Back to Blogging

When I started my blog in 2006, I was planning on blogging 4-6 times a month.  Unfortunately, over the last two years, I’ve been largely dormant on the blogging front.  I won’t bore you with what’s taken precedence, but I’ve decided that in 2013, it’s time to fire up my blog and get it started again.

In the coming year, here’s what you can expect to see:

•   Periodic articles delving into an aspect of ministry with emerging adults
•  Some brief posts with suggestions of resources in the areas of campus ministry and ministry with young adults, leadership, and Christian living
• Personal musings from life in ministry at a small college in Kansas
• Occasional snippets from sermons or devotions that I’ve written
• Reposting some articles that I’ve written for another blog but never published here

As I’m getting my mind around blogging again, I’m reminded how much social media has changed the practice of blogging since blogging first appeared in the early 2000’s.  When I started this blog in 2006, I just wanted to share a few thoughts about ministry and practice my writing skills.   I expected few readers and even fewer comments from friends.  However, as time went on, I found that readers that I didn’t know were finding my blog from various United Methodist blog lists or other random avenues.  It was a paradigm shift for me to think that anyone, anywhere could read my blog (duh…it is the worldwide web, after all).  Now, I didn’t really have that many page views, but I knew that I could and that affected the frequency with which I wrote.

 

Then came Twitter.  Twitter was a gamechanger for blogging in a couple of ways.  First of all, it was originally touted as “microblogging.”  This is to say that it allowed people to write in miniature what they had previously said in a whole blog post.  Thus, where I would have previously written a post about a conference, I could now “live tweet” the conference, sharing thoughts throughout, or, summarize it at the end.  A whole article on my blog could be summed up on Twitter like this: 

#Conference was great! @famouspastor inspired, amazing worship, great colleagues, #city was beautiful!  See you next year! #lovemyjob

But, if I did write that extended summary as a blog post, I could now tweet the link to my expanded reflection and send people to my blog.  Add linking on Twitter to sharing on Facebook or Google+ and you’ve got blogging reaching more and more demographics. 

So, while there are many incredible voices out there on the intewebs, I’m going to be more intentional about adding my own.  Blogging as a discipline helps me to be more reflective, more honest, and more disciplined as I consider the work to which I feel called.  If anyone wants to read and join in the conversation, please do! 

PS  The image is courtesy of Kromkrathog/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A Word to Grads of 2012: Letting God and Remaining Connected

Graduation is upon us and we've just today sent off the graduating class of 2012 from Southwestern College.  I had an opportunity to give a short "charge" to the seniors and their families at the Baccalaureate service this morning.  Here is a portion of the words that I shared.

While the journey of education and preparation for a career has been different for each person with whom we celebrate today, I think that we could find some similarities in the stories of everyone.  Each graduate, and even their loved ones, have learned many lessons.  You have certainly learned more about psychology, or education, or business, or religion.  But I would speculate that you have also learned some practical lesson, such as how long you can wait before laundry becomes a critical need.  Or, how to buckle down and do work that you don’t really want to do.  And I hope that you’ve learned to get along with people who have a different background than you.  And you may have, without even knowing it, learned a basic lesson about horticulture.  If not, I hope to teach it now.

Our scripture tells us this basic word about horticulture, and it is this:  simply put, a branch that doesn’t bear fruit should be cut off, and that which does bear fruit should be pruned, so as to be even more fruitful.  While this may not initially seem terribly profound, it is a lesson that while you maybe didn’t learn it in class, you will need to learn in life.

In order to be fruitful in life, we must learn to prune, to let go of some things.  We are usually pretty willing to let go of things that are hard (like reading a challenging book, or staying up late to work on a paper), but the kind of pruning that Jesus is referring to in this passage goes beyond simply letting go of things that we didn’t want anyway.  He is referring to branches that don’t bear fruit.  Things like: small ideas, preconceived plans, grievances toward one another.  We must let go of things that tie us down to the ways of the world in order to be freed up for higher things like commitment to our mission, service to our world, and following after God’s purposes. 

The pruning doesn’t always involve simply lopping off the unfruitful things in our lives.  It also involves pruning that which is good, in order to grow that which is great.  Just after college, I read an article that brought the truth of this idea to life.  The author was talking about priorities.  He told the story of a wine company that advertized their product by saying “We cut off some of the good fruit, so that you can have only the very best.”   Their point was that they were less interested in producing a higher quantity yield than they were in producing a higher quality yield.  As I translated this into my own ordering of priorities, if I wanted to produce the very best in my life, I would need to cut off some things that were simply “good.”  Committing to too many good things prevented me from saying yes to that which would enable me to do the hard work that would lead to greatness later on. 

Pruning is painful—it requires discernment to know what to let go of, but pruning is purposeful.  It reminds us that what may seem like a sacrifice in the short-term, will yield long term benefits.

Learning how to prioritize by pruning is not the only word that John 15 has for us this morning.  The trajectory of this text is not about the letting go process, but actually about the remaining connected process.  Jesus’ words identify that in order to bear any fruit, a branch must remain connected to the vine.  The flower bouquet that you may give to your loved one as you celebrate today is beautiful, but the flower will not continue to grow.  In order for that beauty to continue to grow, the flowers must stay planted.

