Download Participating with God: Christians Teaching in Secular

Integrative Teaching and
Living: Christian Professors
in Secular Universities
DR. KATHLEEN MAYS, EAST TEXAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
DR. PATRICK MAYS, LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY
What can we learn from the
Christian professor . . . .who
says, “There are echoes of
God in any field or discipline,”
or, “I cannot not integrate”?
Background and Purpose
Scholars grappling with the what, why, and how of . . .
◦ Faith Integration
◦ Dockery (2012), Harris (2004), Hasker (1992), Marsden (1998), Plantinga (2002)
◦ Christian Worldview
◦ Naugle (2002), Smith (2009)
◦ Christian Higher Education
◦ Holmes (1987)
◦ Styles and Methods
◦ Chewning (2001), Roller (2013)
Background and Purpose
Perry Glanzer (2008)
◦ “Engaging in the unfolding of creation by participating in the creational work of God.”
Dallas Willard (1997, 1998, 2006, 2012)
◦ The professor can use one’s academic field to experience God more fully, to understand
oneself as God does, to see others as God sees them, and to restore creation to its fullest.
◦ The act and art of the integration of faith and learning for Christian professors is to be mindful
practitioners of the reality of God’s rule in one’s life and in the world
Purpose: to discover through interviews and extended observation how
Christian professors in cross-cultural contexts are living integrated lives and
teaching with a view towards participating with God’s ongoing redemption of
creation
Methodology
# of
PHASE Professors
1
2
Academic Disciplines
Countries
15
Biology, Communication, English,
Environmental Science,
Education, Engineering, Music,
Philosophy, Physics, Plant
Genetics, Theology
Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Czech
Republic, Ireland, Kazakhstan,
Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico,
Nigeria, Uganda
20
Business, Communication,
Cultural Studies, Engineering,
Environmental Science, History,
Leisure/Recreation, Political
Science, Philosophy, Physics,
Psychology, Theology
Bulgaria, Czech Republic,
Ireland, Kazakhstan, Lithuania,
Mexico, Russia
Results
Theme 1: God’s truth is in the academic discipline
◦Just
◦Creative
◦Communicative
◦True and Beautiful
Results
Theme 2: The truth in the academic discipline can
lead to God
◦Making Students Ready
◦Emphasizing People Impact
◦Making It Personal
◦Encouraging Participation
Results
Theme 3: Effectiveness is sustained by an integrated
life
◦Putting Faith into Words and Action
◦Extending Invitations
God’s Truth In and Through the Discipline
God
Truth
Truth
Academic
Discipline
Some Practical Implications
Understanding the historical development and current research that
supports Christian values to cultivate an interpretive lens
Searching for real life examples of justice, creativity, communication,
truth and beauty within one’s discipline
Heightening the sense of human dignity in the teaching and
application of the discipline.
Exhibiting hospitality and human worth in and beyond the classroom
Finding suitable ways to indicate one’s allegiance to God
Suggestions for Further Research
Develop the diagram above into a full-fledged, working model, with
practical and theoretical dimensions
Explore the four Godly characteristics discussed in this research (just,
creative, communicative, true and beautiful) within particular
disciplines or families of disciplines in order to develop lines of
epistemological inquiry that could find resonance in the broader
academic world.
Go further in connecting Willard’s ideas on discipleship with
Christian professors’ practice of the integration of faith and learning
What can we learn from Christian professors teaching in secular
universities? When the support structures of the Christian institution
are removed, can one still be an integrated scholar? The results from
this study suggest a strong, inspiring "yes.” We found Christian
professors who recognize that God’s truth is already in the discipline
and that a holistic expression of the discipline can place students on
a path towards personal belief in God. We found Christian professors
actively doing, often under difficult circumstances, what many of us
talk about doing. We found them participating in God’s creative,
redemptive work through their teaching and scholarship.
References
Bartholomew, C. G. & Goheen, M. W. (2004). The drama of scripture: Finding our place in the
biblical story. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
Chewning, R. C. (2001). A dozen styles of biblical integration: Assimilating the mind of Christ.
Journal of Biblical Integration in Business, 6, 114-151.
Dockery, D. S. (2012). Faith and learning: A handbook for Christian higher education. Nashville,
TN: B&H Academic.
Glanzer, P. (2008). Why we should discard ‘the integration of faith and learning’: Rearticulating
the mission of the critical scholar, Journal of Education and Christian Belief, 12(1), 41-51.
Harris, R. (2004). The integration of faith and learning: A worldview approach. Eugene, OR:
Cascade Books
Hasker, W. (1992). Faith-learning integration: An overview. Christian Scholar’s Review, 21(2), 234248.
References
Holmes, A. F. (1987). The idea of the Christian college. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Marsden, G. M. (1998). The outrageous idea of Christian scholarship. New York: Oxford
University Press.
National Society of Professional Engineers (2016). Engineer’s creed.
http://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
Naugle, David K. Jr. (2002). Worldview: The history of a concept. Grand rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Noll, M. A. (2011). Jesus Christ and the life of the mind. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Nouwen, H. (1975). Reaching out: The three movements of the spiritual life. New York:
Doubleday.
Plantinga, C. (2002). Engaging God's world: A Christian vision of faith, learning, and living. Grand
Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
References
Roller, R. H. (2013). Twenty-one methods of biblical faith-learning integration. Journal of Biblical
Integration in Business, 16(2), 29-40.
Smith, James K. A. (2009). Desiring the kingdom: Worship, worldview, and cultural formation.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
Willard, D. (1997). The divine conspiracy: Rediscovering our hidden life in God. New York:
HarperCollins.
Willard, D. (1998). The spirit of the disciplines: Understanding how God changes lives. New York:
HarperCollins.
Willard, D. (2006). The great omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s essential teachings on discipleship.
New York: HarperCollins.
Willard, D. (2012). Renovation of the heart: Putting on the character of Christ. Colorado Springs,
CO: NavPress.