Have you ever had something you wrote come back to haunt
you? About 20 years ago, I was asked to
write an article for The Campus Minister journal on “Where are We Going in
Student Ministries?” and did so. I had
long forgotten this but it was brought to my attention recently by friend Wanda
Kidd who sent me a copy.
As I reflect now on the ten observations in that article,
I realize that some were general enough that I could not miss by including them.
I am also reminded about how much things have changed in Baptist life since
1990, changes that led me to leave employment by the Executive Board of the
Tennessee Baptist Convention and cast my lot with the Cooperative Baptist
Fellowship.
So where did I get it right and where did I miss the
mark?
One prediction was, “We will use ‘high tech’ equipment
and resources, but it will not take the place of ‘high touch’ activities.” I was pretty much on the mark there. I even commented that “we will do more of our
own clerical and secretarial work” and use software to produce “commercial
quality printing and program materials at low cost.” I could not foresee that social networking provided
by the computer and the Internet (who knew what the Internet would become?) would
provide a new means of “high touch” contact with students and constituents or
that printed media would be significantly less important in communication.
Another comment was, “We will use the arts and media more
effectively in communicating the gospel.”
I suggested that we would use “drama, interpretative movement,
sculpture, painting, photography and music more extensively in our worship,
teaching and evangelistic effort.” This
certainly has come true in worship where there is great emphasis on the visual
and auditory, but some of the other elements have not become significant
factors in the way we do ministry.
I also challenged campus ministers to “practice what we
preach about continuing education and lifelong learning.” I alluded to the potential of using
interactive video, accessing to seminary and university libraries online, and pursuing
doctor of ministry degrees. Even though
possible delivery platforms have multiplied far beyond what I imagined, I doubt
that they are being accessed by a large number of campus (collegiate)
ministers.
There were some aspirational ideas that we have not
achieved yet but we have made some progress toward. For example, I had hoped and still hope that
campus ministry would be more inclusive and hire people for their gifts rather
than their race, gender, or ethnicity. I
had also hoped that more volunteers would be used not due to economic
considerations but because they often have more access and credibility in
higher education than an outside person.
This is a great resource that is still largely untapped.
And then there were just some wacky things—for example,
student athletes would be recognized as semi-pros and compensated for their
work—that have not come to pass, but I did forecast a diverse and fragmented
higher education scene that is even more chaotic today than anyone could have
expected.
Where I missed the mark completely was the idea that
churches and the denomination would continue to see ministry with college
students as an essential “cutting edge” ministry to assure the future of the
church. Unfortunately, in many places,
college ministry has been the first thing cut in an attempt to balance
shrinking budgets. Although there are still collegiate ministers who do good work
with limited resources, Baptists are not as committed to this ministry as I had
hoped they would be. I do stand by my
closing words in the article:
“We may attempt to ignore the world of higher education,
but God will still be at work there, and He [sic] will find other
representatives to articulate the Gospel.
Who will lose? Southern [and
other] Baptists will lose and I, for one, don’t want to miss the opportunity.”
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