nicknamy.net

May 2012 Update

nick — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:02:31 +0000

Hello friends below you should find our update letter for May 2012. Make sure you check out the second page, a review of the past two months in pictures.

Download (PDF, 1.36MB)

Men Failing to Launch

nick — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:17:15 +0000

I read a thought provoking article today. You can read it here. I recommend taking the time to read it.

While I’m sure there are things to disagree with and argue on the causes of the state of young men today, it certainly was refreshing to hear a number of different options rather than an over simplified “the economy is bad” reason.

If you know me, you know I’m passionate about discipling and mentoring young men – college aged specifically – hence the college missionary thing. This is a trend we’ve seen on campus for quite awhile and it certainly has shifted more-so to the porn soaked, video game addicted side of things since I was a student some 7 years ago.

Often Amy and I talk about a number of solid young women we know – both students and graduates – who are waiting for a man to show up rather than a boy. We can get sad for these women, and I am, but my heart stays with the boys. There is a discontentment in their spirit that is hard to pin down. The guys I’ve worked with over the years know there is more out there than porn and video games, drinking and hook-ups but they’re struggling to figure out what and how to get to it.

This is one of my primary passions as I meet with young men. I want to be a man that “stands up for the weak and disempowered” (a definition the article offers for a real man). In my circles that’s often the young men. In doing so, I hope to provide an alternative path for them, one that calls them up rather than to settle.

March 2012 Update

nick — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:35:05 +0000

Hello friends below you should find our update letter for March 2012.

Download (PDF, 483.38KB)

November 2011 Update

nick — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:01:07 +0000

Hello friends below you should find our update letter for November 2011.

Download (PDF, 1.01MB)

October 2011 Update

nick — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:27:41 +0000

Hello friends below you should find our update letter for October 2011.

Download (PDF, 410.54KB)

Campus, a challenge to faith

nick — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:35:10 +0000

Often when I talk with folks about the work we do as missionaries on a college campus, I get this question:

“I hear today’s college campuses are really hostile to the Gospel, are you seeing that?”

I can only speak from my experience in the past 10 years at the University of Illinois, but certainly there has been a shift. The new atheists (as some have called them) have a strong voice, at times they’ve been hard to pick out against the hellfire and brimstone quad preachers of the past – both polar opposites, yet equally as hostile and alienating.

While I could go on and review many years of campus climate, I’ll let the words of James Emery White speak in this article. I believe they’re spot on.

I loved his conclusion:

“So this August, as you pack up your minivan or SUV to take your son or daughter off to college, give them one last word of advice. Not about binge drinking or safe sex, money management or proper nutrition. All well and good, to be sure.

Give them a word about their souls, and the importance of a grounded faith.

And then pray for them.”

James Emery White “Church & Culture Blog”