Archive for the 'Prayer' Category

Tips for College Students

Published on September 12, 2011 by Chris Bean in Campus Ministry, Church, discipleship, Faith and Prayer.

I stumbled across this list of tips as I was reading up on college ministry stuff. The original article is here.

1.  Location, Location, Location…Serious about getting work done? Find a good location. Use the libraries, study rooms, or empty classrooms. (Or perhaps the Edge Houseif you’re in Cincinnati!)2.  Make It a Habit: Do Coursework Every DayCramming is not conducive to understanding and retaining large amounts of information. Time on your courses each day is the best way to learn. Use the time between classes to stay on top of readings.

3. Help Exists! Seek It Out and Improve Your Grades

Whether you’re an ‘A’ student or a ‘D’ student, you can strengthen your skills. Get to know your professors and tutorial assistants. Use study guides and help centres. If you’re struggling academically, ask your professor what resources might be available from campus/student services.

4.   Write It Down

Use a day planner or wall calendar. Plan time for coursework. Plan ahead for assignments and exam periods.

5.  Get Energized – Eat, Exercise, Sleep

Fatigue and stress weaken memory and comprehension. Eat properly, exercise regularly, and get adequate sleep.

You can find the rest of the list here.

Of course, as a campus minister/pastor/missionary…I’m interested in students being more than just academically successful. So here are my top 5 tips for being “spiritually” (in a wholistic, not dualistic sense) successful as a college student.

1. Be With other Followers

Whether this happens in a formal campus ministry environment or simply by seeking out some Christian brothers/sisters, you need to spend some quantity AND quality time with a few others who are also on the journey to be Formed by Christ.

2. Be With a Congregation

Many college/university students overlook this piece but it can be critical as well. The local church has and always will be God’s chosen vehicle for cultivating Gospel community. Being part of a church body provides a place to worship, serve, grow, encourage, and learn. (not to mention the other 40+ “one another” commands in scripture that cannot be fulfilled apart from a faith community).

3. Be With a Mentor-Discipler

Paul had his Barnabas. Timothy had his Paul. We all need someone mentoring and challenging us during significant seasons of life. This could be a pastor, a campus minister, or nearly any mature Christ follower…but it must be someone you respect, seek out, and listen to.

4.  Be With Those In Need

According to Jesus, it’s impossible to love God while not loving others.  (Matthew 22 & Mark 12) These are the two greatest commandments. Without engaging regularly in service and compassion, our faith can become ingrown and self-serving. Since the very first covenant God made with Abraham, the blessings we receive from God are to be poured out on those around us.

5.  Be With Jesus

This may be the most important “Be With” tip so I am wrapping up with this one. Spending time with God…in prayer, reading scripture, meditating, worship, etc is not to be some daily checklist of Christian performance. However, these and many other Christian practices (spiritual disciplines) are the ways in which we position ourselves to be transformed by God. I love the illustration of sailing when it comes to spiritual formation. When we engage in spiritual disciplines, we are simply raising the sail into which then God will breathe and direct our lives by His Spirit.

 

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Soul Keeping at the Abbey of Gethsemani

Published on August 24, 2011 by Chris Bean in discipleship, Faith, Prayer and Uncategorized.

Never before have I felt so physically, mentally, and spiritually rested and prepared for a season of life and ministry. To some degree, I have the Trappist monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani to thank for that.

This past weekend, I spent about 3 days in the beautiful knob country of Nelson County Kentucky in the monastery of Gethsemani. It’s located about 12 miles south of Bardstown, KY on about 12,000 acres of beautiful land. After talking about a pilgrimmage to Gethsemani for several years, I finally made it down there.

Usually, retreatants spend either Monday thru Friday or Friday to Monday at the retreat house. You need to call several months in advance to schedule a spot in the retreat house. Or if you’re a dude and don’t plan quite that far ahead, you can stay in the “south wing” which is part of the monastic area where they’ve designated a couple of floors for male retreatants. Accomodations (including meals on the weekends only I believe) are offered for a free-will donation which you can tuck in an envelope and leave on your way out or mail to the Abbey.

The monks gather in the Abbey Church 7 times a day for prayers which begins with vigils at 3:15 am. I never actually joined them that early, but I did make it for Lauds at 5:45 am both mornings. The prayer liturgy combined with the sense of sacred space added much to my experience.

During the morning I set off on a couple of hikes and enjoyed absolutely perfect weather for the whole weekend.

As my retreat time came to a close, I sensed that God was teaching me about my need for contemplation, silence, prayer, and a more disciplined life/schedule in general. Returning to the world of common daily tasks, obligations, and routines…I hope to implement a kind of monastic “Rule” for living this Fall. Two days into the new routine, I can say that I’m batting a thousand!  ;-)

A View of the Abbey/Monastery from Monks Road

But whether or not a particular schedule is sustainable or not doesn’t change the fact that I need to be much more disciplined and intentional about my daily times of prayer, reading scripture, contemplation, worship, service, etc. With a new quarter of ministry to college students at UC right around the corner of the calendar, I know that my best hope of impacting and influencing college students will be to model a life of faith that demonstrates intimacy with God, compassion for those around me, and authenticity  with students.

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Following a Trail of Trust

Published on May 18, 2011 by Chris Bean in Calling, Campus Ministry, Faith, Finances and Prayer.

A couple of years ago we left the somewhat comfortable and secure model of church-based ministry (after about 16 years) and decided to help start something new at the University of Cincinnati. Our spiritual tribe (the Church of the Nazarene) had hopes of reaching out to the university campuses in and around Cincinnati, but the right people and pieces had not yet come together.

After a long season of discernment, prayer, and planning (3-4 months’ worth), we launched out in a new ministry to students at the University of Cincinnati. This venture is a partnership between the CCO (a campus ministry org based in Pittsburgh) and the Southwestern Ohio Nazarene Churches.

Perhaps the most troubling challenge before us was raising a significant amount of our own financial support to cover salary and ministry expenses.

In the last few posts, I was discussing the Top 5 Things I Love About Raising Support. Although each of these points are very true, the task of reaching out and inviting people to share in the cost/investment for our calling has been no less daunting.

After two years of trusting, asking, praying, inviting, confessing, calling, blogging, sharing, stretching…we have reached a milestone which encourages us to continue in this calling and mission of seeing college students transformed.

For those who have been a part of this journey in any way (praying, giving, serving, etc) we are deeply grateful.

And for those who have YET to partner with us in one of these ways…there’s no time like the present!   ;-)

Our goal is to be fully funded by the end of the summer. We have absolutely no doubt that God is able to provide all that is needed between now and then.

We are quite certain that many others share our passion for seeing college students transformed by Jesus so that they will live out their faith in every area of life. When a college student develops a biblical worldview and partners with God in His mission, there is no limit to the Kingdom impact which is being actualized. If that mission is something you feel led to support, we invite you to become one of our ministry partners with a monthly, quarterly, or annual donation. Click on the image below to find out more.

 

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