Campus Gleanings October 1, 2008
Dear Friends,
A few gleanings for you:
- A Short Paper on the History of Campus ministry in the USA by Ivy Jungle founder Mike Woodruff. . “Of Mice and Ministry” is a little quirky but offers a challenge to the traditional evangelical model of ministry which I think we can identify with. Share it with your evangelical para-church buddies.
- See also the results of the Ivy Jungle Survey on campus ministry at http://www.ivyjungle.org/state-of-campus-ministry-2-8 This not the most professional work, but it’s a powerpoint presentation unique to our work. The largest segment of their data is from the US South, where we have 0 ministries. But some of the trends are telling (mission trips, service work is important and the big challenges are time management, integration of faith and life, etc). You might share this material with your governing/support committee. (It also shows our people are probably in the highest category of compensation for campus ministry staff…)
- How can a congregation connect with a local campus? See the document that summarizes a visioning experience in Waterloo , Ontario . Here is a summary by one of the organizers, Rudy Eikelboom:
“The day was a blessing for all who attended. We expect that, with the Spirit's leading, it will have a significant impact on the future direction and avenues of service of our church, for students and indeed for the whole congregation.”
- If you haven’t read it, the study committee on Faith Formation gave a report to Synod this past spring. Given the disappearance of students from our churches, this is a vital issue: how do the rituals of faith formation function in CRC churches and how can they be more life-giving? We need to stay in touch with the people on this committee, watch the resources they are recommending, and offer our own tid bits. See http://www.crcna.org/pages/ffc_documents.cfm for a summary of their work and the committee members.
- Academics: An article every single one of us should read by Alvin Plantinga “Two (or More) Kinds of Scripture Scholarship.” The best versions of the paper are in Modern Theology 14.2 (1998) and in an edited volume by Craig Bartholomew called “Behind” the Text: History and Biblical Interpretation, 2003. This is the lecture version of the text (not as good, but gives you the gist): http://www.calvin.edu/academic/philosophy/virtual_library/articles/plantinga_alvin/two_or_more_kinds_of_scripture_scholarship.pdf
And another Plantinga article from 1984, an article entitled “Advice to Christian Philosophers” which I heard used at Redeemer by Craig Bartholomew in his intro to Philosophy class this month.
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/philosophy/virtual_library/articles/plantinga_alvin/advice_to_christian_philosophers.pdf
- The article on theology of music (the reputable Begbie) is recommended by Mike Wagenman.
- The second “Googling Youth Conference” is scheduled for June 25-27, 2009 hosted by the Kuyers Institute on Christian Teaching and Learning at Calvin College . Block your calendars now. More information will come down the road.
- Check out Brad Close’s stories from campus. This is a great testimony – a narrative language that people in church and beyond understand. I’d love to see more of this… http://www.dalcampusministry.org/htm/dcmSTORIES.htm
- U.K. Catholic book on campus ministry someone might read for us: Dancing on the Edge - Chaplaincy, Church and Higher Education Peter McGrail and John Sullivan (Matthew James Publishing Ltd, UK ).
Dancing on the Edge takes as a starting point the investigation and report commissioned by the Catholic Conference of Chaplains in Higher Education in England and Wales . The methodological approach of the report permitted the key issues to surface quickly and directly.
These issues were taken up and discussed further at an international ecumenical colloquium at St. Deiniol’s Library, North Wales , in May 2006. The essays are based upon the papers presented at the Colloquium. They open up debates about the nature, purpose, position, practical functioning and long-term effectiveness of higher education chaplaincy so that discussion of this ministry is informed by ecumenical and international dialogue. These essays bring out the multi-faceted and complex interaction, in university chaplaincy, between historical legacy, human chemistry, institutional politics, management structures, internal and external communication networks, social factors, theological perspectives, denominational sensitivities, individual gifts, gender issues and surrounding ecclesial structures.
The book offers a realistic assessment of many of the challenges facing chaplains in Higher Education, as well as evidencing a committed engagement and sense of hope. Chaplains will find here mapped out crucial features of their work environment. Senior managers in Higher Education will find themselves surprised, challenged and comforted in different proportions as they see their institutions described from the chaplains’ perspective. Members and office-holders in the Church, too, should experience both discomfort and encouragement as they ponder the Report and the essays contained in this book.
“These essays not only spur us on to think again about the role of the chaplaincy but may even cause us to reconsider the role of modern universities, especially for those among us who treasure their Christian foundations.” from the Preface by Professor Gerald Pillay, Vice-Chancellor & Rector, Liverpool Hope University.
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