How’s Your Rhythm?

by Robert Turner

No doubt many of you reading this are anticipating being in the thick of a seemingly endless lineup of activities and events designed to help you meet as many new students as you can as the new year begins.

I won’t debate the merits of such a work ethic. Just as is true for an accountant in April or Santa in December, the first few weeks of the new school year for a campus minister is a time of intense focus, as so much of the year depends on how those first few weeks go. It’s a foundational assumption in our ministry that if you miss out here you will be paying the price for the next nine months, for sure.

But if the 24/7 rush of the first few weeks becomes fixed as your pattern of ministry, problems are sure to arise. At the least, you can find yourself in a permanent ADD state, less “present” for your students, and at worst, flame out like a Roman candle, neither one a desirable state for effective ministry.

Last fall our campus ministry team here in Pennsylvania/South Jersey met for a 24-hour training retreat. During the retreat, I asked them to make a graph of their year, beginning with August and listing the other months through July from left to right. Then on the left they made a vertical line with 10 at the top, indicating the highest intensity, and 1 at the bottom, for the lowest intensity. A horizontal line was drawn across the year indicating the mid-point, or a “normal” pattern of work, representing equilibrium between intensity and rest. I then asked them to indicate on the graph the major events, choke points, and accompanying times of rest, vacation, and planned family experiences. They then were to connect the dots and look at what emerged.

The result, for some, was revelatory. Some saw that they had far more dots above the midpoint than below, while others saw a fairly continuous line from intensity to intensity, with few times below the line in between. For almost all, it was the first time they had taken a 40,000-foot view of their entire year in such fashion.

I would encourage you to take a few minutes and do this yourself. It doesn’t need to take a lot of time and certainly doesn’t require scientific accuracy to be of value. Just be honest with yourself in graphing your workload for the year. You might find some similar revelations.

Life is based on natural rhythms that are built into the way nature works. Day is followed by night, summer is followed by fall and winter, and work is followed by rest. God himself established this in the creation account in Genesis.

Sometimes we feel that the nature of our mission requires an exception to this rule of life. There’s just so many people who need Jesus, we tell ourselves, that we just cannot slow down until everyone is reached. Because there are always those who are not reached, we never find rest. And thus we violate the pattern that God has established in creation.

I am not arguing against working hard! Most campus ministers I know work very hard, myself included. We feel passionately called to our ministry and deeply committed to the salvation and spiritual development of our students. What I am arguing is that keeping a proper balance of work and recovery actually aids in the living out of our calling. Let me explain.

A few years ago I ran in the Philadelphia Marathon, an ambitious goal requiring intense preparation over several months. The keys to success included regular runs throughout the week, paired with a weekly long run of increasing length on the weekend. These had to be accomplished in order to keep moving forward. But a third key, and one of equal importance, was that I had to have planned days of rest interspersed in the midst of the training. Otherwise I would have certainly experienced injury due to overuse and breakdown of my body, as I was asking it to do far more than I ever had.

But in addition to avoiding injury, there was another principle at work, that of regeneration. It turns out that when we lift weights or perform intense cardiovascular exercise, we in essence tear our muscle fibers, and break our bodies down. Not so good. But it is in the times of rest and downtime that those muscle fibers rebuild themselves and do so in a stronger fashion. Every weightlifter knows that you never exercise the same muscle two days in a row, because that day of rest is absolutely necessary. The principle is that in the downtimes, we grow stronger!

For one of my campus ministers in particular, this was the “Ah-ha!” moment of our retreat. Finding the balance of downtime was not laziness or lack of commitment; it actually could make him more fit for the work God had called him to do.

When I was on the campus, I went through that same several weeks of craziness that you will go through. And guess what–now that we had gathered all of these students into our ministry, we needed to do things with them! Our work had only begun! But even with that, I knew that if I didn’t find a way to pull back for a period, I would be no good for them. That’s why Brenda and I almost always found a time in mid-October, right in the middle of the school year, when we left the kids with grandparents and got away for an extended weekend. We needed it, and my students had a refreshed and renewed campus minister as a result.

Downtime doesn’t have to mean doing nothing. You can be totally intentional in how you approach it. It certainly should involve time to listen to God’s voice and deepen your relationship with him. But it can also involve recreation, or re-creation, as I like to view it. It can take on the form of a hobby, or reading. Or loving on your spouse, or hugging your kids. Or getting away and going on a retreat. Whatever works for you. Just as long as it allows for regeneration to take place.

