Category: Ministry
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Campus Ministry During the Summer
“What DO you do when students are gone for summer break?” It’s a question that every Campus Minister is inevitably asked at some point or another. It’s true that a Campus Minister’s schedule changes as students pack up their dorm rooms, load up their cars, and drive off to other…
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The Open Doors of Ash Wednesday
The doors are open. It’s not odd for this to be true because it is, after all, an unusually warm day for March 1. I approach and enter them with wonder: at their openness, and at what is to come inside. We gather in the pews, preparing ourselves for the…
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The Holy Place
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” – Exodus 3:5 (NIV) I was far from any burning bush when I realized the ground on which I was standing was holy. No, I didn’t remove my shoes…
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Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch: A Metaphor for Collegiate Ministry
In Acts 8:26-40, we find the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. Philip hears the voice of God telling him to go to a place and he goes, with no idea what is waiting for him when he gets there. What Philip finds is someone seeking to connect with, and…
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Refraining Good Friday at Christmastime
Christmas Eve worship is always a favorite of mine: carol singing, decorations, “lessons” from the scriptural Christmas stories, nativities, children hardly able to sit still for the coming Christmas, and, of course, candles filling the worship space with light. All of these elements of worship in this annual service are…
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When Strangers Become Family: My Journey With CBF Fellows
I’ve always stressed the importance of community with the students I serve. Whether it was in the basement youth room of a church near Raleigh or the halls of the student center on a college campus in Greenville, I’ve always encouraged students to seek out those with whom they can…
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Experiencing a Little ‘Southern Hospitality’ in Connecticut
When our group of 6 college students and 2 adults began our long journey north to Wilton, Connecticut just over a week ago, we had no idea what to expect. We had climbed into a church van in Greenville, NC and aimed the front bumper toward a place and people…
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Building Bridges: Reflections on the 2015 CBF General Assembly
When I landed in Dallas last Sunday, all I knew about the Texas city was what many others know: it was the site of the assassination of one of America’s most beloved Presidents. Every morning, as I looked out the window of my hotel room, I could see the sixth…
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A Bittersweet Reality of Collegiate Campus Ministry
Recently, I sat around a table at Moe’s talking with some of the youth ministry leaders from the church I attend and serve. They laughed as they shared stories stretching all the way back to the youngest days of current homegrown (students who ‘graduate’ from the youth ministry as the way into…