A Ministry That Can Be: Some humbling and exciting thoughts....and prayers

 The very thought that I could again be focused to touch peoples' lives, and this time on the Colorado School of Mines campus...well, it's precious!  Since my successful application to Missions Door eight months ago, I've grown increasingly excited and marvelously aware of the opportunity I've been given. 

1977 Western Seminary Grad

I remember feeling this way in Oregon, in my early thirties. At that time I had recently graduated from Western Seminary. I'd been appointed by an international missions organization (the same one!) and I was trying to finish up my support-raising effort and move to Colorado. The move and support-raising success triggered an adventure at the University of Denver. It became a 15-year tenure at DU, of course now history, that saw scores of students come to Jesus Christ. It similarly impacted the lives of many precious members of the University's academic, administrative, athletic and faculty communities.

This past s-l-o-w eight months have prompted some interesting, albeit very unofficially prognostic comparisons between then, in my 30's..and now.

A young missionary family serving  the DU campus, 1987

• Then....I had never started a university-focused ministry before--especially on a campus with an earned reputation (at that time) that said to Protestant evangelical ministries, "Go away; leave us alone!" Also, outside of my personal experience as a undergraduate student, I didn't really know how a college or university worked or was put together. But now...I have that very successful ministry PLUS 15 years of administrative insight at Centers for Christian Study International and VP for Student Affairs at Rivendell College. I even helped start the college! 
• Then....fresh out of seminary, I had a pretty tight set of expectations for what a good, biblical ministry should accomplish. I had excellent biblical training and understanding around the rebellions and sinful nature of man. However, I had almost zero training or insight to practically love and support tragically fallen and emotionally broken people to move beyond their emotional ruts and relationship scars. But now...I have the academic degrees, pedigrees, 20 years of proven experience, and some modest confidence to recognize first my limitations and then those of the precious people God brings my way to empower them.
• Then....I was largely ignorant of university systems, administrative protocols and the reasons behind them. I really had little knowledge of how it all worked together to support student integrity, personal and community growth and development, or how it all contributed to a community-college/university reputation. But now....I've "been there; done that." I know it inside and out, backwards and forwards. For example, I've created the documents that support a student community's living environment and that help distinguish it as a healthy, supportive and cooperative system.
• Then....I was a young guy focused predominately on collegians. But I worked hard to relate and be relevant to the administrative echelon, to departmental faculty, and to the university's team staff--the grounds crews, facility and maintenance personnel, security, etc. But now....because I've "been there and done that too" I've found I can communicate easily with administrators, faculty, and staff on a peer level, share war stories and count battle scars--yes--of the professional and the life-relationship varieties. 

• Then....my general life experience was comparatively limited. Understandably, it made it harder for me to see how to make student development programs practical and progressively relevant. But now...I can see how and why I was near-sighted in my development perspective. I know, oh so much better, what to do, for example, in both supporting and training my own student leaders, but also in my attempt to galvanize more general curiosity and involvement of the student community and its diverse leadership base.  

OK...Please read this blog entry in context with my many other entries. I'm not really trying to toot my own horn, but I do realize no one else will do it for me. 

As you can tell, I'm genuinely excited and humbled to be in the position I'm in, this opportunity God has given me....again! I covet your prayers, your financial support, your insight, and your collaborative partnership. Again, if you have not been there already, please visit my web page at Missions Door (click there).


Dick