One of the challenges of being a pastor, or teacher, or someone who speaks in front of a large group is to figure out how to best engage everyone in that event. This includes whether one is preaching, or teaching, or lecturing. So for example, when you preach, how do you engage the whole audience, and help them enter into the proclamation of God’s Word? I know that is the work of the Holy Spirit so I will not assume that I bear all of that responsibility. But as preachers of the Word we have to consider how we communicate at times. Or as a teacher in a classroom, how do you not just simply lecture, but engage the students so that they feel empowered?

I have been thinking about these things a lot. I have thought aloud about this subject here as well as in some minor areas of other posts. And I don’t have any set in stone answers.

I suppose that part of my wondering on this subject is that I have been in “summer mode” with my college group, which means we shrink from a couple hundred students to about 20-30. That has drastically changed the dynmaic and has allowed for more “dialogue” in the teaching moment (I know we could distinguish between preaching and teaching, but that’s not where I am going at this point). So now I’m faced with the question, that when we do return to our school year and I preach on Wednesday nights, how do I simply not just “lecture” or “teach” or “proclaim”, without providing opportunities for students to engage, to feel empowered, to ask questions.

College is a time of life where a lot of things are up for grabs, especially in regards to one’s faith, and if I do not provide opportunities for them to wrestle with that and to ask questions, etc., then they will simply do it somewhere else, and possibly in a community that does not care about God or His Word, or who does not hold some of the same values.

I know that the word “conversation” has sort of been the butt of some jokes as many joke about the “emergent movement” and whether it is a “movement” or a “conversation.” And some of this has taken away from the value of the word conversation and it’s importance in life, especially in the college community that would love to do nothing more than sit around with friends and converse.

So how does one proclaim and teach and converse the Word of God with others? What does that look like? These are some of the things I am wondering about as school gets closer and I have some ideas, and I am excited about this year, but it is always a challenge. And what is really the role of the college ministry? If they attend church on Sunday and hear the proclamation of God’s Word from the pulpit, then should the Wednesday night group be more teaching? Should it be more conversation, or should that be for their small group Bible studies midweek? Or should it be reserved for my coffee time with students? I don’t think there is one answer to this. I think God has given us a lot of freedom to proclaim His Word and to share the gospel in a variety of contexts and ways (I Cor. 9:19-24).

I greatly enjoyed coming across these words from Karl Barth, spoken in 1963. One has to remember the context of his life at this time as well. He was 78 years old and he had already published hundreds and hundreds of works, written over 700 sermons as well as written the Church Dogmatics, which is 14 Volumes of small print..over 6 million words, and 9,185 pages. That’s nine times as long as long as Calvin’s Institutes and almost twice as long as Aquinas’ Summa. So maybe he was ready for conversation. He also seems to be speaking of lecturing here, and not preaching.

I believe that the time of long lectures, when someone spoke for an hour and the audience was condemned to sit and listen to whatever they were given, is…perhaps over–not just for me but for everyone. What we need in theology and in the church is–Oh, I don’t want to use that wretched word again–”conversations”. What I mean is simply that we should talk together and try to arrive at answers together, instead of someone trying to present something to other people as though the Holy Spirit has dictated it to him in person.

So the question for me is more about what a midweek college ministry should look like? Teaching, preaching, small group, conversation.? Or all of the above? Or various types of these communications at different times and in different formats over the course of the year?

Here is a great post on four different ways to look at one’s university. Chris, who really is passionate about college ministry, recently used an issue on the campus of Arizona State University to think of how a student views one’s university.

Despise…Use…Become…Love

This information is from the Ivy Jungle college network newsletter.

Alcohol and Money Lead both Student and Public Concerns for College: A survey of college students show that the most commonly cited problem on campus is alcohol abuse (44%) followed by cost of education (40%); student loan debt (26%); lack of financial aid (26%); drugs (20%); drunk driving (16%); credit card debt (13%); apathy (12%); awareness of world events (12%); and academic cheating (10%). A similar survey was conducted among the general public who listed the following as the largest problems on campus: high cost of tuition (43%); binge drinking (17%); low educational standards (10%); political bias in the classroom (8%); crime on campus (7%); incompetent professors (7%); too much focus on athletics (5%) and lack of support for a diverse student population (5%). (New York Times Education Life July 30, 2006 p. 7)

Myspace and College Orientation: At most college orientations students are encouraged to be responsible and warned of a number of dangers from alcohol, to over commitment. This year, many schools will also give incoming freshman a lesson about posting personal information and photographs in online communities such as Myspace and Facebook. Colleges say they need to address these things because of the incredible popularity of such websites. Last year several national stories hit the wires after athletes and others were busted for violations because of pictures posted on the internet. In addition, schools want students to recognize the very public nature of these postings which have begun to affect job offers. A third of employers say they have run prospective employees through Google and some intentionally research social networking sites to learn more about candidates. (AP August 2, 2006)

“Of all disciples theology is the fairest, the one that moves the head and heart most fully, the one that comes closest to human reality, the one that gives the clearest perspective on the truth which every disciple seeks. It is a landscape like those of Umbria and Tuscany with views which are distant and yet clear, a work of art which is as well planned and as bizarre as the cathedrals of Cologne or Milan…But of all disciplines theology is also the most difficult and the most dangerous, the one in which a man is most likely to end in despair, or–and this is almost worse–in arrogance. Theology can float off into thin air or turn to stone, and worst of all it can become a caricature of itself.”
Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts by Eberhard Busch, pp. 244

My post below on Driscoll reminds me of another blog he posted a ways back.

In his other post, The Right Hand of Fellowship, Driscolls praises the sport of UFC.

In it he says:

The hottest sporting event among dudes who are not trapped in some seafoam-green evangelical church singing prom songs to Jesus is known as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), which includes the PRIDE Fighting Championships (PRIDE FC) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). …….

My three young sons and I enjoy watching Ultimate Fighting in conjunction with our Old Testament Bible studies. …….

Because I am a Christian pastor I now need to find something that connects all of this to being a Christian. So, I’ll just say that while young men are watching tough men compete, the reason they don’t go to most churches is because they could take the pastor and can’t respect a guy in a lemon-yellow sweater, sipping decaf and talking about his feelings.

Oh. I understand now. Men aren’t coming to church because their pastors aren’t fighters, or competing in UFC. And talking about one’s feelings is somehow considered weak. This just reminds me so much of Jr. High and High School where guys are always sizing each other up in such a superficial way.