For a variety of reasons, I consider myself a speaker and not a preacher. Partly, it relates to being a College Minister where we often speak in very "non-churchy" situations. I have spoken for football pre-game chapels in a bar and have often been asked to be the emcee of a variety of events. And, primarily I have spoken for Lunch Programs (where you have a solid 15 minutes) or just campus Christian weekly events. I also remember as a kid that I asked my dad one time, "What is the difference in a speaker and a preacher?" I had noticed that sometimes my church would announce that someone was coming to speak and other times they would say someone was coming to preach. My dad scratched his head, thought a minute and said, "I think when you speak you have to have something to say." People have often told me, "You don't sound like a preacher." Some mean it as a compliment.
Having attended somewhere in the neighborhood of more than 900 Lunch Programs at Arkansas State University Baptist Collegiate Ministry, I have seen speaking and preaching done a variety of ways and received....a variety of ways.
Here are my thoughts on speaking to college students:
1. BE RELATABLE
Coming across as human and likable is huge. Tone is huge. Sound and act like you are glad to be where you are and are not mad at anybody. Using a normal tone of voice and smiling helps a lot.
2.TELL A STORY
We all love stories. We listen to stories. We remember stories. Funny stories are the best....and that is different than corny jokes. Don't read a story...tell it. If it is a story on yourself acting dumb, that is even better. But, it does not have to be about you and it does not have to be funny. Just tell a story.
3.BE PRACTICAL
Tell how it relates to Bible and life. Today's young adult wants to know more about how it works in life or affects their life than what 42 different scholars think about a Bible passage....and I am not knocking correct scholarly understanding.
4. QUIT BEFORE THEY QUIT
Short and good is never bad. Don't "over-talk" it.
5. GET OUT FROM BEHIND THE PULPIT OR LECTERN
Some years ago I quit standing behind anything. I think for "non-churchy" students, that pulpit or lectern is a barrier. It seems too formal or it reminds them of those boring classes where the prof reads from yellowed notes.
6. HANG OUT
Talk to people before and after the event. Be one of the group.
7. ASK A QUESTION
"How many of you have ever.....?" I do that a lot and hold my hand up and invite a similar response. Students tend to feel included in what is being said. I even sometimes ask a question and then give a Gift Card for a free meal to a popular student eating place to the first one who answers. You likely are not surprised how that picks up interest.
8. DON'T READ IT
I have seen great content read to students that they did not listen to because it was read. Tell what you have to say....don't read it.
9. PRACTICE IT OUT LOUD FIRST
That's hard to do, I know. But, it just makes it better!
Arliss Dickerson is a part time college ministry consultant for Lifeway Christian Resources and the author of five books on college ministry in eBook and print at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson).
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Thursday, January 23, 2020
5 Tips for College Ministers
5 WAYS TO GET MORE DONE:
1. Do not open Social Media before 11:00 a.m.
2. Do your prep work for speaking away from campus (It will get done quicker.).
3. Schedule a time each week that is "paperwork time".
4. Keep a file that you throw "talk ideas" into.
5. Schedule one day a month to hide out and work on major projects (Developing a speaking series, Laying out your topics for a semester, scheduling speakers for your Lunch Program, etc).
5 THINGS THAT CAN GET A COLLEGE MINISTER FIRED:
1. Misbehavior or the appearance of misbehavior with students.
2. Not keeping your supervisor in the loop about major issues or changes in the ministry.
3. Breaking work rules....even though they are dumb rules.
4. Posting stuff on social media related to politics or religious issues. Beware of sites you visit than can show up.
5. Breaking unwritten rules. YES! There are always unwritten rules, or "Everybody knows..."
5 IDEAS TO INCREASE YOUR CAMPUS INFLUENCE OR ENLARGE YOUR MINISTRY:
1. Visit different college ministries on two different campuses for ideas.
2. Invite a different fraternity/sorority or campus club to be special guests at one of your events or to co-sponsor an event with your ministry.
3. Volunteer to speak in Leadership classes or Freshmen Development classes.
4. Volunteer one day a month on campus helping some department or group.
5. Volunteer to sponsor a club on campus (Tennis, chess, etc).
5 THINGS THAT CAN RUIN YOUR REPUTATION OR THE REPUTATION OF YOUR MINISTRY:
1. Anger and Language issues.
2. Sloppiness with ministry money.
3. Poor outside appearance of campus ministry centers (Most will just see the outside.).
4. Not being cooperative with area churches.
5. Not returning messages or calls and having no work schedule where others can connect with you.
Arliss Dickerson is a part time college ministry consultant for Lifeway Christian Resources and the author of five books on college ministry available in eBook and print at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson). "ALMOST Everything About College Ministry" will be available early summer.
