In my last blog post I mentioned helping out with the CCO, the campus ministry organization that trains sharp folks to learn about wholistic campus outreach, and then forms partnerships with congregations that are near college campuses. I allude to them in this column (sadly, their strict word count had me editing out whole paragraphs, cutting entire sentences, and triming some of my more colorful adjectives.) In an earlier draft I named Billy Ferrell as the fella sent by the CCO to York, now working out of Asbury United Methodist.
And, of course, in any talk about caring for the youth of the church, I had to talk about how Derek Melleby and Don Opitz's new book (see the advert over to the left) will help with the college transition.
Read my Sunday News column, "The Yearning of Young Collegians."
What do you think?
Is there somebody---church staff? Parent? College-age student? you could send it to?
Ryan,This is a great, great question. If I didn't know you, I'd wonder if it was call to reject such technologies as necessarily not humane enough. And that is a huge concern. But, you know, and I trust readers here, know, that these kind of things can be very helpful to alleviate disconnection.(Now that a customer has set up a Facebook group for H&M, and I had to have a Facebook account to look at the darn thing, now I've got a FaceBook. Will you be my friend?)Still (and I don't know what that essay says, but will look, shortly) I would guess that it is a truism that some folks lose themselves within the "world" social networking sites. [I've been "in" for two days, now, and feel sucked in and nearly overwhelmed already.] Is this healthy? Is this real community? Who else has written on this?? I'd be eager to read a valid and radical critique that is driven not by Luddit anti-tech vibe, nor an idolatrous techno-optimism, but is open to hopeful possibilities but tempered by legitimate concerns.Thanks!Byron
Byron~ I think your comments are especially right on, Not only considering the yearning that is felt by students as this crucial point of formation in the beginning of University life, but I think your points also address the loneliness that is also felt by most of these same students. To bridge the gap between church/home/school is crucial and it as much an action of the student as it is the local congregation....A Question~ Where do blogs and virtual community fit into on-campus isolation?? Does this online world leave an open door for Church culture? I'm thinking of some comments about online culture and social networking sites that I heard via danah boyd's blog http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts Just a thought~ Ryan