Graduate, you are beautiful today with your diploma and your cap and gown and the glow of accomplishment.  But, unless you remain connected to the life-giving vine, the beauty will fade, the vibrancy will diminish, the growth will cease.  So, stay planted.  A fruitful life is one that continues to bloom, season after season, year after year.  Remain connected to God, the Life-Giver.  Surround yourself with others whose lives show the fruitfulness that is a result of rootedness.  Allow yourself to be nurtured, even as you nurture others.  While pruning is about letting go, remaining in God is about staying connected. 

So graduate, it is time to prune.  Cut off those things that prevent you from living out the higher purposes to which you’ve been called.  And be willing to give up some of the good things so that you might be able to harvest the truly great things.  You’ll do this by remaining connected to the true Life-Giver.  You think that you’re beautiful now?  Just wait. May your life show the evidence of a plentiful harvest that is beautiful beyond all comparison.  And in that harvest, may you find the fullness of life.  Amen.

I'm so excited....and I just can't hide it! (#Explo11)

I’m excited.  Yeah…if you know me, you know that it doesn’t actually take a whole lot for me to be excited!  I tend to run pretty optimistic about things, but today my excitement is warranted, I’m sure of it!  J  I am in Saint Louis preparing for Exploration2011, an event that the General Board for Higher Education and Ministry directs for young people to explore a call to ministry, specifically ordained ministry, in the United Methodist Church.  The Design Team has reassembled for the event, after starting work on it a year and a half ago, and as we met tonight and shared our prayer requests and expectations for the weekend, I was awash with excitement about all that God has done, is doing, and will do in the lives of the people who will be here and those whom they will serve.  We talk so frequently about the challenges in the church and in the world and hypothesize on how we are going to see our way forward.  I’m convinced that what we will see this weekend is a glimpse of the way forward.  We have young people who are gifted, called, and have a passion to serve in the world.  Hundreds of them have committed to being available to God this weekend to spend time in intentional discernment.  I’m praying, and asking for the prayers of anyone who reads this, that God will continue to draw them deeper into relationship and that out of the overflow of that vital relationship would result a passion to serve God in making disciples for the transformation of the world. 

So forgive me if I’m pretty excited!  I don’t think that it gets better than this!

PS  You can follow the Twitter feed of #Explo11 here.

Google+ and College Students

I have been on Google+ for almost a week now and it's been fascinating for me to watch how it is evolving in my "circles," namely the United Methodist Church online world, campus ministry people, and my college students. I scored an invite first from a recent grad, but couldn't figure out how to accept the invite and then a fellow young UMC clergy sent me an invite which I did figure out how to accept! Within a day, I found people that I knew (in real life and in the digital world) and other people found me. It was fascinating to watch how quickly people popped up on Google+. I was actually an early adopter of Facebook (when I started, it was before it was public, as some Southwestern students lobbyed the FB folks for a network. I believe we got one in early 2006.) and a fairly early Twitter adopter. I got pulled in to Facebook by my students and I got pulled into Twitter by UMC young clergy colleagues, and I got pulled into Google+ from people that I followed on Twitter. We'll see how things take off with G+, but here are a few observations that I've made:

• I have been surprised at how many of my college students have already gotten on G+. It seems that with the exception of a couple, most of my students did not jump on board with Twitter. In the last year, a dozen or so (that are in my world) have begun tweeting, but I already have that many students that have signed up for G+. This gives me great hope that all of the collaborative potential that I see for G+ might actually be able to be used!
• I think that people really are gravitating toward the idea of selective disclosure of themselves, ie., the various ways that that they can reveal their online selves by posts going to particular circles. Facebook certainly has that ability, but one must be pretty savvy and disciplined to sort people, add to lists, etc., etc., in order for it to live up to it's potential.
• I'm hoping that G+ stays away from the online games and such that has been the legacy of Facebook. I know that there is a certain kind of community in online gaming, but I don't want another Farmville request! I'm not interested! :-)
• I "follow" many of the same people in FB, Twitter, and G+ and right now, everyone seems to be posting all three places. I'm wondering if that will change with time..if we will figure out where the best audience is for which type of communication and connect there. I'm sure that this will evolve as we figure it out, and I'm curious how it will develop.
• I'm not a Mac devotee and I was pleasantly surprised that the G+ app was on Android first! It is awesome! I can definitely see how I would use G+ different on my phone and I like what I see!

Anyway...almost a week in and I'm encouraged that Google+ could actually do what FB and email haven't been able to do in my ministry: make communication with my students a little easier (they don't get on FB to "communicate"--it is for entertainment, and many don't read email at all or very frequently!). That remains to be seen...it could just be that it's the shiny new thing, but it looks promising!

Campus Ministry Blog-a-thon

My friend, Guy Chmieleski, the campus pastor at Belmont in Nashville, is hosting a blog-a-thon at his blog, faithoncampus.com. He has a series of posts from various people related to campus ministry from around the nation that he is posting between today and Thursday, June 9. He even asked me to write one of the articles. The series is called "Soul Care for the College Pastor" and has a great line up. Read the articles, chime in and pass them on. Hope to see you there!

Imagine No Malaria

I was listening to NPR yesterday and heard a snippet from a story that they were doing about polio and how it is nearly eradicated. Now, don’t forget “nearly eradicated” fits pretty well along the lines that “close is only good in horseshoes and hand-grenades.” Nearly eradicated means that the world is not done yet with the disease and until every case is gone, the disease still rages. I’m thankful that polio will “soon” be eradicated, but I soberly realize that there are many other preventable diseases that are also on our list. Take malaria for example.