Monday, January 20, 2020
The Three Types of College Ministry Student Leaders
In a college ministry the more student leaders a ministry has who are taking ownership and investing in the ministry, the healthier, stronger, and even larger the ministry will be. Part of having strong student leaders is to be intentional in involving, recognizing, and developing those that have the ability and potential to lead. Some will have the desire to lead and others will simply have the potential and must be challenged to begin to lead.
However, an easy temptation or danger is to think that all leaders look alike and lead the same way. If we fall into this trap, we can easily miss students who could bless our ministry or not give them the opportunities they deserve and that will benefit them as well as the ministry.
THE THREE TYPES OF STUDENT LEADERSHIP TYPES AND STYLES:
1. UP FRONT LEADERS. These are the ones that are vocal and their strength is in speaking and lead from their personality. This is the picture that most people get when thinking about leaders. They are usually well spoken and others are drawn to them by the magnetism of their personality. Often because leadership comes naturally to this type student, they may not be the best at preparation and organization and part of their development is helping them to grow in these areas. Usually, this type student is looking for opportunities to lead. So, it is important that your ministry demonstrate a priority of developing and utilizing student leaders.
2. SERVANT LEADERS. Servant Leaders are those who may not even be comfortable in front of a group but they will do whatever is necessary to make their cause advance and others are challenged and encouraged by their example and heart. It is particularly easy to overlook this type student for leadership roles and even for them to indicate they are not leaders and are reluctant to serve in such a role. This is where affirmation and challenge to lead is especially important. One temptation for this person is to try to do it all themselves. They have to be taught and encouraged to let others do their part.
3. MANAGER LEADERS. This student is an organizer and is good at delegating and helping others be successful. They lead through process. They tend to recognize others strengths and help them be successful. They function best within a structure and tend to make the structure even more productive. One of the tasks in working with a Manager Leader is helping them be patient with those who tend not to be organized and function more by the moment.
WAYS TO HELP STUDENT LEADERS DEVELOP:
AFFIRM leadership ability. Many students do not recognize the capabilities they have. Let students know that you believe in them.
EVALUATE AND PROCESS with them. Help them learn and grow from their experiences. When something works, help them see why and when something does not work, help them learn from it AND REALIZE that the lack of success may have nothing to do with their abilities and efforts.
EXPRESS APPRECIATION to students who take on leadership roles. Be grateful for the time and effort that they expend for the ministry. Help them know they are not alone and that you are there with them and for them.
Paul and Barnabus were leaders of the early church. Yet, their abilities and leadership styles were different which brought them into disagreement as seen in Acts 15:36-41. Part of our role in leading a college ministry is recognizing, valuing, and helping a variety of leaders to serve the cause of Christ on your campus.
Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry/leadership consultant and the author of five books on college ministry at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson). "ALMOST Everything About College Ministry" will be available in early summer.
However, an easy temptation or danger is to think that all leaders look alike and lead the same way. If we fall into this trap, we can easily miss students who could bless our ministry or not give them the opportunities they deserve and that will benefit them as well as the ministry.
THE THREE TYPES OF STUDENT LEADERSHIP TYPES AND STYLES:
1. UP FRONT LEADERS. These are the ones that are vocal and their strength is in speaking and lead from their personality. This is the picture that most people get when thinking about leaders. They are usually well spoken and others are drawn to them by the magnetism of their personality. Often because leadership comes naturally to this type student, they may not be the best at preparation and organization and part of their development is helping them to grow in these areas. Usually, this type student is looking for opportunities to lead. So, it is important that your ministry demonstrate a priority of developing and utilizing student leaders.
2. SERVANT LEADERS. Servant Leaders are those who may not even be comfortable in front of a group but they will do whatever is necessary to make their cause advance and others are challenged and encouraged by their example and heart. It is particularly easy to overlook this type student for leadership roles and even for them to indicate they are not leaders and are reluctant to serve in such a role. This is where affirmation and challenge to lead is especially important. One temptation for this person is to try to do it all themselves. They have to be taught and encouraged to let others do their part.
3. MANAGER LEADERS. This student is an organizer and is good at delegating and helping others be successful. They lead through process. They tend to recognize others strengths and help them be successful. They function best within a structure and tend to make the structure even more productive. One of the tasks in working with a Manager Leader is helping them be patient with those who tend not to be organized and function more by the moment.
