Campus Ministry?“. Why do we give our lives to this profession, this people group, this thing called Campus Ministry? Why do we do what we do? What drives us? What keeps us going? Why college students? Why the University campus? Here’s the catch…each post must be 200 words or less.

Why campus ministry?

Because the college campus is the place in our society where boys become men and girls become women.

Because between freshman year and graduation, students wrestle with every decision imaginable.

Because the choices college students make will shape not only their lives but the world we live in.

Because campus ministry is all about guiding students to include Jesus in their decision making.

College students are faced with lots of decisions to make:

• Lifestyles: to drink? to have sex? to abstain? to binge-purge? indulge? Experiment
• Career:  selecting majors – changing majors, graduate school, internships, choosing employers, locating in cities.
• Spiritual: whether to – believe in God, commit to Jesus, investigate other religions, or to ridicule from the sidelines.
• Relationships: boyfriends, girlfriends, same sex – different sex, parents, marriage, living together, sex, pregnancy, abortion.

Why campus ministry?

Because without it students have to navigate these decisions without any spiritual direction or encouragement. Doesn’t it make sense to have a ministry that targets college students, with the intent of guiding them during this major decision making time of life.

Why campus ministry?

Because the college years come during that small window of time when individuals are most open to changing their ideas, beliefs and worldview.

Why campus ministry? Go ask any of the thousands of UGACCF alums or any of the millions of alums of campus ministry worldwide and that question will change to “How can we get more campus ministries started?”

*Today’s post, by Tim Hudson, is part of a blog series titled “Why Campus Ministry?“. Why do we give our lives to this profession, this people group, this thing called Campus Ministry? Why do we do what we do? What drives us? What keeps us going? Why college students? Why the University campus? Here’s the catch…each post must be 200 words or less.

I’m a bit of a nerd (this entry is exactly 200 words).  I love strategy games.   I was in the chess club as a kid and spent many late nights in college playing Risk.  This love of mine helped draw me to campus ministry, which is the most strategic thing that we, as the Church, can be doing.  The mission statement that we use at Impact@CSU is “Impacting the world of tomorrow, by impacting its leaders today.”

The leaders of our world are coming through American universities.  I recently heard a statistic on National Public Radio that said of 30 developed nations, the U.S. ranked 25^th in math, science, and reading.  While that is a shame, our universities are still the world’s best and the next generation’s leaders (in business, politics, medicine, and even the church) are coming through the doors of our schools.  The big problem with this is that the Church is losing the battle for this generation, even among students who were raised in the Church. This is a critical time in human development when people make decisions about worldview that last a lifetime.  We exist strategically to meet these students with the Truth of the Gospel.

*Today’s post, by Matt Harris, is part of a blog series titled “Why Campus Ministry?“. Why do we give our lives to this profession, this people group, this thing called Campus Ministry? Why do we do what we do? What drives us? What keeps us going? Why college students? Why the University campus? Here’s the catch…each post must be 200 words or less.