This has been an internal work bubbling up for almost 15 years now… and it’s finally made its way on to (digital) print.

I’m humbled to now share with you: Reclaiming the Formative Years!

 As I read “Reclaiming the Formative Years” I was nearly moved to tears by my need to “be there” for the students God has called me to reach and disciple.  God’s heart for this generation of college students beats strongly through this short, powerful and almost poetic eBook. Read it thoughtfully and ask God how he is calling you to invest in this life or death mission.

– Paul Worcester // Director of Challenge at Cal State Chico

About This Manifesto

Reclaiming the Formative Years is a small eBook about the significance of helping students to connect their faith to their formative university years.

This short manifesto is a call to all college pastors, parent, professors, mentors, coaches, directors, student leaders, et al. to remember the significance of this time in the lives of students… and to invest wisely!

I intentionally made the eBook short and sweet, so that you could read it in one sitting.

You can get your free copy of Reclaiming the Formative Years by joining my Weekly Update list.

This will automatically subscribe you to receive free updates, special announcements about upcoming events and happenings, as well as other occasional freebies (like this one)!

I will always respect your privacy, and you can opt out at any time.

Once you confirm your email address, you’ll receive a private link to the PDF that you can download.

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In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter.

The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And I wonder… Have you introduced your students to this significant season within the Christian calendar?

It’s quite possible that many of our students did  not grow up in a tradition that observed Lent. Or, maybe they grew up in a tradition that observed it, but nobody ever took the time to explain the significance of it… Or, it’s quite possible that our students have simply never cared about this season… up to this point.

I know that was true for me growing up… But as I’ve gotten older, I have been exposed to the richness of this season and it observance… And I have felt the need to introduce students to this significant time as well.

I think that’s a significant part of what we do in our work with college students… Introducing them to new things, significant things, that help to broaden their understanding of the body of Christ.

I’d like to point you to an online devotional that members of the Belmont community put together (staff, faculty and students) as a resource for the greater campus community — and for any others who might desire it.

This is our first attempt at something like this… so please pardon any issues you may encounter.

You can view it, or down load it, here: http://issuu.com/universityministries/docs/lent_devotional_2012_final.

There are so many possibilities for helping students to better connect to their faith during this season…

A season that culminates in the impossibility of all possibilities — the dead coming back to life — which ultimately has changed everything… forever!

God’s grace and peace be with you and your communities as we travel through this season of Lent.

If your ministry offers something unique for students during this season… please share about it in the comment section below.

 Some of the best student leaders are… the ones who choose to come back!

Their worth is impossible to quantify… because there’s so much they bring with them.

Consider the impact of even a handful of student leaders — who, having spent a year or more working alongside of us — opt to return and invest in the following year’s ministry efforts with:

A working knowledge of our mission and ministry — When students are able to articulate to others who we are, and what we’re about, it changes things! They can become the champions of our efforts and the embodiment of our mission. They become educated and passionate extensions of us — and the ministry — and multiply the reach of our work exponentially.

A growing relationship with us — This is another major bonus! Starting new relationships take time — and of course, are totally worth it — but when we’ve got some history with a student it’s amazing how a second year of working together can really solidify a relationship that began the year before. And working within a transient environment (like college ministry) when a student decides to commit (or recommit) to our ministry… it is often a sign that they are also wanting to see our relationship go to new levels as well. What a great opportunity (for us) and gift (to our ministry).

The ability to take on more responsibility and ownership within the ministry — Knowing “the ropes,” returning student leaders will likely welcome the challenges that can come through taking on new levels of responsibility. Likewise, when students are investing more  in the ministry they tend to feel a greater sense of ownership — which often strengthens their commitments and resolve to see our work be successful. This can also free us up to consider new ministry initiatives.

The ability to teach and train incoming leaders — Returning student leaders make for some of the best teachers and trainers when it comes to investing in new student leadership. They’ve been there! They know (most of) what concerns the new group of leaders — some of the “nuts and bolts” of being a leader, as well as some of the weight that comes with being a spiritual leader on campus while trying to manage a class load (and possibly a work load on top of that). We need to make space for returning leaders to share their collective wisdom with their new counterparts — for this is an invaluable resource.

A comfort and confidence with how things are done — It’s amazing what a year of experience can do for a student leader. Their overall comfort and confidence within the workings of our ministry, as well as their own ability to lead, jumps greatly from year one to two. To have students like this in our ministry must be a goal to strive towards!

