Author: Glen

Core Ministry Values

This isn’t a full philosophy of campus ministry–it’s more of a summary statement on my life and ministry.

At the core of my ministry lies a set of convictions summarizing my understanding
of the Biblical teachings on ministry and life.

I Must Nurture Intimacy With God: if I do not act out of a vibrant
spirituality, then I labor in vain. I must regularly:

  1. Pray:
    both with my spirit and with understanding
  2. Read
    His Word: for personal growth in addition to ministry tasks
  3. Attend
    Corporate Worship: participating regardless of my emotional state
  4. Meet
    With a Small Group of Fellow-Believers: for accountability and encouragement.

I Must Cultivate My Character: who I am is more important that
what I do. Character is a broad topic, but I consider these qualities
to be central:

  1. Honesty: neither telling lies nor slanting truth
  2. Consistency:
    acting on what I profess to believe in public and private
  3. Courage:
    disregarding personal consequences when facing moral choices
  4. Hard
    Work: doing the best I can do because God is always my boss
  5. Fiscal
    Responsibility: living within my means, being generous, saving for the
    future

I Must Build My Marriage: God gave me a wife for a reasonshe
is to be a friend and a partner in ministry. Plus, I will be married after
I retire. I ignore that fact at my peril.

I Must Hone My Skills: God deserves the very best I have to offer.
Therefore I read widely and wisely, and I earnestly desire book, conference,
and other resource recommendations from those I esteem. My goal is to
master the essentials of my profession. At present, I understand those
essentials to be:

  1. Spiritual
    Discipline: learning to live a Godward life
  2. Hermeneutics:
    learning to interpret the Bible responsibly
  3. Leadership:
    learning to help others act effectively
  4. Communication:
    learning to articulate ideas persuasively
  5. Marketing:
    learning to intrigue others with Christ and His Church

I Must Maintain Healthy Relationships: fundamentally, ministry
is about relationships. As a spiritual leader, I accept responsibility
for the health of the relationships I am involved with and will work to
deepen them.

I Must Rigorously Analyze My Beliefs: beliefs drive behavior.
I have a tremendous capacity for intellectual laziness and self-deception.
I must read the most challenging works and talk with the most challenging
people to test my ideas for truth.

Kim Harrison, from SMSU

I have been actively involved with Chi Alpha over this
past year. My family background is strongly Christian and I have participated
in the church for as long as I can remember. But when I came to SMS, I
was in need of more than the typical Christian support group. God has
done so much in me personally through the students and the leadership
of Chi Alpha. My small group has connected me closely with girls who
have brought me encouragement, accountability, and support. Relationships
I have built with students and mentors have been a vital part of my spiritual
growth throughout this past year. I most recently had the opportunity
to go to Inverness, Scotland, on one of the Chi Alpha mission teams. What
an experience! I was blown away at the things God was doing while we were
there. The highlight of the trip for me was the honor of leading a student
to Jesusa first for both of us. I have never felt such a freedom to share
Gods love in such a real and practical way as I did then. That moment
was one of the most precious I have ever experienced. My eyes were opened
to how seldom I have taken the time and energy to invest in those around
me here at the university. I now purpose to be intentional about impacting
my circle of influence. Please pray that God would continue to use Chi
Alpha and the students at SMS to make a mark for Christ on the campus.