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In Part 1 of this series, we shared the story of how the Leading with Character Fellowship was built: a six-week community of practice scaffolded around the Leading with Character online course, designed to bring relational accountability, weekly small groups, and shared formation to what might otherwise have been a solo online experience. Two of…

About a year ago, the two of us were power walking in Seattle when the conversation turned to a free online course called Leading with Character — one that JoAnn, along with an incredible group of global scholars, had recently designed. The course was about to launch, and the anticipation was palpable. As someone new…

Like 82% of Christian higher education institutions, Baylor does not require students to be Christians. So this past month, with the help of my colleague Kevin Dougherty, I decided to drill down into our 2026 Senior Baylor Faith and Character data to find out about the experiences of non-religious students at Baylor. What are their…

As mentioned yesterday, one of the great things about many Christian students entering Christian colleges is that they often have a purpose, and for over a third of them, that purpose is a God-focused one and not simply to be happy, obtain comfort and security, or focus on themselves in some other way. For instance,…

Editor’s Note: This post is the first in a three-part series addressing how we deal with purpose and the good life in Christian higher education.  I remember having a conversation some time ago with the leader of one of the large Christian college partnerships. In the midst of the conversation, I found it surprising that…

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” – Mark 6:31 It has been nearly ten years since I resigned my position in industry as the CEO…

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson asserted that the pursuit of happiness was a self-evident truth and an inalienable right. The concept is everywhere, from advertisements to “happily ever after.” A search for “happy” on Amazon Books produces over 70,000 results and at least as many definitions of that word. We live in a…

It seems that highbrow fine art is in popular demand. The spring auction scene in New York shattered records, doubling last year’s total. (A canvas by Jackson Pollock fetched more than 181 million dollars.) Once-niche contemporary art spaces now charge hefty admission prices, and even fusty traditional spaces now attract tourist hordes. On my recent…

It was a simple question, but it landed with the force of grief. A coworker told me that both his parents had recently died. His family is Christian. They believe in Jesus, in resurrection, in eternal life. And yet, in a hushed voice, he asked what many brokenhearted believers quietly wonder: Do you think they’ll…

“This kind can come out only through prayer,” or, in some manuscript traditions reflected in translations such as the King James Version, “through prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29). These were Jesus’ words to the disciples after they failed to exorcise a demon from a suffering boy. The boy’s father pleaded with Jesus to heal his…

I have increasingly had an uncomfortable realization. It’s not necessarily one I thought I would ever even remotely embrace. Having grown up an avid reader of historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, detective fiction, comic books, adventure stories, and more, I have, like yesterday, always strongly defended the importance of creating fictional literary worlds and immersing…

I will always be grateful to my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Burick, for two things. One of these things I appreciated at that time. The other I did not. What I appreciated at that time was that Mrs. Burick was allergic to gerbils (she probably did not appreciate this fact quite as much). After bringing a…

Today’s post explores our list-making tendencies—and the deeper drive for accomplishment and control that often fuels them. As our entry point, I’ll turn to one of Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad stories: “A List.” It’s a gentle invitation to consider whether there might be better ways to spend our days and pursue our purpose. You…

The bird would cease and be as other birds But that he knows in singing not to sing. The question that he frames in all but words Is what to make of a diminished thing. --Robert Frost, “The Oven Bird” Aging and diminishment are not synonymous. There are hundreds of books and essays about aging,…

One of our goals in this essay was to synthesise three related books on trauma, from three distinct sources—pastoral theology, the social scientific (and secular) study of sports, and biographical material. We hope to have provided a starting point for others to research the sports-­theology-­trauma relationship and to think about how to support athletes holistically…

Deborah van Deusen Hunsinger, emerita professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and author of Spiritual Trauma Care: Theology and Psychology in Dialogue, is one of America’s leading pastoral theologians. Her latest book brings the latest trauma theory and empirical findings into conversation with Christian theology. Hunsinger states that the “overriding purpose of the book is to…

Our review of the literature yielded no publications specifically on a theological and psychological understanding of trauma in sports, aside from an interview with Rachael Denhollander and a book and two articles that touch on trauma-­related issues in sports from a Christian perspective (e.g., resilience and identity). There are several publications from the fields of…

After sixteen years of ups and downs on the LPGA Tour, I decided to retire . . . and with the help of a few trusted women, I started down the journey of speaking honest words about the trauma I had experienced on and off the course. . . . As I speak about the truth and feel the…

During my “tween” years, I devoured novels about Christian boys of my age. For example, I read most, if not all, of the Moody Press thirty-six-volume series about the Sugar Creek Gang, a group of boys who encouraged each other in maintaining their shared Christian identity. Even though I am grateful for the “wholesome” image…

For the past few years, my wife and I have enjoyed getting to know a husband and wife from Cuba studying music here at Baylor. Growing up amid persecution and poverty, they still developed a strong passion for the Lord and a calling to live that out through their music. They also are admittedly surprised…