A greater willingness to provide constructive criticism — And while this one might make us wince a little bit… we need this. Students might not have the same degrees or years of experience that we possess… but they are students — who know us, our ministry and other students. They live, eat,  go to class, and socialize  with the students that we are trying to reach. They know their own — better than we could ever hope to without them. They can likely see the holes in our ministry — both small and large — and we need to be willing to hear from them about how we can better do what we’ve been called to do. If this is something we fear… then we need to be willing to explore exactly what that is.

The kind of impact that returning student leaders can have on our ministry is tremendous!

And now is the time to begin talking with them about “sticking around” next year.

Now is the time (if you haven’t already) to let them know just how much they have meant to you and the collective ministry effort on campus.

Now is the time to encourage them to consider returning to invest in the ongoing  ministry efforts — in some new and more substantial ways.

How have you seen (or felt) the impact of returning student leaders within your ministry?

How do you help/encourage/challenge students to see the benefits (for them and for the ministry) in them choosing to return for another year on the leadership team?

Take a moment to share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Faith ON Campus is excited to announce the next Blogathon exploring:

Technology, Social Media & Ministry

Happening April 17-19, 2012!

The purpose of this online conference will be to spend some time thinking together about how we can best utilize the mediums of technology and social media in our ministry efforts with college students.

Topics could include, but are not limited to, things like:

• Should ministers be on Facebook?
• Should my ministry have a Facebook page? If so, what kind??
• What’s the point of Twitter?
• Does my ministry need a blog?
• What’s the benefit to utilizing new technologies in worship? Are there any drawbacks?
• How do I establish a pastoral e-presence?
• How much social media involvement is enough? How much is too much?
• Boundaries in social media
• Using an email list or mass text program for communication
• Creating digital resources for your ministry
• And anything else you think might be relevant to this conversation — ranging from the beginner to the advanced.

What I’m looking for right now are proposals — FROM PEOPLE LIKE YOU!

Is there a topic you are curious about? Something you’ve been experimenting with in your ministry context… or something you’ve had some success with that you’d like to share about? Or maybe you’ve seen the “dark side” of trying to incorporate technology and/or social media into your ministry… we want to hear from you too!

The hope and design of this time is that we might share with, and learn from, one another — for the sake of more effectively reaching our students for Christ!

If you’re interested so far, then the next question is simple: would you be willing to contribute a post that is 300-1000 words in length that can serve as a launch pad for conversations that will help to bring more shape and definition to our work with college students through these mediums?

If so, I’d like you to send me a brief description of what you would like to contribute.

I will begin accepting proposals for blog posts immediately (at guy.chmieleski[at]gmail.com), and hope to solidify our list of contributors by mid-March. Your final post would then be due by Tuesday, April 3rd.

And you can be one of the first to RSVP for this upcoming event by visiting the Technology, Social Media & Ministry Blogathon Facebook event page! Help spread the word by inviting your colleagues and co-laborers in Christ to join us for this upcoming event!

If you have any questions about this upcoming blogathon please be in touch.

I look forward to engaging with you in exploring the endless possibilities (and potential perils) of leveraging new technology and social media for ministry during this upcoming online conference.

I think there’s a fundamental reason why we have seen our student culture shift from (primarily) pursuing authentic, long-term relationships… to settling for casual sexual encounters within the hookup culture…

In a word… fear.

It’s a fear of pain.

A fear of loss.

A fear of investing in something… only to see it fall apart.

Or walk away.

Or choose to be with someone else.

And truthfully… they’ve got every reason to have this fear.

Statistically speaking, more than half of our students are coming from homes where they’ve seen and experienced the pain of a broken marriage.

And many students have probably experienced the personal pain and sense of rejection that the breakup of a young relationship can inflict.

And when you add to this fear, the challenges (and perceived challenges) that come in “slowly” getting to know someone in a culture of “instant”…

AND the overwhelming obsession that our culture has with sex (and has thereby conditioned us to believe is the pinnacle of our existence)…

Well, then our current relational paradigm begins to make a little more sense.

It’s all too risky!

So our students opt for something that’s “safe” and easy.

A casual hookup.

Personal pleasure.

Instant gratification.

A moment of feeling “loved and accepted.”

No strings.

No pressure.

