Archive - December, 2007

The Changing Face of College Ministry (Part 1 of 2)

December 13, 2007 in Ministry-Theology with 2 Comments

College is an interesting age and stage to do ministry in. It’s no surprise that college students are always changing and if one is in college ministry (or any ministry for that fact) long enough you are able to notice more readily some of those changes and trends.

I’ve been in vocational college ministry for almost ten years now:

  • 3 years at Grand Canyon University where I was an admission counselor and recruiter and where I worked on occasion with the Department of Spiritual Life as we coordinated events for students.

Over these last ten years I have had the opportunity to be a part of a lot of exciting things in ministry and it has been interesting to watch the college student change. Recently I have been in a lot of conversations with various college pastors in the local area as well as across the country. And we have spent a great deal of time talking about the changing face of college ministry. On top of that, it is interesting to continually watch the Ivy Jungle Campus Ministry Update and the changing trends they identify in college students.

What I want to do in this post is just identify a few of the trends that I have noticed. These come out of my observations and conversations with other fellow practitioners. In doing this, keep in mind that I am aware of the fact that I am casting a general stereotype which may or may not hold true for your experiences. And I’m taking into consideration that location and context greatly influence college ministry. So for everything I point out, you may or may not disagree. I would be interested in your feedback then. I’m also aware that the trends I identify are not exclusive to college ministry perhaps, but reflect a great movement in the Church.

I began working with college students on a small, liberal arts, Christian University in Phoenix, AZ, and I’m now working at a large church in Los Angeles that is composed of a lot of people in entertainment, while I work with students primarily from USC, UCLA and LMU. So that’s a little of my context.

Trends

Move Away from the Programmed Ministry, Towards Relational Ministry

  • This shouldn’t be surprising, especially since Willow Creek recently repented for their heavy reliance on program based ministry at the cost of traditional spiritual practices.
  • It used to be that if you had the right program, it would attract all the students you wanted, but now that isn’t enough. College ministry has always been relational (college students are relational by nature), but in recent years many have realized that relational ministry (relationships within the ministry) are sacrificed in order to keep the program running.

Move Away from the Big Gathering Event, Towards Smaller, More Interactive Gatherings

  • It used to be that college students were drawn to large gatherings. That is still true in some sense. But with the failure of many attempted big events on campus (I’m thinking of a handful at UCLA), to continued decreased attendance at traditional events like Forest Home’s College Briefing.
  • I was recently at a meeting with about 50 other college pastors for the upcoming Passion LA Regional Event, and the looming question was whether or not such an event could be pulled off in Los Angeles.

Move Away from Watching, Towards Participating

  • College students don’t want to simply come to a worship service, or outreach project and watch. They want to participate. That might not mean preaching, speaking or playing an instrument, but they want to participate in the planning of the event, and also participate as a worshiper in a service. It’s not good enough to sit on their hands in a service while others do all the work/performance. There has to be an element of participation.
  • This trend can be seen in the increasing number of prayer and art stations at college services and conferences. It’s hard to find a conference these days or a college service that doesn’t incorporate elements of small groups, group prayer, contemplative stations, etc. in their service.

Move Away from Expository Preaching Only, Towards a More Story Based/Narrative-Expository Combination

  • When I first started in college ministry I used to preach pretty expository, verse by verse in my sermons. But now I have had to learn how to incorporate more elements of narrative preaching and story telling into my sermons. This is something that I am glad to see happen.
  • But college students today have been raised in a story telling culture (not unlike other generations). But with the new media, computers, video games, movies, etc., they are immersed in story.
  • “The Christian mission is not well served when we speak in terms of spiritual laws or rational formulas. Propositional truths, when extracted from a narrative context, lack meaning. ‘The chief role of a Christian,’ he says, ‘is to tell a better story.’ Donald Miller in Christianity Today. Don’t underestimate the influence of Donald Miller in shaping the college mind in this area. The event that we hosted Donald Miller at in October of 2005 to this day has been our biggest draw and most popular/commented/challenging event so far from student’s perspectives. Though our event with Rob Bell is close if not equal.

Move Away from Top-Down Hierarchical Leadership, Towards a Bottom-Up, Flattened Leadership

  • I can’t say enough about this topic. But students today are very, very suspect of a ministry or organization with hierarchical leadership. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have it in a ministry, but student’s automatically will be suspect about it, especially in a church setting. Student’s today don’t want their churches or ministries to reflect corporate structures.
  • My thoughts on this issue were best addressed when some other’s commented on the moral failure of many leaders in our culture: whether it was the Jimmy Swaggart scandal, or the Bill Clinton White House scandal, etc., students are suspect of those in power.
  • Students want to see ministries that model servant, downward mobility leadership. (Read Henri Nouwen and others on this topic.)

These are just some of my thoughts based on observation, conversation and study. I will be posting two more times on this issue within the next seven days. But I would be interested in what I have posted so far.

