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One Sunday in the 1950s, when I was in my teens, my uncle and aunt had joined my parents for refreshments after our Sunday evening church service. Before the delicacies were ready, my dad guided my uncle downstairs to my basement aviary and aquarium room to see my nesting parakeets and tropical fish. As they…

May my spoken words and unspoken thoughts be pleasing even to you, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 TLB I could take a whole lot of words to talk about the need to pray for my students and colleagues and their families. Yet, I’ve found the more time and effort I put…

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 KJV Daily (if not multiple times a day!), I pray Psalm 19:14 for myself. As a professor, writer, and speaker, I spend a lot of my day, every day, occupied…

This issue’s book review section contains two review essays, each of which examines multiple books on a common theme, and four reviews of individual books. The first review essay, “Rest and Sabbath: A Review Essay,” is written by Amy Davis Abdallah, who teaches practical theology at Ashland Theological Seminary. Abdallah’s essay examines three recent books…

With today’s blog, I’m pleased to introduce the summer issue of Christian Scholar’s Review. Our Spring issue was sadly delayed, largely due to printing schedules, so I am delighted to have this issue in hand (or on screen) for many just as the academic year begins. With decades of the rhythms of the academic year much more real…

In a fascinating conversation published in Advance magazine a few years ago, Shirley Hoogstra interviewed Anne Snyder and David Brooks about their impressions of the kind of Christian education happening on our CCCU campuses.  Are we doing enough, Shirley asked, to be a “leaven” in the larger academy, helping “to transform things for the better?”…

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,…