Howdy.
This simple hub links to the assortment of nerdy projects I’m working on, with a little “about me” info thrown in.
I’m a ministry explorer, and my crazy ministry adventures – like a yearlong road trip – have given a unique vantage point for brainstorming, evaluating, or inventing (whenever the opportunity presents itself). If I’m analyzing or idea-generating for the local church or other ministries, I’m having a great day.
If anything ties together my interests, it’s possibly the notion of… gaps. Gaps in Christian ministry. Places where we could pay better attention to what God’s already doing. Undervalued ministry areas… or people… or approaches.
For example, I’ve spent years exploring college ministry, blogging about that crucial work for a decade. In my current church role, I get to ponder better volunteer recruitment. I’ve visited hundreds of churches to observe their weekend experiences. And my longtime interest in vocation+faith seems to be coming up more and more these days.
If it’s highlighted above, you can find more at the links (or just scroll). Or follow my tweets, if you’d like.
The Church Explorations
How many churches can a person visit?
At what point does it change him forever?
…and that was just that one year, when I set out from Dallas and returned for good 370 days later. I didn’t visit all those churches as a speaker or “special guest” or even an invitee. I was just a visitor. And the church visits didn’t stop. Those 165 experiences have been followed by many more, all over the country.
Over time, little by little, I learned to walk in a visitor’s shoes and notice what might be hard for the less-seasoned (or less nerdy) to see. The weekend worship service may be designed carefully and presented powerfully, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t “excel still more,” right?
So what’s to come of a church-visiting obsession, of notebooks after notebooks filled with observations? Could this weird “exploratory exegesis” enlighten church leaders (and save them the road trip gas money)? Maybe a blog is the next step? Maybe a book down the road?
The College Ministry Explorations
Years of experience with students, a yearlong road trip, and plenty more adventures.
Now happily serving those who want to impact college students, whomever they may be.
My year road-tripping across the country, sitting down with 300+ college ministers, and visiting 181 college campuses was just a piece of my college ministry explorations. Before that, I’d served as a college minister myself for several years. And after the Big Trip, I took several more, all to learn more about this amazing ministry field.
If you explore the national landscape, you gain a ridiculously broad understanding of the world of American college ministry. And breadth really matters. Our field is complex and often varies campus-to-campus and city-to-city. Plus, we can all learn a whole lot from those outside our own regions and organizations.
So with this strange sort of breadth, I’m compelled to serve the field of college ministry however I can. See below for some ways you can take advantage (so you don’t have to take a yearlong road trip of your own).
The Book: Reaching the Campus Tribes
It’s a book for anyone who wants to reach the campus: college ministers or those sending them.
It’s an ebook.
It’s a quick read.
It’s free.
And it could change the way you see the campus and reach its students.
We’ve viewed collegiate work as just another life stage ministry. What if it’s something else entirely? And what if it’s crucial?
The Blog: Exploring College Ministry
For college ministers.
Thousands of posts since 2007 –
arising from years of college ministry work, time spent on hundreds of campuses, and conversations with hundreds of college ministers.
Whether you need a regular shot of campus ministry brainstorming, want to learn beyond your own experiences, or have a specific topic in mind, Exploring College Ministry is my labor of love for this field.
Consulting & Speaking
I love discussing what we can do – or do better – to reach college students. And I’ll start with what you’ve got, not what you don’t.
When it comes to college minister conferences or student gatherings, I draw on my crazy number of experiences to provide whatever you need – whether that’s a message, training, on-the-spot consulting, or even helping design a uniquely effective event.
Whatever your need, my broad explorations can go to work for your ministry.
There is great opportunity in the fields before us, a chance to win students to Christ, to serve campuses with His love, to claim extensive ground for God’s Kingdom, to prepare for the future of Christianity, to hold back those staggering to slaughter, to strengthen those who are growing, and to see young people transition well…Reaching the Campus Tribes