Recently in Education Category

Last week I took my eldest to Bethel University in St. Paul (well Arden Hills) where moving in was truly an experience. The President of the University and his wife, Jay and Barb Barnes, greeted each and every new student as they drove into the campus (the same conversation some 500-600 times or so). Cars were unloaded in less than 2 minutes each - as the students were checked into the dorms. 

Bethel is a Christian college, loosely denominational - about 11% of the incoming class is from the denomination (BGC or Converge Worldwide), about 25% are Baptists of some sort, while the other 75% come from a whole range of other denominations. This is a beautiful campus and a thriving school.  Under the leadership and vision of a number of individuals including the last three presidents  (Carl Lundquist ('54-'82), George Brushaber ('82-'08), and now Jay Barnes) the school has expanded offerings and built an excellent academic reputation.  Among the sciences, which of course peak my interest, the Chemistry department is ACS accredited and the Physics department was featured in Physics Today as a thriving program. Math and Biology are also doing well. These departments have sent students to medical school and to top graduate schools from coast to coast - UC Berkeley to MIT.

As I was sitting listening to speeches and experiencing the welcome I started to ponder a few questions I would like to pose today.

What important roles do Christian Colleges and Universities play in our church today? Does education in a Christian environment promote or inhibit the growth of a mature faith?

What makes a Christian college effective?

1. For these students, Martha Graham, Pan American Airways, Michael Landon, Dr. Seuss, Miles Davis, The Dallas Times Herald, Gene Roddenberry, and Freddie Mercury have always been dead.
2. Dan Rostenkowski, Jack Kevorkian, and Mike Tyson have always been felons.
3. The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables.
4. They have never used a card catalog to find a book.
5. Margaret Thatcher has always been a former prime minister.
6. Salsa has always outsold ketchup.
7. Earvin "Magic" Johnson has always been HIV-positive.
8. Tattoos have always been very chic and highly visible.
9. They have been preparing for the arrival of HDTV all their lives.
10. Rap music has always been main stream.
11. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream has always been a flavor choice.
12. Someone has always been building something taller than the Willis (née Sears) Tower in Chicago.
13. The KGB has never officially existed.
14. Text has always been hyper.
15. They never saw the "Scud Stud" (but there have always been electromagnetic stud finders.)
16. Babies have always had a Social Security Number.
17. They have never had to "shake down" an oral thermometer.
18. Bungee jumping has always been socially acceptable.
19. They have never understood the meaning of R.S.V.P.
20. American students have always lived anxiously with high-stakes educational testing.
21. Except for the present incumbent, the President has never inhaled.
22. State abbreviations in addresses have never had periods.
23. The European Union has always existed.
24. McDonald's has always been serving Happy Meals in China.
25. Condoms have always been advertised on television.
26. Cable television systems have always offered telephone service and vice versa.
27. Christopher Columbus has always been getting a bad rap.
28. The American health care system has always been in critical condition.
29. Bobby Cox has always managed the Atlanta Braves.
30. Desperate smokers have always been able to turn to Nicoderm skin patches.
31. There has always been a Cartoon Network.
32. The nation's key economic indicator has always been the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
33. Their folks could always reach for a Zoloft.
34. They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.
35. Women have always outnumbered men in college.
36. We have always watched wars, coups, and police arrests unfold on television in real time.
37. Amateur radio operators have never needed to know Morse code.
38. Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Latvia, Georgia, Lithuania, and Estonia have always been independent nations.
39. It's always been official: President Zachary Taylor did not die of arsenic poisoning.
40. Madonna's perspective on Sex has always been well documented.
41. Phil Jackson has always been coaching championship basketball.
42. Ozzy Osbourne has always been coming back.
43. Kevin Costner has always been Dancing with Wolves, especially on cable.
44. There have always been flat screen televisions.
45. They have always eaten Berry Berry Kix.
46. Disney's Fantasia has always been available on video, and It's a Wonderful Life has always been on Moscow television.
47. Smokers have never been promoted as an economic force that deserves respect.
48. Elite American colleges have never been able to fix the price of tuition.
49. Nobody has been able to make a deposit in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
50. Everyone has always known what the evening news was before the Evening News came on.
51. Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations.
52. They have never been Saved by the Bell
53. Someone has always been asking: "Was Iraq worth a war?"
54. Most communities have always had a mega-church.
55. Natalie Cole has always been singing with her father.
56. The status of gays in the military has always been a topic of political debate.
57. Elizabeth Taylor has always reeked of White Diamonds.
58. There has always been a Planet Hollywood.
59. For one reason or another, California's future has always been in doubt.
60. Agent Starling has always feared the Silence of the Lambs.
61. "Womyn" and "waitperson" have always been in the dictionary.
62. Members of Congress have always had to keep their checkbooks balanced since the closing of the House Bank.
63. There has always been a computer in the Oval Office.
64. CDs have never been sold in cardboard packaging.
65. Avon has always been "calling" in a catalog.
66. NATO has always been looking for a role.
67. Two Koreas have always been members of the UN.
68. Official racial classifications in South Africa have always been outlawed.
69. The NBC Today Show has always been seen on weekends.
70. Vice presidents of the United States have always had real power.
71. Conflict in Northern Ireland has always been slowly winding down.
72. Migration of once independent media like radio, TV, videos and compact discs to the computer has never amazed them.
73. Nobody has ever responded to "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up."
74. Congress could never give itself a mid-term raise.
75. There has always been blue Jell-O.

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.

He argued, 'What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?'

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: 'Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.'

Yet another academic year approaches - yet another set of fresh new faces on campus. As we approach a the start of term I would like to renew the conversation on campus ministry we began last spring (You can find my initial salvo here).

As many here know I am a professor, at a large secular University, not a Christian college, and have been involved in academia for some 28 years as a graduate student, post-doc and professor. There is no doubt that the modern University is a mission field in many different ways - and a challenging mission field at that. This year opens a new window on the situation however, as I am also a parent sending my eldest off to college with her friends dispersing to a wide range of campuses and contexts.

Over the course of several posts - one or two a week - we will consider several aspects of University ministry. I intend to look at Chuck Bomar's new book College Ministry 101: A Guide to Working with 18-25 Year Olds and Benson Hines's e-book (free on his site) Reaching the Campus Tribes.  I will also point to some useful on-line blogs and discussions beginning with Steve Lutz and The SENTinel (good thoughts and good discussion on this site).  I am open to suggestions for other good resources as well.

Before digging in however, I would like to open with some questions.

What are the biggest challenges in Campus Ministry today?

What should a missional campus ministry look like?