WAYS TO HELP STUDENT LEADERS DEVELOP:
AFFIRM leadership ability. Many students do not recognize the capabilities they have. Let students know that you believe in them.
EVALUATE AND PROCESS with them. Help them learn and grow from their experiences. When something works, help them see why and when something does not work, help them learn from it AND REALIZE that the lack of success may have nothing to do with their abilities and efforts.
EXPRESS APPRECIATION to students who take on leadership roles. Be grateful for the time and effort that they expend for the ministry. Help them know they are not alone and that you are there with them and for them.
Paul and Barnabus were leaders of the early church. Yet, their abilities and leadership styles were different which brought them into disagreement as seen in Acts 15:36-41. Part of our role in leading a college ministry is recognizing, valuing, and helping a variety of leaders to serve the cause of Christ on your campus.
Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry/leadership consultant and the author of five books on college ministry at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson). "ALMOST Everything About College Ministry" will be available in early summer.
Monday, January 13, 2020
Don't Quit Doing Bible Studies....BUT....
There is a trend among College Ministers who speak at their weekly large group event to preach passages of scripture or to do a book study each week. Part of the reason for this is the biblical ignorance of many college and university students.......even and including those who have grown up in church.
While not speaking against biblical preaching, I want to make the case for doing at least some topical speaking. My campus based ministry has all been done in the south, hard core Bible Belt with several churches reaching out to students with many of my students involved in one of them. They were hearing lots of good biblical preaching.
Whether students are hearing some Christian teaching/speaking other than yours, I still believe that it is important that a College Minister address some specifically "college student topics". Many years ago when I came to Arkansas State, I determined to keep the same schedule of weekly events they had been used to for the first year. The previous College Minister had done a Bible Study on Monday night and there was a large group worship event on another night. So, my Bible study became what I called "a biblically based seminar". Since, our "large group meeting" was a worship service, I did not want the two weekly events to be the same. When we added a Freshmen Night to our weekly schedule, I became the weekly speaker at our worship event and continued to do a lot of topical speaking as part of that event. Worship and "real life" go together!
A key part of this "biblically based seminar" I was leading each week was the input of students telling me what their issues, questions, and the questions of their friends were. The topics came out of those questions. Of course, "relationships" was always being mentioned to me of anything from parents to girlfriends, boyfriends. There were points where I had to say, "No, I will not speak on relationships every week.". Scripture was ALWAYS a part of each of these talks.
Here are some examples of some topics that a College Minister should consider speaking to;
How can I know God's will?
What are the different ways God speaks to people?
What about Christians and politics? (I get that question continually these days.)
Making peace with your parents (the jerks!)
Defending my faith to skeptics
Questions to ask each other before you marry
What to do when the M word is mentioned (Marriage)
Dealing with conflict in a group
The difference in real love and hormones!
Making school, church, job, and social life work
Sex isn't new, but you Wish it was (starting over in purity)
Dealing with Guilt Feelings: Deserved and Undeserved
Five things every Christian ought to know about sex
How to have a marriage better than your parents
5 ways to mess up your life and what to do about it
How do I get along with a roommate who makes fun of what I believe?
Understanding me....does God cause and use our different personalities?
How do I use my time wisely and in a way that honors God?
Personal Porn and what to do about it
No matter how great of a church your students may attend, it is not likely they are hearing these issues addressed in the weekly worship service and sermon. If they do not hear any other Christian speaker, do they know that the Bible is all about real life? As a College Minister, you have a unique opportunity to speak into their life on their every day issues.
Many of today's young adults think the Bible and faith is not relevant to every day living. You have the great opportunity to speak into that! Don't quit doing "regular Bible study" or a study of Acts, etc, but make sure that you also talk about what they are talking about before and after your meetings. And, you may be surprised at the friends they start bringing along with them.
Arliss Dickerson is a part time college ministry consultant for Lifeway Christian Resources and the author of five books on college ministry in eBook and print at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson).
While not speaking against biblical preaching, I want to make the case for doing at least some topical speaking. My campus based ministry has all been done in the south, hard core Bible Belt with several churches reaching out to students with many of my students involved in one of them. They were hearing lots of good biblical preaching.
Whether students are hearing some Christian teaching/speaking other than yours, I still believe that it is important that a College Minister address some specifically "college student topics". Many years ago when I came to Arkansas State, I determined to keep the same schedule of weekly events they had been used to for the first year. The previous College Minister had done a Bible Study on Monday night and there was a large group worship event on another night. So, my Bible study became what I called "a biblically based seminar". Since, our "large group meeting" was a worship service, I did not want the two weekly events to be the same. When we added a Freshmen Night to our weekly schedule, I became the weekly speaker at our worship event and continued to do a lot of topical speaking as part of that event. Worship and "real life" go together!