So I encourage you to take a moment and do that graph. And as you see the high points and intense times, be sure that you intentionally insert some times of recovery and regeneration in between. You’ll have to learn to say “no,” so get brutal and dig your heels in if you must. I guarantee you it will be worth the effort. E-mail me at robert@robertturner.net and let me know how it’s working for you.


Robert Turner is the Director of Collegiate Ministries for the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey, and also serves in a contract role as the national Emerging Regions Consultant for National Collegiate Ministries at LifeWay.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR President's Retreat due May 1

The Leadership Cmte of the BCNet is making available 10 scholarships for local, newly-elected BCM/BSM/BSU PRESIDENTS to attend the Presidents Retreat, May 14-16, in Newport (upper east Tennessee), sponsored annually by Tennessee Baptist Collegiate Ministry. This may be an event a local director would like to encourage their president to attend.

Note that the deadline for registration for the Retreat is May 1.

Here are the offer details:

1) Scholarship is for $90, the full registration fee/cost of the weekend.
2) First come, first serve, up the two (2) scholarships per state until April 20.
3) After April 20, we will award the remaining scholarships to any campus making a request, regardless of state.
4) Each student is responsible for their own travel to and from the event.

The deadline for registration with the Tennessee BCM is May 1. We have attached the promotional flyer for the event with this email, which should provide you with all necessary details. In addition to making the scholarship request, registration must be submitted by the deadline. PLEASE CLICK THIS LINK FOR THE FLYER AND APPLICATION FORM.

Would you mind forwarding this to your local directors for their consideration? Thanks for helping us get the word out about a quality experience.


To local directors requesting funding for their newly-elected president, please email reply with the following information:

Local director name:
New president name:
Campus name, city, state:
Has a president from your campus attended before:

We will email confirm allocation directly to each director/president. Funds will be sent by us directly to the TN BCM on behalf of the attending president. All we ask is that each director please help us ensure that any president requesting the scholarship, actually attends, so the funds are not wasted.

The Leadership Cmte and BCNet, which meets annually to help plan and assist local Baptist Collegiate Ministry, is glad to provide this help!

We look forward to hearing from you!

Regards,
Weaver

Are you building for the future or just living in the present?

As you begin your thinking for new student leadership, one thought to consider is:
"Are you building for the future or just living in the present?"

Here are some ways to think about that.
-Are you putting students in positions they are not ready for? When this happens, they may not function well or worse it gives them a sour taste about ministry and leading. They may quit or serve out the year and then not be willing to serve the next year when they are mature enough and can be of even more benefit to the ministry.

-Are there students that should be used in some "minor role" to help prepare them for the NEXT year. They could be an assistant Bible study group leader or a team vice chairman.

-If your leadership selection for the fall of 2010 does not come till the end of this semester, should you invite some students that you think have real leadership potential to serve on some sort of short term committee (like planning a retreat or working on your missions promotion for this semester) that would allow you to develop them a bit more and give them a positive taste in serving.

-Are there students you should ask to meet with you weekly or occasionally to talk about what is going on in their life to encourage them and help them grow. You may not mention leadership for the future, but that is part of what you might have in mind in selecting them.

Your Future as a Leader:
-Many ministries today are short of money and campus based ministries are feeling more squeezed than ever. One solution is the involvement of alumni and other interested individuals. But, many say, "We have no alumni list."
Now is the time to start one. It may not benefit you or you may stay long enough to inherit the benefit. But, wouldn't it have been great if someone had started thinking for the future before you came.

-What are you doing today that will benefit your ministry tomorrow, next year, in 5 years?

Arliss Dickerson
Leadership Contract Worker
Arkansas State University

Developing a Leadership Culture

One thing that is often said by those in leadership development is, “Develop a leadership culture.” But, it seems they never explain how to do that. How do you point your students to leadership and help them want to serve as leaders and even not see “leadership” as a dirty word today, as some do.

