Blog by our mentor, Dave Flaig
I can’t tell you the day man captured the ability to make and contain fire, but I can tell you the day I learned to make a man-worthy campfire. It was an August day in my adolescent years while on vacation at Lost Valley Ranch in Colorado. A mighty thunderstorm had sprung up out of nowhere and drenched my posse. On the inside we were a fierce, pre-teen bunch of tough cowboys. On the outside, we were the most pathetic, straggling, testosterone filled group of slouching horseback riders you can imagine. Any outlaw would reel at the sight of these city boys, novices in the backcountry, on a trail ride that can best be described as “my horse looks at your horse’s backside” while our single file line of elderly, gentle, kid-friendly mustangs plodded by through the rain.
We parked our steeds in a meadow and were assisted down to waiting picnic tables located by a fire pit. As the women-folk unwrapped our sack lunches, the wrangler asked me to help him “make the fire.” I understood this to mean that I would gather the wood and bring it to him, but a fresh mark of manhood awaited me that day. We both got the logs, and he showed me how to stack them in the “log cabin” formation. Two logs laid parallel flat on the ground a foot apart, then two more stacked on top but in the opposite direction making a box of sorts. I can only describe this amazing invention as what your Jenga game looks like when you have removed all the middle pieces. Well, into the middle went kindling and a lighted match. Next thing you know Indians miles around could read our smoke signals...and we were finally warm, drying our tennis shoes and tube socks by MY fire.
When fire is contained it brings warmth and light. It fires the pistons in your classic ‘67 Mustang fastback’s engine and is an essential element in romantic ambience. When fire becomes uncontrolled it brings destruction; causing injury, panic and loss.
The problem is that as men, we have learned the skills to make fire, to use it’s power, all the while thinking we can manage it...but we cannot. That is, not without the Creator’s built in safeguards. So God gives men love & passion within the boundaries of marriage bringing warmth, romance, security and light; so long as it’s fed and nurtured. Outside that boundary it leads us where we do not want to go: bondage, isolation and loss.
If others were to describe your smoke signals would they look like controlled puffs, or a raging firestorm coming?
The good news is that we can cowboy up, follow the Creator and limit the fuel we throw on the fire. So walk as a man. Begin again and let the boy become a man as you learn controlled fire.
Ephesians 6: 16 “in addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Monday, December 29, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Resources on Sale
Well, at CollegeLeader we have a few resources on sale for the month of December...a "Christmas sale" of sorts...
Who AM I? small group video series - $19.99 (save $10)
Relationships by Design sermon series - $19.99 (save $10)
Song of Songs sermon series - $30.00 (save $15)
Who AM I? small group video series - $19.99 (save $10)
Relationships by Design sermon series - $19.99 (save $10)
Song of Songs sermon series - $30.00 (save $15)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Small group material on sale
Our "Faith in College" small group material is on sale through the end of the month. It's 33 weeks of material specifically designed to tackle the issues college students face. It's downloadable and you get it in printable pdf format, as well as in Word - making it easy for you to change/add it in anyway you feel fits your students best. Normal price is $33.00, but through the end of the month it's on sale for just $19.99. Click here for more details...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
CollegeLeader Learning Network
Well, I'm extremely excited to announce this first, here! If you could benefit from some training in the area of college ministry, more connection with others in similar contexts you're in that you can share learning experiences with, access to more practical resources, etc...it's on the way! At CollegeLeader we've developed a Learning Network just for these purposes! We're set to launch in March 2009. Here are some of the things you'll be a part of in the learning network:
1. Monthly 90 Minute interactive web-based seminars, covering topics specifically for church-based college-age ministry. This is web-based where there will be a seminar given (you'll have powerpoint, notes, etc. as you watch the seminar) and a time for Q&A - you can ask live questions - anything, anytime you want and we can discuss it.
2. Q&A sessions with prominent leaders in the American church today. You and I will sit down with these people and ask them their thoughts on the church today, college ministry, books they've written, etc.
3. You'll be a part of the learning networks cohort system - a smaller network of approximately 10 people in similar ministry contexts that meet together monthly with a CollegeLeader mentor for Q&A and deeper discussion through the Monthly Seminars (and any other unique needs you might have in your ministry at that particular time). This provides you with a network of people you can learn from as well as teach through your personal failures and successes. It also provides you with ongoing connection with a college ministry veteran that can give you advice and perspective from their years of experience.
