The Doctor, My Job, and the Weed-Infested Flora and Fauna

Saturday at the park with my kids, I struck up a conversation with another dad. He was a doctor, like most of the people I meet in the Triangle area.

He asked me what I did. I paused. After all, we were having a good conversation.

And my line of work can often be a conversation stopper.

After the words "campus minister" are spoken, here-to-fore delightfully engaged and interested folks can often suddenly become very attentive to their children, become enraptured with examining the local weed-infested flora and fauna, or steal an exaggerated glance at their watch and utter in feigned surprise, "Look at the time!"

But rather than give one of the many evasive answers that I've developed or stolen from other IV staff over the years (my personal favorite from Kristen Greenholt: "I work at UNC for a non-profit, faith based, student leadership development organization) I told him the full truth: "I'm a campus minister at UNC."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, genuinely sounding intrigued, "I wish I had gotten involved with something like that when I was in college. Instead, I was so dialed into the pre-med track that those four years were pretty much wasted socially and spiritually."

I was deeply sobered.

One of my goals for my students is that they would graduate with two to eight friends who will stand with them in their wedding and carry them out at their funeral.

Further, my prayer that those two to eight friends will remind them of the gospel when their marriage gets hard and will encourage them towards Jesus as they get ready to meet him face-to-face.

This doesn't happen for everyone, but for the vast majority of my students, it does. And it has for the past thirteen years. In fact, I start to take for granted that most of my students graduate with this kind of gift.

Talking with my doctor friend at the park on Saturday was a gift from the Lord to me as I have a bunch of fundraising to do this summer--something that always makes me re-think my calling to campus ministry!

Jesus loves students. And what I get to be a part of with students during this season of their lives is uniquely wonderful.

And so I can be proud of what I do. I was reminded again to believe in it deeply. And even to be appropriately proud of it, in a healthy, God-honoring kind of way.

And I can even be glad to tell random people at the park about it--even if it does occasionally cut short their poor kids' trip to the park.