No concern for “what now?” or “What’s next?”

And what they don’t know (and we’ve yet to really observably discern) is what the long-term effects will be of choosing to participate in this “low risk” hookup culture.

I can’t imagine a scenario where this practice leads to a more fulfilling, more stable, more secure, more loving future…

Only one filled with more pain, more brokenness, more loss… and a pattern for finding their way back into this same kind of relational practice that their engaged in now.

I found this song by Aqualung, entitled Left Behind, that seems to help describe what I’m talking about.

Have a listen and share any thoughts you have in the comment section below.

How can we help our students to get beyond this painful present reality?

How can we help them to “trust the process” of slowly growing a relationship?

How can we convince them that our culture has made a god of sex… and that God has something much bigger in mind?

The call to young Christians to be abstinent until marriage is not working.

Why do I say that?

The September/October 2011 issue of Relevant Magazine, in an article entitled (Almost) Everyone’s Doing It, starts with the following revelation:

Eighty percent of young, unmarried Christians have had sex. Two-thirds have been sexually active in the past year. Even though, according to a recent Gallup poll, 76% of Evangelicals believe sex outside of marriage is morally wrong.

80% of young, unmarried Christians have had sex… Wow! 66% of them have been sexually active in the past year.  And yet three-quarters of Evangelical Christians believe this is wrong.

More evidence…  Keep reading…

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Click here to read the rest of this article. It’s a guest post I contributed to a new resource out of Asbury Theological Seminary and the United Methodist Church called Seedbed.

Here’s a little more about Seedbed: Seedbed is sowing for a great awakening through publishing resources intended to build up the Body of Christ. We are cultivating skilled practitioners and creative scholars to develop ideas and design resources delivering the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the richness of his Church into the vastness of the human race until the end of the age. To read more about Seedbed click here.

The purpose of this series is to explore together some words that need to be introduced — or re-introduced — to this current generation of college students.

These words have lost their meaning… or have been mis-used or redefined in unhelpful ways… and therefore need to be reclaimed and redefined (again) so that they can be realized by our students!

Today’s word: LOVE.

It’s a word that means, among other things, unselfish love of one person for another without sexual implications; brotherly love.

Unselfish.

Without sexual implications.

Doesn’t sound like the kind of love we see displayed in our world… does it?

We’ve made a mess of love… haven’t we?

Consider this commercial that’s run for the past few weeks… leading up to this very day.

Do you notice what I did?

Who was at the center of this endearing commercial? Who was the focal point?

ME.

Tell me…

Tell me…

Tell me…

We’ve made love about us… about “ME.”

About having our own needs met (which, yes, can be a part of it).

We’ve made it about sex and romance and warm feelings and the like (which, yes, can be a part of it too). This is the eros form of love found in the Bible — which our culture has become infatuated with… and narrowly focused upon. Clearly there’s a place for this in our world — an important place — but it’s not the be all and end all of love.

Sadly, we’ve made love (as a culture) very selfish.

And we’ve stopped there.

And this is the love our students see… and understand (to some level)… and attempt to live into.

The words love, loves and loved are found 686 times in the NIV translation of the Bible — and occur consistently throughout both Old and New Testaments.

And with all of the passages that could be shared here, allow me to point to two that I think our students could best benefit from:

I John 4: ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

And,

I Corinthians 13: ¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 ¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Love is patient — we could spend a lifetime trying to understand and live this out!

Love is kind.

It does not envy or boast.

It is not proud — WOW.

It does not dishonor others.

It is not self-seeking or easily angered.

It keeps no records of wrong!

It does not delight in evil… but rejoices in truth.

It always protects… trusts… hopes… and perseveres.

Love. Never. Fails.

How might the truth about love… REAL love… change things — change everything?!

We need to help our students to see the Bible as God’s great love story with His created!

They need to stop thinking of the Bible as an ancient (translated irrelevant) text that is filled with an angry God who’s got an obscenely long list of “dos” and “don’ts” to abide by, and start seeing it as an ongoing story of a loving God attempting to woo His wayward loved ones back into His arms and tender care.

… the greatest of these is love.

How might a better understanding of an all-loving God help our students to better understand what love actually is?

And how might this impact their perceptions of relationships and commitment now?

And how might this impact their perceptions about love, marriage, sex and commitment in the future?

We simply must find ways to reclaim LOVE for the sake of this upcoming generation!