The website for Imagine No Malaria puts it this way

This is a Fight We Must Win, Because…

…every 45 seconds, a child in Africa dies of malaria.

…malaria claims more than 1 million lives each year.

…infants, children and pregnant women are at greatest risk.

…90 percent of malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.

And…did I mention that Malaria can be eradicated and thus, is preventable? I am so proud that the United Methodist Church has joined with other organizations and people who are working to eliminate malaria by 2015. Something that has caught my eye is the Imagine No Malaria initiative and the House Party idea. They suggest having a get-together that is aimed at educating people in our circle of friends about malaria and giving them an opportunity to donate toward the cause of education, prevention and treatment of malaria. This is a great opportunity for Campus Ministries or Sunday School classes to be involved with! There are lots of ideas, resources, and other help on the www.imaginenomalaria.org/houseparty website. I’m going to talk to some students soon and see how we can participate. I hope that you’ll join me.

When Normal is Exhilirating

I wrote this yesterday about my day. I've been thinking a lot about recognizing God's presence in the midst of life, rather than seeing God's presence after the fact. Yesterday was a good day.

There are many days in ministry that are difficult: institutions are cumbersome, resistance is inevitable, and people are messy. And there are days when ministry is exhilarating: systems work well, creativity is abundant and people use their gifts to God’s glory. Today has been one of the later. It is exciting to watch the college students with whom I’ve been blessed to work discover and live out their faith. Here is a snippet from my day:

• I woke up feeling rather cranky. In fact, I said out loud (to myself) before I left my house: “Ashlee, why are you so grumpy? Get over whatever your problem is.” (I hope that others have similar habits of talking to themselves. I don’t usually say things out loud to myself, but I was in a foul mood this morning for absolutely no good reason.)
• I got an email first thing this morning from a student who was so excited to tell me some things that God had been doing in her life that she wanted to meet with me. I sought her out this morning soon after I got in my office. She shared with me some experiences that she and some other students had over the weekend in worship and prayer together. She spoke about some things that I've prayed about over the last several years for my campus and I began to see in her testimony of God’s faithfulness in answering prayer. She’s facilitating a prayer forum online for our campus and I’m excited to see where it goes.
• I actually got some work done in my office! Go figure!
• I went to our monthly “Family Meeting” for Discipleship and continue to be blown away by the gifts that my students have. I felt absolutely irrelevant and it was wonderful! Oh sure, I've spent the time with them and they all know what their jobs are. God has matured them in ways that they are powerful leaders and it was incredibly freeing to see the maturity that was exhibited in this group of 13 leaders to the team of 40 others. A visiting religious studies fellow who is in his second year even commented on the maturity that he had witnessed in one of the students in the year and a half that he has been here.

And that was all before noon! The rest of the day, I went to meetings, met with students, and answered emails and my work seemed more connected to God’s mission in the world than usual. It’s easy, especially this time of year, for us to get focused on challenges, problems, and messes that we have to clean up. But let’s not forget that when our work is focused on the Kingdom of God, even our challenges have a new meaning. Today was a day when the veil was thin...when I saw the Kingdom of God in front of my very eyes. The reason it was so notable for me was because while I'm good at seeing God's presence in the "big" days/moments/experiences, it's much harder in the "normal" days. (I wrote about this at the beginning of January.) Thankfully, I think that today was one of those "best days" that I was hoping for more of! Our lives as Christians include many "big" days, but mostly they're just "normal" days when we learn to tune our hearts and minds to God's voice. I can't believe it, but today I'm thankful for "normal."

More Than Meets the Eye at Christmas

Recently I was asked to share a favorite tradition of mine at Christmas at a campus tree-lighting ceremony and I couldn’t get one particular snapshot of my head. It’s an ornament. It’s not much to look at, as it’s a Styrofoam sphere with cutouts of some of the Strawberry Shortcake gang on it, covered in shiny snow-like flakes, complete with a paper clip hook. But it’s mine, and it represents one of the first memories that I have of Christmas. It was purchased in 1981—it says so on the back of the ornament! Before I saw the date, I didn’t remember when it was purchased, but I definitely remember where it was purchased. It was purchased in the high school gym in my hometown where each year while I was growing up, we attended the craft fair the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I remember my mom bribing my twin sister and me with selecting our very own hand-crafted ornament if we would behave during the sometimes monotonous hour or two of looking at carved Santas, homemade jam, and handcrafted clocks. That year (apparently 1981), I found my ornament about halfway through the zig-zag of booths, displayed on a table top Christmas tree and nestled with other cartoon plastered characters on various forms of ornaments. I was five, so Blueberry Muffin, and her friends Apple Dumplin’ and Strawberry Shortcake were just my speed! I distinctly remember picking out the ornament and carrying it around so carefully, thinking that my favorite cartoon friends were the absolute best thing in that whole craft fair! Each year as I grew up, I remember placing the ornament on the tree. I silently enjoyed the walk down memory lane and probably smiled at myself for thinking that this ornament was so exquisite as a child.