I believe you develop a leadership culture by holding leadership up, showing it is important and expressing appreciation to those who serve in leadership roles. Here are some ways to do that:
-Hang pictures of each year’s leadership team on a prominent wall in your meeting area, if you have such an area.
-Give an award each year to the outstanding leader as selected by the leadership team in a secret vote.
-Give a variety of awards—“Best Servant spirit”, “The Outreach Award” to the one who most reaches out to others and makes them feel a part of your ministry.
-Give or make available to each member of your leadership team a tee shirt that is unique to them.
-If you have an awards or recognition event/worship service at the end of their term of service, give each one a special tee shirt as an expression of gratitude.
-Give each one a tee shirt when school starts that advertises your main event or worship. It is a thank you and great advertising.
-If you have Ministry or leadership teams in different areas, make a snap shot of each and put them on a bulletin board with each person’s name under it.
-If you print a flyer or brochure advertising your ministry, put a picture of your leadership team on it.
-We give a key to each of our new ministry team members at the beginning of their service. The key is uncut (just like it comes from the store). We explain that each key will be different; each will open different doors; each will not look just alike. We ask them to carry the key all year as a reminder.

What are different things you can do that set your leaders apart? What are things that help those that serve know that you appreciate them? What will cause others to think about their possible service in the future? That is a leadership culture!

Arliss Dickerson
Leadership Development Contract Worker
Arkansas State University

Going Green Spiritually

By Daniel Berry, University of Kentuck Campus Minister

Romans 12:9-10 states, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.” (NIV)

It’s the word “sincere” that I’ve been thinking about lately. Does the church resemble sincerity? Does my BCM? Does my personal ministry? As I’ve been on campus the last 10 years or so, I’ve come to realize that this is not only one of the main stumbling blocks for non-Christians, but also for those involved in the ministries for which I’ve been involved. I’m guessing it may be an issue in most of your ministries as well.

The Greek word for sincerity, was originally an acting term meaning to take off one’s mask. The challenge of the author is for us not to live our lives with any pretense or insincerity, but rather to live our lives as genuine followers of Christ. For our ministries to become one of authenticity we need our leaders to be real. We need our ministries to be a place where everything and anything can be discussed so that we can, “…be devoted to one another in brotherly love.”(vs. 10). We need to teach ourselves and our leadership to be vulnerable and real with the people they are leading, because if they are not real, than the rest of the students will not be either. We need to practice going green spiritually.

What does going green spiritually look like?

It means Recycling our Garbage. Do you know the past of your students? What difficulties have they overcome? Have they overcome sexual abuse? Rape? Alcohol or porn addiction? What are the struggles they have walked through that have helped to shape their faith and who they are today?

We are taught from the age of little children to bury these struggles, in a spiritual landfill if you will, and not to divulge these dark secrets to anyone. Don’t let anyone find out that these things were a part of our lives. The problem is these things are a part of our lives. These are the things that helped to shape you and your students’ lives. Doesn’t it make since rather than burying them in the deepest cavern of your soul to allow God to recycle the obstacles of our lives for the benefit of others?

It Means Being Vulnerable. As a leader our inclination is not to share our weaknesses. We want our students to see us as strong and capable. Your student leaders feel the same way. Yet, if we are not vulnerable to our students regarding our past and our struggles, are we not enabling the idea of a holier-than-thou Christian lie that no one can live up too? We all have garbage in our lives. We all need to be taught what to do with it.

Recycling Means You’re Through With It. Let me be clear, I’m not advocating us going to our students and calling for an open confession of sins. Accountability is another subject. Rather, recycling our spiritual journey means that through the power and grace of God I have control over a situation in the past that once had control over me. Now I’m ready to help others overcome this struggle.

Recycling Takes Work. It is easier for me to throw away my trash than to recycle it. It is much easier to run a ministry that doesn’t try to tackle this principle. Sometimes it can be down right messy.

Why recycle? It makes for a healthier environment. When your leaders begin to grasp the fact that their personal story can help others they begin to see how God can use their lives. They begin to understand that they don’t have to go to seminary or be raised in a minister’s family to be a leader. They begin to see a personal ministry that they never knew existed. They become real which will help your ministry be more approachable, more applicable to your community, and more representative of the genuine body of Christ.

How do I Begin? My family and I began to recycle one day when my wife made her first conscience decision not to throw away a bottle. She began to recycle. Over the next few months she began to discipline herself to do more. Before long, she had me recycling. It really is that simple.

How to get your leadership understanding this principle will be different in each situation, but one thing I promise is that it has to begin with you. As you begin to discipline yourself to grow in this area you’ll begin to see walls come down. Sometimes you will find out more than you want to know, and you may have a few messes to pick up ,still your ministry may soon become more sincere and a healthier place for all. Isn’t that what recycling is all about?