Sorry about the severe lack of bloggage lately. With that said, here goes.


As you may know, I am now planted in Manhattan, Kansas, to begin the career I have been working towards ever since I made the decision to pursue ministry during my junior year of college, which was the 2001-2002 school year. During that time and since then, I have been heavily involved in campus ministry in four different locations around the country, with KSU being by fifth campus ministry stop and my first time as the full-fledged, full time "campus minister." It is the same in a lot of ways, and very different in others.

First of all, this is my dream. I am living the kind of life that I have desired. I am on a state school campus, in a college town, working with a community of Christians that have a strong vision of campus ministry. I am working with students who have an incredible heart for God. I am working in a place where faith is challenged and students must be in engaged in a life of faith and action regarding their relationship with God. This is the kind of place and environment where I have always felt most alive.

One important difference that I must adjust to is that this is the first campus ministry environment where I am coming in as the "top" leader right off. At OU, Alabama, Tulsa, and ACU, I was able to come into a work as a participant until I learned and understood the community and its identity well enough to engage in the kind of leadership that I saw it needed and that I could provide. This time I am setting the agenda and direction from the get go. This necessarily includes more risk that I must accept as the a campus minister who has had very little time to truly understand the dynamics of the community here. But, at the same time, I know that many here are looking forward to fresh ideas and perspectives. I'm praying to God that he will use me and others to perform effectively in this role under his guidance.

Getting rolling as a first time campus minister in a brand new place with a solid history in campus ministry is a tough thing to do. It requires getting organized quickly and prioritizing effectively. It's tough to know exactly where to start. That is on top of trying to form real relationships with students that are not totally influenced by the fact that you are the "campus minister."

Anyway, these are just a few of the interesting places in which I find myself in life now that I have embarked on this new adventure. It is incredibly exciting and nerve-wracking all at once. Which I figure is the right place to be.