Who am I? Who are you? Who are we? These are fundamental questions that define our identity and relationships with others. Answers to these questions help explain what matters for our existence. We often try to find value and meaning in external things, whether professional achievements, money, property, or influence over others. The search for…
Every year in my Contemporary Art class, I guide my students through a 1960s manifesto called Society of the Spectacle. Written by the angsty, art-adjacent theorist Guy Debord, it captures the philosophical energies informing contemporary fine art in a pithy and memorable way. Debord’s central thesis (informed by Marxist thought) is this: that modern society…
Katie KresserSeptember 20, 2023
In yesterday’s post, I shared my journey through finding my way in faith and learning up through graduate school. As perhaps for many of us, I then wrestled through this crisis of faith for the next two years at the University of Chicago and then Northwestern. I found a sympathetic mentor for my PhD program,…
Timothy D. HallSeptember 19, 2023
I recently took up an appointment at Samford University as Professor of Early American History after stepping down as Dean of Howard College of Arts and Sciences. I took great joy in serving in that role for seven years after coming to the university in July 2016 from my previous appointment as Associate Dean in…
Timothy D. HallSeptember 18, 2023
I find myself writing this post from what I perceive to be a rather unique position. After serving as a librarian at a Christian university for nearly five years, I have recently accepted an appointment to teach theology and apologetics in the school of divinity at that same institution. Reflecting on my time as an…
Joshua C. WaltmanSeptember 15, 2023
In Redeeming Work, Bryan Dik provides an accessible and data-driven resource for Christians who want to explore the faith-informed career paths that align with their sense of calling. He does an excellent job integrating evidence-based vocational psychology research with scripture, theology, and his own experiences to provide an excellent tool for guiding and exploring multiple…
Hannah J. StolzeSeptember 14, 2023
This year marks 20 years since I became a full-time professor in Christian higher education. As I look back, I recognize two distinct stages in my academic life, not unlike the “two halves of life” described by the Franciscan priest Richard Rohr in his book Falling Upward. The first half of my career involved a…
Derek C. SchuurmanSeptember 13, 2023
For what seemed like hours, I stared in shock at the words on my computer screen. In a course feedback comment, a student had written, using a racial slur, that I was not qualified to teach the course because of my Asian identity. There was also the time that a student openly mocked Asian cultures…
Paul Y. KimSeptember 12, 2023
“As humans we have two eyes to view the world; their combined binocular vision brings depth not available to either eye on its own.” — Sir John T. HoughtonJohn T. Houghton, In the Eye of the Storm ( Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2013.), 264. While curriculum vitae means “course of one’s life” its academic use normally…
Calvin DeWittSeptember 11, 2023
In an earlier blog post, I reported that public higher education enrollment shrank -4% between 2010 and 2019. In comparison, religious institutions only shrank -0.1%. What happens when we add the year 2020? We find that public university enrollment shrank by an astounding -8.4% between the fall of 2010 and 2020. In contrast, religious institutions,…
Perry L. GlanzerSeptember 8, 2023
For anyone familiar with the scholarship on vocation, Frederick Buechner’s ubiquitous definition that “the place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet” is hard to miss.Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABCs (New York, NY: HarperOne, 1993), 118. Those of us engaged in the teaching of…
Robert PampelSeptember 7, 2023
Ready or not, a new academic year is here! As soon as the calendar flips to August, my mind shifts from vacation to preparing for fall courses and setting goals for the new year. One goal on my list for 2023-2024 is spiritual wellness. Spiritual wellness is critical for my success as a Christian professor.…
Stacey BoseSeptember 6, 2023
As the publisher for Christian Scholar’s Review, I have the privilege of interacting with thought leaders serving in a variety of contexts including colleges and universities, foundations, associations, media outlets, and churches. Despite the challenging times we face in higher education, those conversations provide me with hope about the vocation we hold in trust and—sooner…
Todd C. ReamSeptember 5, 2023
Patrick B. Reyes, Senior Director of Learning Design at the Forum for Theological Exploration in Decatur, Georgia tells a story of contrast between his life and that of his cousin who died from addiction, diabetes, and lack of support. Like his cousin, Reyes is a Chicano from Salinas, California who grew up facing gang violence,…
Esteban E. LoustaunauAugust 31, 2023
Let everyone give as his heart tells him, neither grudgingly nor under compulsion, for God loves the man who gives cheerfully. After all, God can give you everything that you need, so that you may always have sufficient both for yourselves and for giving away to other people. As the scripture says: “He has dispersed…
Beth MadisonAugust 29, 2023
I am going to start with a controversial claim. I believe the famous phrase, “faith seeking understanding” is the wrong phrase for Christian academics to use to describe Christian education. Instead, a more biblically faithful phrase should be faith seeking excellence (and then understanding). Allow me to explain why. Some time ago David Smith asked…
Perry L. GlanzerAugust 28, 2023
Classes for the Fall Semester will resume shortly on college campuses. Most of the students I teach are freshmen and their experience with chemistry was most likely sitting at home in front of a computer during COVID. In other words, they have learned next to nothing about chemistry. To help make up for this deficit,…
Gregory J. RummoAugust 25, 2023
One of the leading models for the integration of faith and business is social enterprise and Mark Sampson is among one of its more notable practitioners. Social enterprise, however, is subject to the criticism that it represents an unstable relationship between capitalistic activity and eleemosynary intentions. Modern capitalism has created great efficiency in the economies…
Larry G. LockeAugust 24, 2023
In June of 1976 I was one of the speakers at a conference at the University of Dallas. The theme of the conference was “The Laity: A New Direction.” I was initiated there into a group of people who were to meet regularly for the next few years to strategize about promoting the cause of…
Richard J. MouwAugust 23, 2023
One morning in July I sat with some fellow faculty at the tail end of a writing retreat, and the conversation turned to the dawning realization that there is less summer before us than behind us, and a new semester is lumbering in our direction at what feels like increasing pace. Some shared their perennial…
David I. SmithAugust 22, 2023
