Everywhere we turn, critics of higher education press people like me for the financial return on the investment (ROI). Such demands have an appropriate place. However, not all of life can be reduced to numbers. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15:58 that what we do for God is not in vain. Such investments may […]
Staying on task often takes all we have. It means knowing our purpose. Those involved in Christian education often experience mission drift. We start out one way and end up going another. Knowing the purpose of Christian education is crucial. That brings me to two chairs. The chairs represent two poles of Christian education. Instead […]
Booth Goodwin, most recently the Federal Attorney for Southern West Virginia, came to Ohio Valley University to speak with students. During the visit he met with a local anti-drug coalition on whose board I serve. He reports that drugs seem to be everywhere taking a terrible toll on our society. I was glad to […]
About a decade ago three university professors (Arthur W. Chickering, Jon C. Dalton, Liesa Stamm) wrote a book called Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education, which addressed the growing movement to incorporate spirituality as an important aspect of the meaning and purpose of public higher education. They argued that higher education tends to focus on […]
Christians sometimes see only roadblocks to their efforts be Christians in a secular world. We can’t pray in schools. Our neighbors increasingly don’t go to church. Most Americas see Sunday as a time to sleep in. One significant open door that invites the spiritual into the secular is the chaplaincy. The United States military, […]
Christians sometimes see only roadblocks to their efforts be Christians in a secular world. We can’t pray in schools. Our neighbors increasingly don’t go to church. Most Americas see Sunday as a time to sleep in. One significant open door that invites the spiritual into the secular is the chaplaincy. The United States military, […]
David Foster Wallace in his unfinished novel The Pale King distinguishes between being valuable and being valued. Being valuable is about return on investment, profit margins, quotas met, touchdowns scored, cases closed and wars won. Being valuable is about production and accomplishment. Wallace notes that many people feel “as good as my last sales quarter.” […]
Working in higher education is a two-way street. Professors influence students, but students also touch those of us who teach. Caleb Dillinger may be one of the most remarkable students I’ve met at OVU. In his recent blog, he wrote, I am fully convicted that education shapes you more than most things in life. […]
Read the first dozen Psalms. The writers lament (or as we say, complain) to God about their world. Laments have a place. However, complaints ring hollow when we grumble about troubles within our control. Let me point to some common complaints that may be within our control: Everybody seems to cheat or lie. In Christian […]
Mark 10:13-15 13 And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as […]