Monday, December 20, 2010

Difference in Campus Based College Ministers and Church Based???

One of the things that has struck me in the last year or so is the realization that church based college ministers and campus based (BCM Directors usually) think very differently.  Up till this point I just assumed that we thought the very same way, but just worked in different locations trying to do the same things.  I knew the church based ones tended to wear their hair "funkier" and have their shirt tails out more, but when working on the committee for the 2009 Collegiate Ministers Summit, I heard the church guys asking for and wanting preaching and the campus based folks asking for "how to's".  That was my first dawning moment....we are really different!  The church based folks are all about "church" and we are all about spirituality on campus...helping students figure out how to do college, working with parents...parents see us as their partners, which I think is a good thing.

A close friend who was a campus based and then went to a church based job said it was a shock the first Monday staff meeting when the pastor asked, "How come we were down attendance wise in students yesterday?"  The pastor didn't think no home football game, etc was a factor...it was my friend's fault.  That helps me understand why some church based college ministers do some of what they do.

I am still working to understand this difference in thinking....but part of the benefit of this is my finally figuring out, WE DON'T THINK THE SAME!
Arliss

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