Mondays Are Back...

Some of you know that I am officially finished with my worship commitment over at the Immerse Bible Study. I thought it would be good to thank the Immerse team and maybe even try to process some of my thoughts on worship the past couple of months.

• THANKS! I cannot thank Randy Prosperi and Ross Conner enough for this awesome opportunity...it was an absolute pleasure to serve on Monday nights. Both of these guys are passionate about serving college students in the Tyler area and I'm glad to have partnered with them in that! In addition, I've been encouraged by students like Scott Conaway, "Dal," AdrianA. and Danielle who are so faithful to serve each week. And I can't forget our musicians...Andrew Pulley, Paul James, Jason Scott, Dale Bradley, Aaron Laird, David Moody and Justin Romack all added their considerable talents to worship and it made a huge difference.
  
  
• I've learned a lot over the past few months. I've been challenged by the need to get to know a new crowd quickly and to work toward finding songs that "work." This is always a hard balance...finding songs that people like but also serving those people as a pastor. I've enjoyed their passion. The Immerse crowd is diverse - but one consistent element is their passion for the Father. I've been inspired by that.
  
  
• I'm glad to have my Monday nights back! I've loved doing it, but it will be nice to spend Monday nights at home again!
  
  
• I've got nothing but good things to say about this experience...some folks have asked about my "leaving." Let me assure you that all is well. This transition out was talked about long before I started, so it wasn't any huge shocker. I look forward to hearing (and hopefully seeing-in-person) more great things about Immerse on Monday nights!

Thanks to all of you who have watched the online broadcasts, asked me about Immerse, commented on blogs, etc.

Who knows what I'll take on next....

WHY COLLEGE MINISTRY STINKS, Part 4

As I prepare to start leading worship for "Immerse," a city-wide college Bible study, we're looking at common challenges within college ministry. I'd love to know what you think about these posts...what you've seen, learned, experienced through ministries like this.

The Church Is The Thing

Challenge #4 is a tough one....how do we plug students into the local church?

A few you have commented on this, and while I don't think that events like this are necessarily disrespectful to the role of the local church, I will agree that "para-church" ministries often fail at actually supporting local churches.

Here's what I like about Immerse (and about college ministries like it)...

I like that the folks at Immerse are taking worship onto the campus. I like that there's a place where Christian students can go to pray, be held accountable to some other believers and study God's Word. Isn't this the same sort of premise behind student associations on college campuses? (Wesley Foundation, Baptist Student Ministry, etc.?)

But meeting on Monday nights isn't "church"...even at its ideal, Immerse simply cannot do all the things that a church can do. And I don't think we should.

So, how do we use our time to get kids invested in a local church family?

I HAVE NO IDEA.

I'm being serious. With these other issues I've mentioned, I've seen things work...I can look back on my experience and share those tips and ideas that seem to be a consistent benefit.

But local church? I'm don't know. I just know it's hard. Here's why:

1. Which Church?
   Doing this is difficult because I really can't step up on stage and say something like, "You need to be plugged into a local church. BETHEL BIBLE CHURCH MEETS SUNDAYS AT 9 AND 10:30 WITH SERVICES. FIND US AT BETHELBIBLE.COM."
   
   It's a difficult thing, knowing that you need to encourage kids to have a home church and yet also knowing that you're unable to recommend one specifically. You end up speaking in generalities...which really doesn't work in this situation.
   
   
2. How Do We Know?
   Let's say we find a way to do it...we find a way to offer up some vague, non-committal advertisement for being part of a home church.
   
   How do we know if it's working? What if our kids plug in somewhere and hate it? What do we do then? Respond with something like "Oh, yeah...that church sounds horrible. Okay, well, time to find a new one!"
   
   Doesn't seem very healthy, does it?
   
   
3. Is There A Payoff?
   The third problem is finding church support. Connecting with churches is hard in ministries like this...I don't know that Immerse is in any sort of competition, but I know sometimes that's a fear in situations like this one.
   
   Sadly, the idea of "payoff" ends up hurting here. As a minister in a local church myself, I understand this. If somebody calls me or mails me a letter to encourage my people to attend some event, my first thought is often, "What's in it for us? Is this part of my mission here in my church?" I don't think that's necessarily bad...I just think it's true.
   
   How do ministries like Immerse maintain the support of local churches when we really can't turn around and do specific infomercials for them?

You guys are smart...some of you may have seen this aspect before. How do we do better? How do we support local churches? How do they support parachurch ministries?

Can it be done?

Props to one of my new Tyler Twitter pals. Caleb Canal called this thing WCMS a few days ago. That's smart. I should have been calling it that all along! Dang it!