symbiosis

in the spirit

nick — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:32:27 +0000

Whilst pausing to pray tonight, Luke and I noticed that our spirits were haunting uCalgary.

Filed under: life Tagged: photography, prayer, spirit

moving towards missional

nick — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:36:42 +0000

Benson Hines was working through a series of posts not long ago on burning down and recreating a university ministry, and one of his ideas (so big that it took two days to cover!) was to go missional. I, of course, am all for it. The first post lays out the general idea, while the second post has some good stuff on the practicalities of choosing a niche to be amongst. Geared towards newbies, they’re a helpful place to start.

Filed under: interesting Tagged: campus ministry, college ministry, missiology, missional, missional church, umin

new banner

nick — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:44:07 +0000

A new banner for a new year. This one continues my infatuation with the many lounges scattered about uCalgary, often tucked into forgotten corners and surprising places. Waypoints for academic pilgrims, they are symbiotic spaces, bringing together students from multiple faculties for cross-mojonation, thereby preserving some of the uni in university. They are physical parables, subtle reminders for those with eyes to see that we were meant not to partition ourselves and our knowledge, but to come together in community and right relationship.

This lounge is on the roof of the Arts Parkade. The Arts Parkade, you’ll notice, has a desolate, post-apocalyptic feel to it, especially the arts part of the Arts Parkade. It is a lounge speaking the parable well through the presence of absence. A fitting banner for my final few weeks at bsmucalgary.

Filed under: banners, ucalgary Tagged: blogging, bsmucalgary, ucalgary

merry christmas

nick — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 14:19:40 +0000

Filed under: uncategorized Tagged: christmas, U2

re:call audio free

nick — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:48:08 +0000

All the audio from re:CALL, the Forge Canada National Church Planting Congress, is now online, and it’s free. I haven’t listened yet, but these are the finest people, with lots of experience and good thinking to share on missional engagement. Look it over and snag what you want.

Filed under: resources Tagged: canada, church planting, forge, missional, national church planting congress

happy birthday jack

nick — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:10:53 +0000

C. S. Lewis would have turned 113 years old today. For we who know the man only via his books, letters, and biographies, actor David Payne’s brilliant performance in this one-man play is as close as we’re likely to come to having a cuppa with Jack on his birthday this side of resurrection.

Filed under: events Tagged: c. s. lewis

why university ministry matters

nick — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:54:55 +0000

Despite what you might think, it isn’t living the student lifestyle without the inconvenience of classes that makes life as a campus minister so rewarding. Well, that’s not the only thing that makes it rewarding. There are much more significant reasons than that. My e-friend, Steve Lutz, has a great article up on collegeministry.com about why collegiate ministry is so important. He acrostically expresses in detail what I generally say in my own rambling fashion: I get to take people at that time in their lives when they make the majority of the life-shaping decisions they will make for themselves, and help them centre their lives on Jesus and His way of love. In a setting that generally encourages people towards self-serving reasons for study (make more money, have a better lifestyle, do what you love, self discovery, pottery is cool, etc.), we need those voices that say to students, “You’re meant for more than yourself. This is a place to learn so that you can, in some way, become an even greater blessing to the world.” See, rambling. Check out Steve’s acronym for order and concision.

If you’re like me, you have conversations on a fairly regular basis where you explain to people why you value working with college students. I’ve used a simple acronym, PATHS, to remind myself and others why this ministry is so important. PATHS stands for Priority, Ambition, Trajectory, Heart, and Strategic. From Why I Love Ministry to College Students (and you should too) (collegeministry.com)

Filed under: quotes Tagged: bsm, bsmucalgary, bsu, campus ministry, college ministry

digital sea scrolls

nick — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 04:46:34 +0000

Budding Hebrew scholars rejoice! Thanks to Google, the dead sea scrolls are now digital.

Filed under: resources Tagged: bible

liking josh garrels

nick — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:45:16 +0000

I’m really diggin’ Josh Garrels. His new album is an unfortunately rare thing: good music, creative, and overtly Christian. Since he’s giving it away, it’s the perfect price for a student at the beginning of another semester.

Filed under: interesting, resources Tagged: download, music

2:30 a photo project

nick — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:30:49 +0000

My wife, Cerena, and I have started a new photo project, thus joining the swelling ranks of amateur iphoneographers. We’ll be taking and posting one photo each per day for thirty days using nothing but our phones. It’s a way for us to play and have fun together, and it’s a poetic project, meant to get us to see our days and worlds differently, and maybe to help you do the same.

Filed under: interesting, life Tagged: art, creativity, iphoneography, life, photography, poetry