One year when I was in college and I was home to decorate the Christmas tree, I discovered several broken ornaments in the trash can, put there by my mother. Lo and behold, there was the Strawberry Shortcake Gang, tossed away beside reindeer with broken antlers and a smashed glass bulb. Frantically, I called my mother to account and asked her why it was in the trashcan. She replied that it was missing its hook and that it wasn’t anything nice enough to continue to be displayed on our burgeoning tree (she probably didn’t say burgeoning, but that’s what she meant, I’m sure!). I set her straight and reminded her that while it may only look like the bauble of a kid, it represented so much more to me! It was one of the first decisions that I remembered making, and it was mine (not shared with my sister)! It had been specially handled all those year by me (apparently without notice by anyone in my family)! And it was my favorite ornament on the whole tree!

The ornament reminds me that with Christmas, there is more than meets the eye. What appeared to be a young, unwed mom, was a miracle. What seemed to only be a routine census was fulfillment of prophecy. What looked like only a baby, was God incarnate. There was much more to this seemingly mundane occurrence than what even his parents could have imagined. They certainly couldn’t have conceived that this child would be changing the fate of human history. But that’s what the birth of Jesus was. Jesus’ birth was the single most important thing that had happened up to that time. I would suggest that his death and resurrection is the only thing that tops it. So how could his humble parents know that they were getting ready to raise the Savior of the World?

My silly little ornament isn’t sacred. It isn’t magical. It isn’t even really that artistic. But it is a seasonal reminder to me that with Christmas, there is more than meets the eye.

A Life-Giving Christmas

Advent is not a time in Campus Ministry when we are able to do much programming (or at least I am able to do much). Most folks that I know in Campus Ministry have to wrap up most of our small groups/worship services during the first week of December due to finals and end of the semester stresses. A couple of weeks ago, though, I got a copy of the Rethink Church Advent Resources. I’ve decided that I’m going to use the introductory video for the only Chapel service that I have during Advent.

Hope. Peace. Joy. Love. These are the words that are shaping the program developed by UM Communications. I am planning on using the great little introductory video in my very last chapel, but that is our only chapel during the whole season of Advent due to wrapping up of our semester. I tell you what, both me and my campus are ready for more hope, more peace, more joy, and more love! It seems that despite the busyness of all that the is ahead of us as we approach the Christmas season, we need to focus on what is at the center of the season. And that is hope, peace, joy, and love. I wish that I had more time to devote specifically to the reminding my students about what it is to live in the reality of the Prince of Peace especially during the season of Advent, but I am grateful for the change to get the season started, at least. I hope that you will too!

Campus Ministry Summer Happenings

This summer, my blog has been fairly silent, but I've been really busy. Here are two things that are happening in the upcoming weeks in the world of campus ministry. I hope that you'll be able to join in the ministry.

1. I've written several times about my involvement with a prayer campaign for campus ministry in the United Methodist Church. Well...we're counting down. Read this article from The United Methodist Reporter and then click on over to our website. It will launch on August 2 and the prayers will be available in time for our August 23 start date for prayer.


2. My former Asbury colleague, Dr. Guy Chmieleski, has organized an online conference blog--a-thon for next week, August 3-5, on his blog, Faith On Campus. He writes about his blog here. He's got an incredible lineup of campus ministry types from all over the country who are going to be writing and weighing in on other posts during the three days. If you can, check in (and chime in!) during between Tuesday and Thursday. I've even written a blog for one of the days.

So...between preparing for the new school year and getting a little bit of rest, there is much going on! I hope that you'll join.

PS The picture is one painted by a SC student in our campus prayer room. It has been my prayer this summer.

Praying for Campus Ministry

If you've read my blog for very long, you've noticed that I have blogged about a series of prayer efforts over the last several years, both personal prayer and group efforts. I would say that prayer has been an area of growth for me in my personal life. I've often felt a sense of guilt over times when my prayer life has waned. And yet, other times, I've known the fuel for life and ministry that an active prayer life provides. And so, as I've worked out some of my own thoughts and experiences in prayer, I've shared a bit about it on my blog.

I wrote last fall about a prayer effort that my colleague in the world of Campus Ministry, Creighton Alexander, and I were leading. It was 40 days of prayer to coincide with the start of school for college campuses around the country. We had some good encouragement in the prayer effort last fall and felt a sense of calling to once again, invite others to join us in prayer for the fall of 2010. This time, we've partnered with The Upper Room in the effort leading up to the 40 Days of Prayer and they are hosting a group of people to spend a day in prayer in anticipation of initiating a prayer effort for August 23-October 1, 2010. We will be meeting in Nashville at the United Methodist Communications Building, from 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m., being led in prayer by several teachers of prayer. Our "prayer faculty" are:

• Vance Ross - GBOD


• Tom Albin - The Upper Room


• Margaret Therkelsen - Lexington, KY


• David Blackwell - Campus America


• Dana Hernandez - Campus America

We know that there are some who would like to join us in the prayer conference that day, but who will be unable to do so physically. So, we'll have a live webstreaming of the conference in which anyone who is interested can participate. The link will be available here. You can also find information about our Prayer Gathering in Nashville at that link, too.

Twelve years ago, I read Bill Hybels book Too Busy Not to Pray. One of the things that has stuck with me was based off his general premise--the "busier" one gets being involved in ministry, the more one must rely on the intentional guidance of the Holy Spirit in prayer. You could say that I've been doing a lot of relying on the Holy Spirit lately. Each day, I eagerly anticipate the work that God is doing (and will continue to do) as we faithfully work out our calling in ministry through prayer. Please, seriously consider joining our little group of pray-ers next week. I really believe that God's Spirit has been weaving together a beautiful message for us through the people who will be teaching us about prayer.