4. As a part of the Learning Network you will of course get a bunch of free resources, as well as ongoing discounts on pretty much anything we do through CollegeLeader.
5. You'll also get exclusive articles that are not published anywhere else, written by college ministry veterans from around the country.
This is something we've been trying to figure out for a while now, but now have some things figured out. To be a part of the learning network you'll pay a fee of $299 a year so you may want to think about that for your 2009 budget (whether it be a church budget or a personal one). We think this is unbelievable, and to be honest, it barely covers our costs - at least we hope it will cover our costs. But, we're excited for sure!
So, if you're interested in getting more info on this there are two things you can do:
1. Sign up for our free CollegeLeader newsletter for ongoing updates
2. Email us some information that we'll put in our learning network database. To get that info, click here
1. Monthly 90 Minute interactive web-based seminars, covering topics specifically for church-based college-age ministry. This is web-based where there will be a seminar given (you'll have powerpoint, notes, etc. as you watch the seminar) and a time for Q&A - you can ask live questions - anything, anytime you want and we can discuss it.
2. Q&A sessions with prominent leaders in the American church today. You and I will sit down with these people and ask them their thoughts on the church today, college ministry, books they've written, etc.
3. You'll be a part of the learning networks cohort system - a smaller network of approximately 10 people in similar ministry contexts that meet together monthly with a CollegeLeader mentor for Q&A and deeper discussion through the Monthly Seminars (and any other unique needs you might have in your ministry at that particular time). This provides you with a network of people you can learn from as well as teach through your personal failures and successes. It also provides you with ongoing connection with a college ministry veteran that can give you advice and perspective from their years of experience.
4. As a part of the Learning Network you will of course get a bunch of free resources, as well as ongoing discounts on pretty much anything we do through CollegeLeader.
5. You'll also get exclusive articles that are not published anywhere else, written by college ministry veterans from around the country.
This is something we've been trying to figure out for a while now, but now have some things figured out. To be a part of the learning network you'll pay a fee of $299 a year so you may want to think about that for your 2009 budget (whether it be a church budget or a personal one). We think this is unbelievable, and to be honest, it barely covers our costs - at least we hope it will cover our costs. But, we're excited for sure!
So, if you're interested in getting more info on this there are two things you can do:
1. Sign up for our free CollegeLeader newsletter for ongoing updates
2. Email us some information that we'll put in our learning network database. To get that info, click here
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Redeemed Culture...
Blog by our mentor Dave Flaig:
This week is the first time many college students will cast their vote in an official election. While this is exciting and holds a proper sense of entitlement, there’s a subtle, yet damaging undercurrent of belief among young Christians that troubles me. It is a secret hope that God is expected to redeem the American culture.
Are not we, (the land of the free and home of the brave), entitled to God’s special favor? Have we not seen his hand of blessing in our founding and in more recent history? After all we hold religious freedom as a foundational right.
This sense of being entitled to cultural redemption smacks closely to the Jewish belief that the Messiah would restore their culture and rescue them from Roman oppression. What transpired was a costly death and subsequent resurrection that brought salvation from sin to people…not to a culture. In fact their culture was destroyed in AD 70 when the Romans tore down the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Is this statement not true: “God did not come to redeem culture; instead He wants to redeem people from every culture, tribe and nation.”
Christians are called to political action that is based on the morality and reason in the Bible, but God did not call us to create heaven on earth. Nor are we entitled to a culture like that.
In a day of election let us remember what Hebrews 11:13-14 says of those who lived on earth by faith. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.” And verse 16 gives us great perspective: “Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
That is the culture I long for while this “American” culture distances itself from a loving God.
This week is the first time many college students will cast their vote in an official election. While this is exciting and holds a proper sense of entitlement, there’s a subtle, yet damaging undercurrent of belief among young Christians that troubles me. It is a secret hope that God is expected to redeem the American culture.
Are not we, (the land of the free and home of the brave), entitled to God’s special favor? Have we not seen his hand of blessing in our founding and in more recent history? After all we hold religious freedom as a foundational right.
This sense of being entitled to cultural redemption smacks closely to the Jewish belief that the Messiah would restore their culture and rescue them from Roman oppression. What transpired was a costly death and subsequent resurrection that brought salvation from sin to people…not to a culture. In fact their culture was destroyed in AD 70 when the Romans tore down the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Is this statement not true: “God did not come to redeem culture; instead He wants to redeem people from every culture, tribe and nation.”