  • What do you think of some of the trends I have identified?
  • What trends have you noticed?
  • Where is college ministry going?
  • Some may think of these trends as being one and the same with the “emerging church.” But I would say they neither are or aren’t “emergent” but part of a larger, more foundational paradigm shift. Thoughts?

Hooking-Up: A Primer for those in Youth Ministry

December 11, 2007 in Marriage-Family with 0 Comments

I posted the below for Leadership Network’s Book Blog because I think it’s an important book for those in ministry, especially if you are working with college students, or any students in general. “Hooking-up” is not simply a college phenomenon and anyone working with youth knows that. I’ve sat and listened to stories from youth pastor friends that I would find unbelievable if they were coming from anyone else than people that I know. “Hooking-up” is beginning before Junior High, and often as early as 5th grade (and I know people have stories of younger). This book grabbed my attention because though everyone knew that “hooking-up” was pretty much a college rite of passage in some circles, few talked about the effects of that sexual encounter. Now, Miriam Grossman, M.D., goes into detail about her encounters with women on college campuses. And it’s not a pretty picture.

I will be posting more on this issue at this site, as well as our new youth ministry site, Collection of Crumbs, which is a collaborative effort between those thinking theologically about Junior High, High School and College ministry.

Before you read the post below, let me ask you a few questions:

  • Is the “hook-up” culture prevalent in your ministry?
  • What are some of the effects of this culture in your ministry?
  • How, or do you approach this subject openly with your students?

Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student

I’ve been slowly reading through Miriam Grossman M.D.’s new book, Unprotected, and I’m having a hard time finding the right adjective to describe my thoughts…depressing, enlightening, sad. One of the reasons that I picked up the book was because I have been working with college students for almost ten years and I (among many others) have noticed the affects of the “hook up” culture in college circles.

“Hooking up” is nothing new in college, and in fact it’s even made easier through social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace which allow you to find “hook up” partners at the touch of a button. But now for the first time in many years, those in the medical, psychological and religious fields are taking notice of some of the long lasting effects of this sexual encounter. Dr. Grossman who has been working with college students for over twenty years, and the last ten working as a psychiatrist at UCLA’s Student Psychological Services, wrote this book out of her experiences of working with thousands of college students, and more specifically women on college campuses. Miriam writes,

“Now young people are advised to use latex, and have a limited number of partners (as opposed to unlimited?). There is a tacit approval of promiscuity and experimentation: one study of college students speaks of ‘primary and casual sex partners.”

She goes on to say that,

“More relevant to my patients at this stage in their lives is that oxytocin is released during sexual activity. Could it be that the same chemical that flows through a woman’s veins as she nurses her infant, promoting a powerful and selfless devotion, is found in college women ‘hooking up’ with men whose last intention is to bond?”

As a college pastor this is a necessary book as I interact with students who live in a “hook up” culture. And for the first time in many years, Grossman from a psychiatric perspective is confirming what Christian teachers have been saying.

Changes: Out with the Old and in with the New

December 7, 2007 in Uncategorized with 8 Comments

It’s been about 17 days since I last posted anything, but that’s because the last 17 days have been crazy, tiring and very exciting. A lot of great things have been happening to me personally, and a lot of great things have been happening with our ministry. Here’s a run down to catch you up to speed.

  • I moved from Movable Type to WordPress. Best decision I have ever made when it comes to blogging platforms. With that change came the arrival of the new look of this site.
  • Last March, our college ministry hosted Rob Bell on his Sex God Tour at UCLA. Thank you to all of my leaders who helped us make that happen. Well, now you can view on CNN pieces of that night here. You can also see a little interview with one of our students, Ally Stoltz below:
  • I will be a contributing blogger to Leadership Network on their Leadership Network Book site. This is a great opportunity for me to connect with other pastors and lay leaders around the country and to share about the books that are influencing us in ministry.
  • Today, RO and Mindy Smith (Middle School), Drew Sams (High School) and I (College), launched a Collection of Crumbs, which is a collaborative effort on our part to think theologically about youth ministry, and the transition and integration of youth into the life of the Church. If you are a youth minister or volunteer in any area of youth ministry, I hope that you will not only check out the new site, but that you will contribute to the site by a) sending us your blog link so we can post you on the site; b) thinking of topics for us to write about and discuss; c) serving as a contributor to the site by writing a post possibly.
  • This last Wednesday was our annual Quest Christmas Communion service. It was a great night where we come together to celebrate communion with each other, sing Christmas carols and eat dessert. I recorded below a little sample from the service. It’s a pretty rough video, as it was my first attempt to record and upload onto You Tube from my new Flip Video camera. My Jack Bauer joke isn’t that funny, and my camera work needs great improvement. But hey, I gotta practice:

    • Have a good weekend and thanks for visiting the site.
Page 2 of 2«12