If you are interested in prayer, ministry with college students, and are available to join us in the event next week, we still have a few spots left. Please RSVP to Ashlee.Alley@sckans.edu.

Passionate in Prayer

This semester has been a bit of an experiment of sorts for some students. Two students, after having a class dropped for low enrollment, asked me if they could take an independant study with me about prayer. I was excited to say yes, and knew that their lives (and our campus) would never be the same. These two women have learned about prayer, prayed, talked with people who pray, prayed some more, talked to people who want to know how to pray, and prayed some more. And they've seen God answer their prayers.

Tonight initiates a 46-hour long continuous prayer weekend for us on campus. I am glad to say that I really have not provided any leadership to this event, but have encouraged them and prayed for them, with a bit of guidance every now and then. It's exciting to me to watch God working through these student, Jessica and Molly, and those that they've recruited to join us in prayer. This weekend also kicks off the use of a newly spruced up (small) prayer chapel in the library that they've refurbished.

That would be exciting enough, but I have to add a personal note. One of the many things that Molly and Jessica have learned through their semester in prayer is that there have been others before them that have prayed fervently for our campus as well. I know of a group of students in the spring of 1998 who prayed in that very chapel for God to be present on our campus in a new way. They prayed and they sang, and they stayed up way too late talking about how God was at work on their campus. I know that there was a group in 1998 because I was one of that number. The note above is a note given to me by a friend who also prayed.

The prayers of my friends and I aren't the only prayers prayed for our campus either...the little library chapel contained a book started in 2000 that hold prayers of many other Moundbuilders who lifted up prayers for our campus. Obviously there were many others who have been a part of praying for our campus since it was begun in 1886--we have a wonderful legacy of leaders in the church and in the world who have graduated from our campus on a hill--and we have a desire to once again shine brightly for Christ. Our prayers this weekend, and lives transformed by the God to whom we pray, will be evidence of that light.

If you read my post this weekend...will you pray for us?

Nothing Better

Ministry is hard work. This is no surprise. In fact, I remember learning in seminary (and frankly, observing every pastor that I've ever had) that it is important to have good boundaries because ministry will take up every spare moment and even your-not-spare-moments with something crucial. There are meetings, worship services, books, blogs, phone calls, emails, etc., that will necessitate attention and time. And then there are people. People will always need you. Sometimes these feeling of being needed, being able to fix someone's situation, being the superstar, can start to become the driving force instead of living out the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And then comes burnout, poor boundaries, and inflated egos. So yes, ministry, true ministry...the kind where the Gospel is lived out and you become Jesus' hands and feet as you are inhabited by the Holy Spirit, is hard work. The hardest part of the work has actually already been done by Christ--who broke the chains of sin, but we as God's ministers (both lay and clergy) must do the hard work of laying down our lives, picking up our crosses and following Christ. We must allow God's Spirit to transform our lives, letting our earthly desires pass away so that we might be transformed by God's grace.

When the work of ministry seems hard, it is so important to remember the fruits of the ministry. For me, that means I take a look at the lives of people that God has transformed that I have been blessed to know. I met Nicole her junior year of college, when I was brand new at Southwestern College. I was immediately drawn to her, as she has a great sense of humor and high level of responsibility. She also seemed that she had been pretty disappointed in her life and was reluctant to trust people easily, even though she had that look in her eye that said she wanted to be able to trust them. She gradually began to open up to me and I told her that while I might disappoint her at some point, I was willing to allow God to use me in her life, if that was okay with her. Over the two years of her time in college, she really opened up to me and began to trust me. One of the things that she talked to me about was her love for all things African. I was so excited, then, when she shared with me about the opportunity that she had to go on a mission trip to Kenya a year after she graduated from college. She had an incredible experience on her first trip and soon after she returned began planning a second trip to Tanzania and Kenya for this past summer. Through a crazy series of events that Nicole tells about, she is now working with an organization of the General Board of Discipleship called Pray With Africa.

Watching Nicole grow in God's grace and follow God's will into her current ministry reminds me that there is truly nothing better in ministry than seeing people that you have invested in mature in faith. The meetings, the programs, the worship services, the phone calls and emails, they certainly are the preparing, tilling, planting, watering, weeding, and tending parts of growing fruit. But when the fruit peeks through and then begins planting her own seeds, there is nothing better.

Taking a Look Around

I tend to be one of those people who stays busy. If I'm truly honest, I really like it that way best, I suppose. I do recognize, however, that there are times in the year that I'm too busy. These last 6 weeks definitely fit that scenario. School starting involves all of the excitement, emotion, and stress of setting an inert machine into motion. The potential for great power is there, but so is the potential for numerous malfunctions. But by now, we are up and moving. The rust has worn off, the new pieces have been broken in, and we're moving.