Christians are called to political action that is based on the morality and reason in the Bible, but God did not call us to create heaven on earth. Nor are we entitled to a culture like that.
In a day of election let us remember what Hebrews 11:13-14 says of those who lived on earth by faith. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.” And verse 16 gives us great perspective: “Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
That is the culture I long for while this “American” culture distances itself from a loving God.
Are we really a Body?
Blog by our mentor Abbie Smith:
I'm sitting at a coffee shop in downtown Manhattan Beach. I had a tough therapy session that's sat heavy with me since yesterday, and I'm guessing will sit heavy with me for awhile. Friends and dancing were a thoughtful distraction last night, but I still came home to "me" once the constume party was over. And woke heavy to "me" upon rising. So I decided to head west. The ocean is always a soothing comfort, and I'm all about finding the soothe and comfort today. My studies are spread across the table and the ocean waves about 1/4 mile away. But "me" is still waving louder.
A gentleman in his late fifties, I'd say, asked if he could share my table. His practically transluscent black skin spoke with a gentle voice that invited conversation. But I wasn't about to accept. I'm in a bad mood, and don't feel like talking. So I told him he could certainly share the table, but that was it. That's all I wanted to give. He complied and quietly sat down across the table. I thought our interaction was complete.
But about 15 minutes later, I raised my eyes from my oh-so-important Theo III assignment and saw that he was reading the Bible. With a sunken stomach, I realized it wasn't by mistake he'd entered my presence, but it was by mistake that I'd so quickly dismissed him. The man's peaceful demeanor is so appealing to me right now, and yet I don't even know what to say... How is it that my inners know this man is a God-send to my weary soul, and yet my outers are scared to act on it?
What would it look like to really believe I was part of a Body...to know this man was a part of me, and I of him...to know we would share aspects of this table from here to eternity? What it would look like to engage with this part of me, sitting across the table?
I'm sitting at a coffee shop in downtown Manhattan Beach. I had a tough therapy session that's sat heavy with me since yesterday, and I'm guessing will sit heavy with me for awhile. Friends and dancing were a thoughtful distraction last night, but I still came home to "me" once the constume party was over. And woke heavy to "me" upon rising. So I decided to head west. The ocean is always a soothing comfort, and I'm all about finding the soothe and comfort today. My studies are spread across the table and the ocean waves about 1/4 mile away. But "me" is still waving louder.
A gentleman in his late fifties, I'd say, asked if he could share my table. His practically transluscent black skin spoke with a gentle voice that invited conversation. But I wasn't about to accept. I'm in a bad mood, and don't feel like talking. So I told him he could certainly share the table, but that was it. That's all I wanted to give. He complied and quietly sat down across the table. I thought our interaction was complete.
But about 15 minutes later, I raised my eyes from my oh-so-important Theo III assignment and saw that he was reading the Bible. With a sunken stomach, I realized it wasn't by mistake he'd entered my presence, but it was by mistake that I'd so quickly dismissed him. The man's peaceful demeanor is so appealing to me right now, and yet I don't even know what to say... How is it that my inners know this man is a God-send to my weary soul, and yet my outers are scared to act on it?
What would it look like to really believe I was part of a Body...to know this man was a part of me, and I of him...to know we would share aspects of this table from here to eternity? What it would look like to engage with this part of me, sitting across the table?
Monday, October 27, 2008
newsweek is questioning
thoughts from our mentor abbie smith:
We've got a problem. Not questioning God, (that would be a good thing), but how God exists in a given realm of the Church...How Christianity is handling herself in a given sector of culture? The following Newsweek article seeks one of the most basic (and profound) questions I've been trained to ask as a Spiritual Director (helps discern God's movements in another's life...I'm biased, but think everyone should have one for most seasons of their life!). Although opinions vary on whether or not it would be well to visit Olsteen's church, it would do us well to ponder how God is at work in our stories today.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/163475
We've got a problem. Not questioning God, (that would be a good thing), but how God exists in a given realm of the Church...How Christianity is handling herself in a given sector of culture? The following Newsweek article seeks one of the most basic (and profound) questions I've been trained to ask as a Spiritual Director (helps discern God's movements in another's life...I'm biased, but think everyone should have one for most seasons of their life!). Although opinions vary on whether or not it would be well to visit Olsteen's church, it would do us well to ponder how God is at work in our stories today.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/163475
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