Why I love Student Worker Forum

Back in 2013, UCCF pioneered Student Worker Forum - a gathering for those in student ministry. I've been happy to be involved right from the start, and looking forward to the 2019 gathering. Before getting a few days' holiday and ahead of the fun all starting again at Word Alive, I wanted to share why …

Gen Z and the re-emergence of shame

One of things that you'll often hear in cross-cultural training is that Western cultures tend to be shaped by categories of guilt, whereas Eastern cultures operate primarily in terms of shame. When it comes to our actions, those coming from Western cultures tend to think in legal terms of innocence and guilt, whereas those from …

Reaching Gen Z through passing the TED test

Different generations learn in different ways. One of the challenges for those working with Gen Z is considering how to teach them in a way they find engaging. Gen Z are set apart from other generations in two important dimensions when it comes to considering this question: They are almost constantly connected to the internet …

Sharing the gospel with a ‘we-centric’ generation

Earlier in the week, I was privileged to sit in on a presentation by Meghan Grace, one of the world's experts on Gen Z (those born between 1995 and 2010). The session was inspiring and helped put language to phenomena I'd noticed among many of today's students. One of her points is that the things …

A convert to generational theory

Until a few years ago, I was sceptical about talk of generational distinctions. I’m a millennial and – though I like avocado – I didn’t feel like I matched a lot of what was said about me in the media. More’s the point, I didn’t feel like much of it described my contemporaries either. And …

Twenty stats about today’s students

Yesterday I went to the ‘Secret Life of Students’ conference organised by WonkHE. There was a tremendous amount of input over a wide range of aspects of students’ experiences. I plan to share some of the things that stood out to me in the coming days, and what they might mean for those of us …

My top 10 reads of 2018

This time last year I shared my top ten reads of the preceding year; a few friends have asked me to do so again. Like last year's list, not all of my favourite reads were published recently, but they are all books I have read over the past twelve months. There is a range of …

“I’ll be home for Christmas”: sharing Christmas hope from Mark’s Gospel

This week I've spoken at a couple of Christmas event - a Christmas dinner held by the CUs at Leeds Beckett University and Leeds College of Music, and then a more conventional carol service held by the University of Birmingham CU. Both were wonderful occasions - it has been terrific working alongside such passionate and …

Welcoming questions from seekers that are women

A couple of weeks ago, my colleague Nay pointed me towards this article published by The Economist. It highlights the massive disparity in men and women asking questions in seminar groups. But as this graphic shows, there is also a simple change that can be made to welcome questions from women. Men are disproportionately likely …

Review: Can We Trust the Gospels? (Peter Williams)

I remember the conversation clearly. I'd been chatting with the student for over an hour. We'd talked around a number of issues - some personal, some more academic. He was beginning to sense how different an outlook Christianity could provide him - on God, on the world, on himself. But then, as the conversation drew …