And so, I stop. Yes, I stop and take a look around. I look back to these last 40 days and see that lots of great things have happened:

• I participated in a prayer effort that started on August 10 and finishes up tomorrow (Friday, September 25) that intentionally lifted United Methodist Campus Ministries in prayer. There were days when I felt like I was a hamster running on a wheel and when I prayed these prayers, I sensed camraderie, understanding, and provision in a significant way. There were some days when these prayers were the substance of my static prayer time, but even in those days, I was surrounded by prayers.
• We've initiated a new group of leaders for campus ministry at Southwestern. Both the Shepherd Team of Discipleship (affectionately known as the Disciple-Sheep) and the leaders for our Campus Ministries are leading others in ministry! There truly is nothing more exciting than when students that you love are ministering to others! Love it!
• Chapel at SC. Wow! I have been blown away by the chapel services this year so far! Each preacher (all from within the SC community so far--and I'm counting Steve Rankin as still being from within the SC community) has spoken words of challenge, comfort, and truth to our campus. The worship teams are learning what it means to lead their peers, and the support ministries are creatively engaging the community in worship. I can hardly wait to get to chapel each week.
• I've had a couple of conversations with current students and alumni this fall that have been incredibly affirming...not necessarily of me, but of what I sense that God is doing and wants to do in our midst. Many seeds have been planted in years past here at SC and things are coming together for fruit to be borne. It's exciting.

From reading this little glance around, it would seem that Southwestern is heaven on earth. Well, it is pretty great, but we have our own struggles, too. But through it all, we know that God's presence is guiding, sustaining, and empowering us to meet those challenges. As I look around, I see places where God is asking me to trust and keep going, places where I need to ask forgiveness, and even places where I may need to just stop what we've been doing. So whether we move forward, or stop, we trust all of it for God's glory alone! And that's actually the best place of all to be.

A Prayer for Southwestern

Gracious God,

As we enter another school year, we lift these prayers to you:

Bless our students, God, as they study and learn in their classes, but also bless them as they discover more about who they are. May they be people who seek excellence and ways to serve others around them. Give them wisdom in their decision-making and peace in their challenges. And may they do all of this for your glory.

Bless our faculty, staff and administrators, God, as we invest our lives in our students. May we be diligent, wise and compassionate as we interact with students and continue to grow as a learner ourselves.

May this place, Southwestern College, be a place that sends forth people who understand the challenges of the world and seeks to meet those challenge. And may we do that with wisdom and grace.

Lord, bless us, guide us, protect us, and use us to accomplish your purposes here on earth. We humbly ask this in your name, Amen.

Called by God

I went to Southwestern College expecting to get a good education in a Christian environment. I did not expect to be called to ministry. I started college as a Biology major, planning on being a physical therapist. Southwestern had a great program and wasn’t terribly far from my hometown. On the first Sunday that we were in town for college, despite the fact that my twin sister and I had grown up American Baptist, we decided to attend one of the local United Methodist churches with some our new friends. The second Sunday we were in town, we planned to go to the American Baptist church right next door to the UM church we had attended, but unfortunately discovered that they started at 10:40. Since it was 10:43 and we didn’t want to walk in late, we just went to the UM church again, this time by ourselves. It was Youth Sunday and I was hooked! I was impressed by what I saw from the youth of the church and decided that it was a place where I could call my church home.

During my freshmen and sophomore years, I volunteered with the youth ministry at this UM church. The summer after my sophomore year, I even agreed to be the full-time summer intern. Our senior pastor retired from ministry during that summer and though he didn’t know me very well, said to me as I walked out of church on his last Sunday, “Ashlee, keep your ears open for the call of the Holy Spirit to ministry.” I was baffled! Why would he say something like that? He barely knew me! And, I was a woman! Despite the background of the American Baptist tradition, I had not seen role models of women in leadership positions in ministry in my local church. And, I had been exposed to some very narrow teaching of some of the “hard passages” found in 1 Timothy and 1 Corinthians about women in ministry and had been left thinking my role was a “supportive” role in the home or church. My summer as a youth intern radically opened up my eyes to the fact that I might actually have some gifts that God could use in a way that brought glory to him! The youth pastor, Bill, encouraged me and said that if I ever wanted to be a youth pastor, he would recommend me to a church. I politely laughed it off and didn’t think much more about it.

The fall of my junior year of college brought an opportunity for me to serve in a leadership capacity with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) on my campus. The ministry really began to boom during that time! After one night of having nearly 80 people at an FCA game night, the Director of Student Life, Martin asked me, “So…when are you going to go on staff with FCA?” I was floored and said, “Well, that would be awesome, but that will never happen. I’m going to be a physical therapist.” He smiled and said, “We’ll see.” That semester I also had signed up for a New Testament class “for fun” taught by the Campus Minister/Religious Studies professor. After I did an exegetical presentation, the professor kept me after class and asked if I had ever thought about seminary. I laughed at him and said, “Baptist girls don’t go to seminary!” He smiled and said, “Well, maybe you’re not Baptist.” Within a couple of weeks I was given an opportunity to attend Exploration ’96, an event held for young people exploring ministry in the United Methodist Church which was held in Dallas that year. The only problem was that it was the same weekend as the big “grudge match” against our biggest football rival and I was an Athletic Trainer for the school. Even though I really didn’t want to miss the game, ultimately, I felt a sense of purpose and expectation about Exploration. Honestly, I don’t remember specific things that people said during that weekend, but I do remember that at the end, if we felt a call to ministry, we were asked to come forward and pick up a piece of fabric at the altar. I carried mine in my bible for years! I went to the weekend with a sense of uncertainty about whether or not I was called to ministry. I went home from the weekend still with a sense of uncertainty about ministry, but I did know one thing for certain: God had indeed been calling me to ministry and though the details were hazy, I could trust that in the right time, God would show me what to do. For me, saying yes to the opportunity for ministry meant saying no to something else that I wanted. In this instance, that was working at a football game, but it represented much more. It really meant laying down some of my plans and previous desires and being open to…well, I didn’t really know what I was being asked to be open to. I knew that I could trust God’s heart and that God would use me in the world, but I wasn’t exactly sure what all that would entail.

