Regardless of how one defines it, American evangelicalism is at a crossroads. The last quarter of the twentieth century was replete with signs of prosperity. Many churches, parachurch organizations, universities, and seminaries grew at unprecedented rates. Some analysts argued that the individuals populating those institutions were contributing to an intellectual renaissance. For example, in the…
Todd C. Ream is Professor of Higher Education, Taylor University, and Distinguished Fellow, Excelsia College. By almost any measure, Theodore Martin Hesburgh, C.S.C. (May 25, 1917 –February 26, 2015) was among the greatest university presidents of the twentieth century. Some historians may even go so far as to argue Hesburgh stands amongst the greatest university…
Todd C. ReamApril 15, 2017
Reviewed by Todd C. Ream, Higher Education and Student Development, Taylor University and Aaron Morrison, Student Development, Nebraska Wesleyan University Power is not what it used to be. At a point in time we now vaguely remember, a handful of newspapers provided an authoritative look at the affairs of the day. Such details were then…
Todd C. Ream and Aaron MorrisonApril 15, 2015
Todd C. Ream is Professor of Higher Education at Taylor University, a research fellow with Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion, and the co-author (along with Perry L. Glanzer) most recently of The Idea of a Christian College: A Reexamination for Today’s University (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2013). The university has collapsed into an entity…
Todd C. ReamApril 15, 2014
Six and a half years have passed, but I can still recall the look in his eyes. I met the Rev. Msgr. Gerard H. McCarren through a circle of scholars focused on the work of John Henry Newman. Father Gerry as his friends know him served (and still does) on the faculty at the seminary…
Todd C. ReamJune 15, 2012
“Beyond the Mind” by Todd C. Ream Taylor University recently began a new campaign with the motto of “Beyond the Mind.” Billboards brandished these words along with images of students. Atfirst glance I must admit I was somewhat perplexed by this effort. Passing one of these billboards on Interstate 69 in northeastern Indiana I thought,…
The possibility of fostering a relationship between religious faith and disciplinary forms of learning is now a common cultural feature of many Christian colleges and universities. What began at Reformed institutions as the movement to integrate faith and learning has now spread in various forms to a number of institutions. In addition, the promise of…
Todd C. ReamOctober 15, 2009
I. Introduction Although mountains reaching over 13,000 feet beckon in the distance, little to nothing is immediately present that can halt the advance of a wind that punishes all who dare to cross this isolated though immortalized swath of land. An occasional scrub tree is all that stands in defiance of this wind that serves…
Todd C. Ream and Christopher C. SchrockApril 15, 2009
Popular sentiment may cast the American family as portrayed in the 1950s and early 1960s as a Platonic ideal. Children were precocious yet respectful of authority—enter Wally and Beaver Cleaver. Wives were the matriarchs of homes which were always in good order—enter June Cleaver. Husbands were dutiful providers who arrived home shortly after 5:00 p.m.…
Todd C. ReamOctober 15, 2008
Through the eyes of popular sentiment, Islam is a faith with a growing number of converts and a surge of conviction. In contrast, Christianity is a faith in decline. Church populations are dropping and, among remaining Church members, conviction is growing more tepid with each passing day. Efforts to identify a locale where this sentiment…
Todd C. ReamApril 15, 2008