A key part of this "biblically based seminar" I was leading each week was the input of students telling me what their issues, questions, and the questions of their friends were. The topics came out of those questions. Of course, "relationships" was always being mentioned to me of anything from parents to girlfriends, boyfriends. There were points where I had to say, "No, I will not speak on relationships every week.". Scripture was ALWAYS a part of each of these talks.
Here are some examples of some topics that a College Minister should consider speaking to;
How can I know God's will?
What are the different ways God speaks to people?
What about Christians and politics? (I get that question continually these days.)
Making peace with your parents (the jerks!)
Defending my faith to skeptics
Questions to ask each other before you marry
What to do when the M word is mentioned (Marriage)
Dealing with conflict in a group
The difference in real love and hormones!
Making school, church, job, and social life work
Sex isn't new, but you Wish it was (starting over in purity)
Dealing with Guilt Feelings: Deserved and Undeserved
Five things every Christian ought to know about sex
How to have a marriage better than your parents
5 ways to mess up your life and what to do about it
How do I get along with a roommate who makes fun of what I believe?
Understanding me....does God cause and use our different personalities?
How do I use my time wisely and in a way that honors God?
Personal Porn and what to do about it
No matter how great of a church your students may attend, it is not likely they are hearing these issues addressed in the weekly worship service and sermon. If they do not hear any other Christian speaker, do they know that the Bible is all about real life? As a College Minister, you have a unique opportunity to speak into their life on their every day issues.
Many of today's young adults think the Bible and faith is not relevant to every day living. You have the great opportunity to speak into that! Don't quit doing "regular Bible study" or a study of Acts, etc, but make sure that you also talk about what they are talking about before and after your meetings. And, you may be surprised at the friends they start bringing along with them.
Arliss Dickerson is a part time college ministry consultant for Lifeway Christian Resources and the author of five books on college ministry in eBook and print at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson).
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Being the Spouse of a College Minister......
Being the spouse of a College Minister is hard! College Minister hours are weird. College Ministers live in seasons. They eat meals at weird times. They are often gone on trips at Spring Break, Christmas, etc.
My wife, Sue, is getting ready to lead a conference for college ministry spouses and asked me to proof read her notes and thoughts. Many of those she will be speaking to are younger and since she has been a college ministry spouse for forty plus years, she is trying to give them a picture of the long term...or different seasons, if you will. I will confess; I cried when I read it. It reminded me of all she had done to make our life and ministry work. She had taken on the Administrative Assistant position temporarily and done it for thirty two years. She speaks of what she calls, "bumps"or "Hard Time #1, Hard Time #2 and Hard Time #3". They were times of major health issues and our raising the money to build a BCM Center while she was going through cancer treatments, etc. She tells of our having family evening meals at weird times, so I could go back to the campus, etc.
But, she shares how students loved our kids and us, how we never felt alone and were literally prayed for by people all over the world. Sometimes, I would get a message saying, "We are praying for Sue today" and I did not know who that person was. She indicates how God was faithful through all the different periods and challenges. We were not rich, but never did without.
Cooking and "hostessing" is one of Sue's gifts and she shares how she learned that God could use that in our ministry...doing cooking breakouts at Retreats, fixing Lunch Program meals for 200 plus, and having students in our home at Christmas. I am an "Out front person" and Sue is a "Task person" and she shares how she realized that was ok. Part of her emphasis is that we are all wired differently and that some spouses will be very involved, but maybe not up front and others will not be involved at all AND and of those are ok.
I think it is important that we be careful of what we expect of our spouse and let them be who God made them to be....not what we expect and that we not ask them to carry an unfair burden, either involvement wise or emotionally. In my book, FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY, in the chapter on "Self Care", I wrote this:
"Do not share all your pain and frustration with your spouse, While a College Minister going through a repair or rebuilding process needs to and should talk to his or her spouse about everyday happenings...good and bad, it is important that your spouse not hear so much negative that it becomes a huge weight on your relationship. Many spouses and children have turned negative toward the church, ministry, and even the Lord due to having to bear ALL the pain of the one they love."
College Ministry spouses deserve a medal. Here are some suggestions in addition to or instead of a medal:
1. Make sure your spouse knows that you "get it" in terms of what they are doing to fit with what you are doing.
2. When your ministry is in a slower season, give some extra attention and time to your spouse.
3. Make sure your spouse does not feel they have to conform to someone else's image of what the College Minister Spouse should or should not do. Some will be involved in the ministry in some way and others will not.