That lesson has served me well as I did end up going on staff with FCA, then on to seminary, and now ending up in campus ministry at the very campus where I was called! God has shown me that when we do keep our ear open to the call of the Holy Spirit to ministry, God is going to use us in ways that are beyond our imagination. I love Frederick Buechner’s quote about vocation: “Vocation is where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.” I’m sure happy that God cares about my gladness! It has truly been a joy to serve God by serving youth and college students over these last 13 years! For me, the world’s deep need is that young people are often sent mixed messages from their peers, their family, or the world, about who they are. My gladness has been building relationships with young people and helping them see who God is calling them to be. God placed people in my life who gave me a word from God in the right moment to make me keenly aware to those ways that God was at work. The questions asked by people who cared about me were revealing the things that God was saying to me internally, if not through words, through desires and thoughts. I’ve seen God confirm my obedience after I step out in faith. I may not always know where I am going to end up, but I definitely trust the God who has called me there.

"I'll be praying"

“We should have lunch sometime!” “I owe you one.” “I’ll be praying for you.” These well-intended phrases often flippantly roll from our tongue without much thought. I remember when a good friend taught me about the power of phrases like this.

“We should have lunch sometime!” I said casually.

“When?” she
asked specifically.

Well, truth be told, I didn’t really have a day in mind. I was just being polite, expressing that I’d had a good time hanging out with her and her friends and I hoped they invited me to hang out again. But her request reminded me not to throw around comments like that, devoid of intention. Such it is with the phrase: “I’ll be praying for you.” When? What will you pray? For how long?

Today is Day 1 of an intentional, shared, and specific prayer campaign set aside to support United Methodist campus ministry in prayer. My friend, Creighton Alexander, and I, along with 38 other people who care about campus ministry, have written prayers that provide an answer to some of those questions.

• When should we pray for campus ministry? Starting today.
• What will you pray? A prayer written by someone who cares about campus ministry.
• For how long? 40 days.

Each day the prayer will be made available here. If you are on Twitter, follow us at: www.twitter.com/collegeunion and we will send you a link to the prayers daily. Finally, if you would like to download the entire collection of prayers, you can download it here.

We ask you to join us in these prayers, lifting up in general the ministries for college aged young people around the UMC connection. We also ask you to specifically pray for the ministries or young people with whom you are acquainted. Let them know that you’re praying for them. And if through your prayer time, you feel inclined to do something, do it in the knowledge that you are being sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit. We don’t have a hidden agenda for these prayers. We simply want God to bless the ministers and students of our college campuses around the world. And we think that it is important enough to involve others in this season of specific prayer. Won’t you join us?

School's Starting--Let Us Pray

When I was in high school, I took up running. It was mostly in rebellion to the volleyball coach, as I quit the team my senior year and said that I was going to run cross country, but in this act with less than noble intentions, I learned a valuable lesson. I learned what it means to have a daily commitment to a formative practice in my life. While running is of some value, spiritual training has value for this age and the age to come.

Prayer is one of those formative practices. But it is often something that we take for granted as a Christian practice. It is just something that we “do.” We learn prayers when we’re young, we stand in a circle holding hands and offer our thanks or share a request, and we add prayers to the prayer chain. But I, for one, have felt a sense of inadequacy in my prayers from time to time. When I was in seminary, I was a part of a prayer group that started each week with the questions, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Since that time 7 years ago, I have learned a few things about prayer. I have learned many things about prayer since that time, but want to briefly identify three.

1. I have learned to appreciate the prayers of others.


2. I have found consolation in the rhythm of prayer at different times throughout the day.


3. I have enjoyed a sense of praying (even if not physically) with others the same prayer.

I am excited to now be a part of a prayer initiative that unites all three of these particular lessons.

I’ve written about this project before, but as we approach the launch of 40 Days of Prayer for Campus Ministry, I want to once again invite people to participate in sustaining the collegiate ministries in the United Methodist Church in prayer during the first 6 weeks of the fall semester. The prayers are written by pastors, campus ministers, administrators, professors, general board officials, and even a couple of bishops. They are honest and passionate pleas to God on behalf of the 17 million students who will head to college in just a couple of weeks. Since I’m helping to compile the prayers, I’ve had a sneak peek at them and am thrilled at the way that they show a glimpse into God’s heart for college students (and the church, too, by the way).

The prayers are going to be posted daily, starting August 17, at www.CollegeUnion.org/prayer and will last until September 25. After August 10, we’ll have the entire prayer book available for download at the same website and we would like to encourage people to share the prayers with their congregation, board of directors, district superintendent, students, or local pastors. Those lessons that I learned in running—daily, ongoing, sacrificing actions—are applicable to prayer. I do hope that you’ll join me in prayer.

Remembering Why I Love Church Camp!

I have about 539 ideas for things about which I want to blog, but don't have much time to get it done. However, I'm taking the time to write about 1 of them quickly: high school leadership camp (called LDW for Leadership Development Workshop) put on by the Conference Council on Youth Ministry under the direction of Justin Lefto).

