Tag Archive: Life

Riding the Highs & Lows with Joseph

February 8, 2021 0 Comments

Last week in staff meeting I was reminded of a Bible Study I facilitated for the Origin Retreat last February 2020. For any who are sorting through the date — that’s before our Covid “lockdown” here in BC a few weeks later.

Several times over the last ten years I have lead students through long reads of Scripture. This one was particularly fun and deeply meaningful.

I’ve laid it out for you. In small groups someone would read the Scripture and then I would write out the questions. While they were answering the questions I would add to Joseph’s timeline. (Expand the picture.) I provided a bit of commentary between each reading and discussion assignment as well as some teaching that referenced, Dr. J. Robert Clinton’s work, The Making of a Leader. Specifically I as interested in Clinton’s idea of an integrity check. He writes,

“The God-given capacity to lead has two parts: giftedness and character. Integrity is the heart of character.

An emerging leader becomes aware of the importance of integrity through through integrity checks. An integrity check is a test that God uses to evaluate intententions in order to shape character. There are three parts to an integrity check: the challenge to consistency with inner convictions, the response to the challenge, and the resulting expansion of ministry.”

Dr. J. Robert Clinton,The Making of a Leader: Recognizing the Lessons and Stages of Leadership Development, 1988. p. 58-59.

I was also interested in helping our group expand their sense of time across their reading of the pages of Scripture as well as their lives. We are in such a hurry! Life happens (and that can be traumatic!) and we can loose sight of the fact that God is working. One of the pivotal questions and the great “aha moment” came when we figured out the years covered in Joseph’s life and added in the questions, “What do you hope will be true about you in 13 years?”

Read: Genesis 37:1-11
Q: What is it like to be the favourite? or to not be the favourite?
Q: What is it like to have ambitions or great dreams as a teenager?

Read: Genesis 37:12-36
Q: What kinds of violence or trauma can make a dream disappear?

Read: Genesis 39:1-23
Q: What kind of integrity tests/events are common between the ages of 18 and 24?
Q: How do you respond when people take advantage of you, your vulnerability, or your integrity?

Read Genesis 40:1-23
Q: Why is it important that Joseph gave credit to God for the interpretation?
Q: If you were a prisoner with Joseph would believe his story of innocence?
Q: What is it like to be forgotten?

Read Genesis 41:1-57
Q: What did God do for Pharaoh?
Q: What did God do for Joseph?
Q: What do you hope will be true about you in 13 years?

Read Genesis 42-43
Q: How is a moment of possible “revenge” an integrity test?
Q: Is this a high moment or a low moment for Joseph?
Q: How is Joseph still an “outsider?”

Now I hope you are not just riding the highs and lows with Joseph, but you are also living the highs and lows with God.

Discipleship, Leadership

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Six Confessions of Successful University Graduates

May 19, 2016 0 Comments

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With all the ongoing talk about whether or not a college degree is worth the expense, it seems like good sense to ask college graduates how they are doing. Gallup has done that and more. Gallup now has collected loads of data on what healthy thriving people look like. And then, in a project called the Gallop-Purdue Index, Gallop asked  30,000 graduates how they were doing, what they did during college, and then referenced their answers to a health or well-being index.

It turns out, that what you do in the extra-curricular realm during college, is what may make the difference once you are graduated and living real life. The thriving graduates had six confessions in common. The more of these confessions in their assessment, the better they were likely doing in their career, finances, physical health, community engagement, and friendships. So what were these thriving graduates up to during college or university?

Here are the six confessions of graduates thriving after graduation:

  1. I had a professor who made me excited about learning.
  2. I had professors who cared about me as a person.
  3. I had a mentor who encouraged me to pursue my goals and dreams.
  4. I worked on a long-term project.
  5. I had a job or internship where I learned to apply what I was learning at school.
  6. I was extremely involved in extra-curricular activities.

Are you enrolled as a college student or hoping to be one? Going to college is expensive. Not making the most of the time may be more costly in the long-run. The issue here goes way beyond your grades. So what’s in your control as a student? You can research your professors and choose accordingly. You can look for mentors. You can volunteer for long-term projects in clubs and community organizations. You can participate in paid internships and co-ops. You can get involved in organizations where you have interests in order to grow and develop relationships.

Want to learn more about the study?

Follow these two links for articles on the Gallop-Purdue index:
http://qz.com/384713/college-is-worth-it-if-you-have-these-six-experiences/

http://www.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/182312/college-worth-depends.aspx

Are you a college graduate? How did you do more than follow the “academic” path laid out for you? Do any of these six confessions apply to you?

Career, Education, Graduation

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