Ok, I have to let you in on this – and no, they’re not paying me to say this, nor do they even know I’m writing this.  Future of Forestry has come out with a new Christmas EP that is really, really, good.  Eric (lead singer) is a long time friend of mine.  Despite my friendship with him, he is truly one of the most creative song writers/musicians/producers we have in the Christian world today…for sure!  If you haven’t gotten their album “Twilight” I would highly recommend that as well – I listen to it frequently.  However, this Christmas EP is amazing.  They did a concert for my college ministry last year with these songs and quite honestly, blew everyone away.  Traditional songs, totally new perspective.  Here’s a clip of them recording the album:

Future of Forestry Christmas (part 1) from future of forestry on Vimeo.

If you’re interested in purchasing this (which I would highly recommend), click here.  Although they’re signed with EMI, this is currently ONLY available on their site – at a discounted price.  If you would like to listen before you purchase, click here.

Well, I’m extremely excited to announce this first, here!  If you could benefit from some training in the area of college ministry, more connection with others in similar contexts you’re in that you can share learning experiences with, access to more practical resources, etc…it’s on the way!  At CollegeLeader we’ve developed a Learning Network just for these purposes!  We’re set to launch in March 2009.  Here are some of the things you’ll be a part of in the learning network:

1. Monthly 90 Minute interactive web-based seminars, covering topics specifically for church-based college-age ministry.  This is web-based where there will be a seminar given (you’ll have powerpoint, notes, etc. as you watch the seminar) and a time for Q&A – you can ask live questions – anything, anytime you want and we can discuss it.
2. Q&A sessions with prominent leaders in the American church today. You and I will sit down with these people and ask them their thoughts on the church today, college ministry, books they’ve written, etc.
3. You’ll be a part of the learning networks cohort system - a smaller network of approximately 10 people in similar ministry contexts that meet together monthly with a CollegeLeader mentor for Q&A and deeper discussion through the Monthly Seminars (and any other unique needs you might have in your ministry at that particular time).  This provides you with a network of people you can learn from as well as teach through your personal failures and successes.  It also provides you with ongoing connection with a college ministry veteran that can give you advice and perspective from their years of experience.
4. As a part of the Learning Network you will of course get a bunch of free resources, as well as ongoing discounts on pretty much anything we do through CollegeLeader.
5. You’ll also get exclusive articles that are not published anywhere else, written by college ministry veterans from around the country.

This has not much, if anything, to do with college-age ministry.  But I saw two pictures today and various thoughts ran through my mind with each one.  This first one is a bit more serious, while the other is not so much.

The first thought that ran through my mind with this was, “I wonder what Christendom in general would be like if we had to have guards while we gathered for prayer?”  The second thought was, “I wonder how our service’s and ministry philosophies would change if we were actually persecuted here in the US?”

On a lighter note…

This picture, well, I had a number of thoughts race through my mind.  The first was, “Oh my gosh, that guy has huge ears!”  Second, “I wonder if he had to get that hearing aid specially made?”  The third thought was, “I’m pretty sure they all have to be made uniquely for the person.”  Fourth, “That really stinks I’m laughing at this guy in the picture.”  But I left the picture with, “Well not knowing anything about the picture or guy, it is a pretty funny looking picture.”

I’m sure if you looked at some pictures taken of me you would be able to laugh as well.

Twitter has been around for a while and people have been trying to get me to do it.  But I’ve firmly resisted. But I had a long day today at DMV and thought that I could’ve used twitter to humor me and a few others while sitting there, waiting FOREVER only to find out I couldn’t do what I needed to do.  Anyway, I thought, “Man, if I had twitter right now I could at least make fun of DMV and people could at least laugh from my experiences.”  So, I’m now twittering.  Signed up.  Done.  username: chuckbomar 

oh man, didn’t think I would get to the point of doing that…but it could’ve given me something else to do rather than return some emails and play “brick-breaker” on my blackberry!  I’ve gotten to level 29.  Ok, so that lets you know how much I play – but truthfully, I (usually) only play it on planes.  If my ADD-like brain isn’t motivated it can help time go by a little faster – and certainly could’ve helped me today at the DMV.

I’m sitting here in a great little coffee shop in Portland.  I come here often – it’s about 1 mile from my house.  I come here on colder days because there’s a fireplace with leather chairs around it and I love sitting in front of the fire writing, reading, working on messages, etc.  Of course today there’s someone sitting in my seat – so I’m eavesdropping on his emails…you know what they say about paybacks. 

All that aside, this morning was a painful time for me.  My immediate family is doing great, but I can’t say the same for the rest.  My mom just left her 3rd husband and is trying to justify it as being God’s plan for her.  There’s nothing more frustrating for me than hearing her justify her actions this way.

My sister has been having marital issues for a while, but I just found out that she is separating from her husband, leaving her 4 year old daughter distraught as to which clothes she’s going to leave at daddy’s house and which will she bring to mommy’s.  This little girl is completely confused and even though her parents think they’re protecting her heart, the fact is they aren’t.  They’re seeking the selfishness and arrogance of their own.

I’ve told them this in as loving way as I know how.  I no longer know what to say.

Many college-age people have this type of life experience and suffer from a tweaked view of marriage.  They were that little girl (or boy) at one point.  They’re now gun-shy, afraid, and in fear of making the wrong choice in a spouse.  But, although these feelings and emotions are real, they’re not from God.  They are rooted in the sinful decisions of sinful people – not in confidence in God’s original design and intent for marriage.

If you work with college-age people, you MUST help them prepare their hearts and minds in the area of relationships, but more importantly God’s design for them.  It starts with changing their thinking, giving them models to follow, and walking alongside them as they prepare themselves to be “the right person.”  It’s much more effective than trying to “find the right person.”

If you need a resource on this, I have a 3 part sermon series I taught to those in my college ministry called, “Relationships by Design” and one on the book of Song of Songs that you may want to check out.  But, whether or not you use these resources, we do have the responsibility of helping our college-age people in this area.  Effectiveness in college ministry always includes helping people think through relationships from a biblical perspective.

There is an interview on podcast I did with Kara Powell and the Fuller Youth Institute called, “Transition to College and Identity Development” that is now available.  It’s about preparing high schoolers and kids for their college-age years.  I also discuss identity formulation during the college-age years (and prior), the role of relationships, etc.  There are also some bigger philosophical issues of teaching and discipleship we talk about.  Anyway, to listen to that click here