A couple of months ago, I was asked by a friend if I would be an "adult volunteer" at the camp which would be held in July. I waffled for a while, worried about a busy summer and being afraid to give up a whole week in close proximity to a new school year. I felt a sense of remorse about it and really wanted to work it, but just was afraid that I was too busy. First mistake.

The Wednesday before the camp started with Sunday training, I got a phone call from a student who is working at Camp Horizon and spoke with my friend. Between the two of them, they convinced me that I just HAD to spend the week at camp with the CCYM and the other high school kids who would be there. Man, I'm glad I said yes.

I haven't been to a week-long camp for a couple of years and I haven't spent an extended amount of time with the CCYM for, oh, about 10 years. During the week that I was there, I was the "adult volunteer" in a student led small group and stayed in a cabin. Those were great opportunities and I enjoyed the students I met there. The best part of it was some of the incredible opportunities that high school students had to fellowship with one another and to really be able to "soak" in what it means to live a life in relationship with God.

The theme for the camp was Connect4 and gave students a chance to connect with God, self, friends and world. Barry Dundas (pastor from Salina) and Ted Bannister (lay person aptly dubbed "Farmer Ted) challenged students to take deeper steps of faith in God. They were challenged in a ropes course (where they were joined by Bishop Jones for a morning), were instructed in LeaderShops taught by the CCYM and had fun in water and messy games. They even learned some of the hard truths of hunger around the world from the "surprise" Hunger Banquet on Thursday noon.

Nearly 90 people were a part of the camp. I had the sense during the week that we will continue to see leadership of the UMC from within this group of young people. I got to have 4 conversations with students who had experienced a call to ministry, some that week, some earlier. Of course I want to do my part in nurturing their faith and I'm praying that others will, too.

Despite my early objections, I had the best week of my summer (isn't that often how it is?). Now I'm praying that these students continue to see how God wants to connect with them in the other 51 weeks of their lives.

Young Adults: In Their Own Words

I'm working on several projects right now that have to do with ministry with young adults/college students. Earlier this week I posted this question on Twitter and Facebook:

What is 1 thing that the church can DO/BE to reach out to young adults?

I was very pleased with the response that I got from a variety of different people who range from age 19-late 30's. I've edited their responses only for clarity. Here is what young adults say to the church in their own words...

• DO: Take care of children well. BE: Authentic instead of showy.
• Young adults want community and a vision of God's Kingdom changing the world now, not just in eternity.
• Don't meet at churches for small groups. Create programming that does not require young adults/college students to be Christians already or intense Biblical knowledge otherwise they may not want to attend. Be open minded to all different types of people & not judgmental of the way the dress, live, etc.
• Get them out to fun events in the community.
• Ask what they want to learn from a program/small group. Rarely ever are we asked what we want to learn about or any questions about the church/faith.
• Um... food... lots of food :P
• Ask them what they want! Then be willing to throw away your own entrenched ideas to make a place where they will want to come and worship. Meet at non-traditional times and places, because we all know God is not only present in church buildings. If you sincerely show them you want to meet their needs, I think they will get enthused and be active.
• I think community and receptiveness is key to reaching out to young adults. Community can definitely happen through small groups. Small groups need to be about community through bible study and prayer, but they also need to be about fun and fellowship too. I also think they need dedicated adult leaders and a church body who wants to see the young adult population grow. As far as receptiveness goes, young adults need to be heard. They have a lot of ideas and need to be told that it’s okay to speak up. Then, when they do, their ideas need to be seen as important as everyone else’s.
• Be real with them. Young adults can see through facades very easily!
• I work in a congregation of over 200 where the median age is 29. We have small groups that meet at the church and outside the church, but more importantly across the board there is the repeated message that people can come where they are - questioning, confident, searching, skeptical - whatever. All are welcome and to question is not a bad thing.
• Be authentic.
• I think all you really have to do is something different. Don't do small groups at a church. Hold it at a hot spot... maybe a park or inside a restaurant. It's more expensive but it's not the same old boring thing and it intrigues them to actually come out and do it. Think of a youth group format. You usually have an activity and then a sermon. Take the activity to the next level. And rather than having a sermon, do a discussion table. Young adults get lectured at enough. It gets boring. Let them have just an equal of a voice as the leader. Oh and don’t do it in the morning…and weekend nights are packed too. I would suggest like a Saturday lunch or early dinner time.
• Talk about the hot topics of today - for singles as well as married persons. My Sunday School class doesn't want to do a traditional Bible study for the summer, so this week I'm bringing my People magazine with a dozen questions regarding current day situations.
• Well, my church has only been a church since September and we have drawn young adults out of the woodwork. For us, it has been very important to be real...casual, relevant, and challenging during worship services. Then, life groups meet in homes and are the heartbeat of the church. Everyone who goes is encouraged to volunteer with something...from parking lots to worship band.
• Walk the walk. Get rid of the gimmicks and simply walk the walk. Outreach. Get involved. Do. Walk the walk.

Since I work with college students every day, I wasn't surprised by the desire for connection, for a faith that is sturdy enough to carry them through hard times, and one that even requires something of them. May we, as the church, be willing to listen--to the Holy Spirit, and to the young adults in our midst--to show them that there is a satisfying answer in the person and work of Jesus.