Arliss Dickerson is a part time college ministry consultant for Lifeway Christian Resources and the author of five books on college ministry in eBook and print at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson).
My wife, Sue, is getting ready to lead a conference for college ministry spouses and asked me to proof read her notes and thoughts. Many of those she will be speaking to are younger and since she has been a college ministry spouse for forty plus years, she is trying to give them a picture of the long term...or different seasons, if you will. I will confess; I cried when I read it. It reminded me of all she had done to make our life and ministry work. She had taken on the Administrative Assistant position temporarily and done it for thirty two years. She speaks of what she calls, "bumps"or "Hard Time #1, Hard Time #2 and Hard Time #3". They were times of major health issues and our raising the money to build a BCM Center while she was going through cancer treatments, etc. She tells of our having family evening meals at weird times, so I could go back to the campus, etc.
But, she shares how students loved our kids and us, how we never felt alone and were literally prayed for by people all over the world. Sometimes, I would get a message saying, "We are praying for Sue today" and I did not know who that person was. She indicates how God was faithful through all the different periods and challenges. We were not rich, but never did without.
Cooking and "hostessing" is one of Sue's gifts and she shares how she learned that God could use that in our ministry...doing cooking breakouts at Retreats, fixing Lunch Program meals for 200 plus, and having students in our home at Christmas. I am an "Out front person" and Sue is a "Task person" and she shares how she realized that was ok. Part of her emphasis is that we are all wired differently and that some spouses will be very involved, but maybe not up front and others will not be involved at all AND and of those are ok.
I think it is important that we be careful of what we expect of our spouse and let them be who God made them to be....not what we expect and that we not ask them to carry an unfair burden, either involvement wise or emotionally. In my book, FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY, in the chapter on "Self Care", I wrote this:
"Do not share all your pain and frustration with your spouse, While a College Minister going through a repair or rebuilding process needs to and should talk to his or her spouse about everyday happenings...good and bad, it is important that your spouse not hear so much negative that it becomes a huge weight on your relationship. Many spouses and children have turned negative toward the church, ministry, and even the Lord due to having to bear ALL the pain of the one they love."
College Ministry spouses deserve a medal. Here are some suggestions in addition to or instead of a medal:
1. Make sure your spouse knows that you "get it" in terms of what they are doing to fit with what you are doing.
2. When your ministry is in a slower season, give some extra attention and time to your spouse.
3. Make sure your spouse does not feel they have to conform to someone else's image of what the College Minister Spouse should or should not do. Some will be involved in the ministry in some way and others will not.
Arliss Dickerson is a part time college ministry consultant for Lifeway Christian Resources and the author of five books on college ministry in eBook and print at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson).
Thursday, January 2, 2020
Wise Sayings and Truisms in College Ministry
We don't know who said them the first time and everyone does not necessarily believe they are one hundred percent true all the time.....HOWEVER, you can learn a lot from them.
"To reach a particular campus group, reach a student in that group."
"It takes three years to establish a college ministry or for an existing ministry to become yours."
"Who we reach determines who we CAN and CANNOT reach."
"What you do the first three weeks of the fall semester determines your ministry for the whole school year."
"Good falls are made in the summer."
"A meeting space will fill to only 80% capacity on a regular basis. To continue to grow, seating space has to continue to grow and too much empty space is discouraging. Arrange your seating to accommodate your expected number plus an additional 20%."
"Once a student has been inside your facility, they are more likely to come back."
"A college ministry will reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the leader."
"The unforgivable sin in college ministry is not getting a student's name and contact info the first time they attend one of your events."
Arliss Dickerson's book, A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B0BZ6Q7HSV and Almost Everything About College Ministry is at Amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX.
"To reach a particular campus group, reach a student in that group."
"It takes three years to establish a college ministry or for an existing ministry to become yours."
"Who we reach determines who we CAN and CANNOT reach."
"What you do the first three weeks of the fall semester determines your ministry for the whole school year."
"Good falls are made in the summer."
"A meeting space will fill to only 80% capacity on a regular basis. To continue to grow, seating space has to continue to grow and too much empty space is discouraging. Arrange your seating to accommodate your expected number plus an additional 20%."
"Once a student has been inside your facility, they are more likely to come back."
"A college ministry will reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the leader."
"The unforgivable sin in college ministry is not getting a student's name and contact info the first time they attend one of your events."
Arliss Dickerson's book, A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B0BZ6Q7HSV and Almost Everything About College Ministry is at Amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX.
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