I thought I would remind you that today is the last day for early-bird registration for the National Youth Ministry Conference.  I will be leading an college ministry affinity group (multiple small group discussions) as well as an 8 hr. Deeper Learning Track on preparing students for the college-age years – which I think applies to you working in college ministry.  It will both help articulate what students are facing during the college-age years, but also help you nail down where exactly most are coming from, what they’re thinking and how they’re processing through it.

Also, just as a little tip, I’ve been told that if you use the promo code “sympodcast” you can receive:

- $40.00 off registration (early bird)

- $75.00 SYM bookstore gift card

- A chance to win a steak dinner with the podcast crew.

Anyway, hope to see you there…would love to chat college ministry stuff face to face.  I will also have Geoff Leatherman with me from our CollegeLeader team!

Chuck

Wow, well, not sure what you may think about the title, graphics, or whatever, but this is a very interesting thing you should definitely check out.  It’s called, “Porn-Again Christian” and it’s a free e-book.  It’s written by Mark Driscoll and walks “frankly” through the issues of masturbation and pornography by explaining certain passages in Scripture.  He speaks of this as a paralyzing issue he’s seen in the men in his church and wants to discuss this issue with brutal honesty – which college-age people need!!!!!!!  Again, it’s free, so no need to go buy a book on the issue to walk guys through this…it’s right here

Apparently a man in the Netherlands built an exact replica of Noah’s Ark.  The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide.  It’s two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a 3 story house.  This guy is a contractor by trade and built it mostly by himself with the occasional help from his son.

There is life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, zebras, bison, etc. so people can get a feel of the size and nature of the thing.  I think it’s interesting.

He started the project in 2005.  There are plans to have a petting zoo for kids and have it as a tourist attraction to “generate interest in Christianity” in the Netherlands.

I think things like this can be great things to discuss in smaller groups of people – possibly even larger ones – and especially for the skeptics.  With everything college-age people are thinking through and the fact they (no matter what faith upbringing they have) are reevaluating every assumption they grew up having this could be interesting to bring up.  I think college-age people would have some VERY interesting things to say about this, things that may make us think a bit differently.  Even discussing whether or not they believe in the actual historicity of Genesis would be fun.

Not surprisingly a new article (AP) just came out about how college tuition has risen and how it will probably continue to do so.  However, and this is something to pay CLOSE attention to, the 2 year community colleges are remaining low.  This particular article doesn’t cover this, but these campuses are also growing extremely fast!  We ought to be focusing just as much on these campuses as others.  Chances are there’s one in the proximity of your church.  You may find an article called Challenges of Commuter Schools on CollegeLeader interesting…

Let me propose a question here…

 In 2003, 75 million people — more than one-fourth of the U.S. population age 3 and older — were in school throughout the country, according to School Enrollment — Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2003. Nine million children, age 3 and older, were enrolled in nursery school and kindergarten, 33 million in elementary school and 17 million in high school. 

Hhhmmmm, 17 million high school students.

Today there are 17,487,475 college students overall in the United States.  

Does anyone else see an issue?

I’ve been getting requests for where I’ll be speaking this coming year. So, I figured I would just articulate the places I’m currently scheduled to speak in 2009 – but only the one’s that are directly related to college-age ministry training. I’m assuming the other camp/conference stuff won’t apply here. Anyway, here’s some places I’ll be in 2009 training on college ministry issues:

February 7 _George Fox Kaleo Conference

• I will be doing a seminar on protecting our investment in kids through the college-age years.

February 27-March 2 _Group National Youth Ministry Conference (Cincinatti)

• I will be doing an affinity group (small group discussion settings) and doing an 8 hour track with Kara Powell on preparing kids for the college-age years

April 28 – May 2 _Orange Conference (Atlanta)

• I will be doing a pre-conference intensive seminar on how churches can engage college-age people, and some other stuff (seminars, panel, etc.)

May ?? _CollegeLeader One-Day Trainings (dates and locations to be set)

• These will be one day intensive training days on issues we deal with in the trenches of college ministry – teaching/discipleship philosophies, helping students think through meaning, pleasure, intimacy, truth, identity, etc.

July 13-19 _Momentum (Pittsburgh)

• I will be doing a main session for the high schoolers, spending time with college students, and training the pastors, volunteers, and parents on college ministry issues

September 24-28 _Youth Specialties (LA)*

• Details TBD

October 15-18 _DRINK Conference

• This is our CollegeLeader conference.  All we do is concentrate on church-based college ministry.  We’ll have leaders from around the country training on this issue only!

October 29-November 2 _Youth Specialties (Cincinnati)

November 19-23 _Youth Specialties (Atlanta)

If you happen to come to any of these, I would love to connect!

*YS events are tentative

The Vocational

The vocational subculture has a very practical perspective on enrollment in school. They are seeking to gain skills and knowledge that directly assist them in what they want to do vocationally. They are searching for a degree that will help them get a better job and possibly make more money. These people will typically work at least part-time, frequently go to school at night and often attend community colleges. Many don’t have time, money, nor much desire for the social aspects of collegiate life. They tend to have a humble approach in learning yet are able to think through concepts for themselves and are highly motivated.

The identity issues requiring focus is in their hope for a prosperous career. This pursuit is where meaning is found. This person will tend to find their identity in their independence and personal pursuits. They won’t have time for much involvement in ministry or Christian community and will require you to really pursue them, often adjusting to their schedule. Like the rebel…more

My wife and I had the opportunity to see some friends that were in town playing a show yesterday. They’re in the band Tenth Avenue North. I met them about 5 years ago at a conference in Myrtle Beach – I was speaking and they were leading worship. It was good to see them, they’re currently on tour with Sanctus Real. They did a great job, and their new album is REALLY good. There are other bands like them as well, but two things, to me, set them apart from a lot of other bands these days:

First, they are all really solid in their faith and genuinely seek to glorify God in what they do. It’s easy in the music industry to lose both – believe it or not. There are unfortunately bands that lose sight of what they’re doing and why they’re doing it and gain, for lack of better terms, a “rock star mentality.” These guys are the real deal.

Second, they are just as concerned about the lyrics as the beats and rhythm. This, to me, is the most important thing. As they explain their songs it’s not shallow, there’s a lot of reasoning and depth to what they write. Anyway, I appreciated our time. Plus, I took Mike (lead singer) to my favorite coffee shop afterwards.  Not only can I get a ton of work done there, but you can’t get a better mocha anywhere in the country! Ava is the place to go, for sure.

I just wrote a new article for YouthMinistry.com on the issue of para-church organizations and the local church.  It discusses my concerns with the role they’re playing in the lives of college students. If you want to check that out and join the conversation, click here to go to that site.

Here’s part three of this article series: The Rebel
Like the Academic the rebel is also engaged in the ideals of professors, but tends to approach this from an arrogant mindset. They naturally compare who they think they are to what they perceive others to be, but do so from a critical perspective rather than a curious one. There are some professors/leaders they respect, but only those who have ideas that challenge them in ways they’ve never been challenged, in subjects they’ve never thought through, or in ways that directly apply to their lives. Unlike the academic this subculture is non-conformists. They are not seeking to please anybody and usually could care less about what professors think about them, or the grade they receive. They will typically do well in classes they enjoy and not well with those in which they have little or no interest. Meaning for them is found in their own rebellion (and unfortunately arrogant thinking). Comparing their thoughts and ideals to others from a bias and inexperienced perspective makes them feel good, and thus gives a sense of fulfillment.

The main identity issue to tackle with this subculture is idolatry. I know that may sound harsh…more