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The Soul of a Christian University

A Field Guide for Educators

Stephen Beers (author, editor)

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Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Abilene Christian University Press
Publish Date: April 1, 2008
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0891125205
ISBN-13: 978-0891125204

With firm conviction that all truth is Gods truth, the contributors to The Soul of a Christian University offer helpful suggestions and practical arguments that help transform the mundane classroom into an atmosphere of incarnational, interactive exchange that begins to restore John Newman’s ideal.

— Jay Kesler
President Emeritus, Taylor University

Combining a survey of the history and purposes of Christian higher education, critical approaches to faith-learning-living, and practical lessons for teaching, scholarship and service, The Soul of a Christian University assists faculty and administrators in educating hearts and minds.

Author and editor, Stephen J. Beers, is a Vice President at John Brown Univeristy. Other contributors include: Norris Friesen, Huntington University; Tim Herrman, Taylor University; Darryl Tippens, Pepperdine University; Wendy Soderquist Togami, John Brown University; Jane Klosterman Beers, John Brown University; Eileen Hulme, Azusa Pacific University; Thomas Jones, Taylor University; Paul Kaak, Azusa Pacific University; Kina Mallard, Gordon College; Rick Ostrander, John Brown University; Todd C. Ream, Indiana Wesleyan University; Mark Sargent, Gordon College; Mark Troyer, Asbury College; Skip Trudeau, Taylor University; Brian Clark, Indiana Wesleyan University.

Table of Contents

  • Contents
  • Contributors 9
  • Acknowledgements 13
  • Introduction 15
    Stephen Beers
  • Part I
    • Chapter 1. . . . 21
      Scholars and Witnesses: The Christian University Difference
      Darryl Tippens
    • Chapter 2. . . . 37
      The Distinctive of a Christian College: An Historical Perspective
      Rick Ostrander
    • Chapter 3. . . . 51
      Integration of Faith and Learning
      Stephen Beers & Jane Beers
    • Chapter 4. . . . 75
      Relevant Pedagogy for a New Generation
      Tim Herrmann
    • Chapter 5. . . . 99
      Managing Professional Interdependence: A Model for Christian Scholarship
      Tom Jones & Skip Trudeau
  • Part II
    • Chapter 6. . . . 117
      Collaboration: To Labor Together
      Norris Friesen & Wendy Soderquist Togami
    • Chapter 7 . . . . 129
      Finding and Sustaining Joy in Your New Role
      Kina S. Mallard & Mark Sargent
    • Chapter 8. . . . 153
      Meet George Newfellow: Sabbath Existence as a Way of Life
      Todd C. Ream & Brian C. Clark
    • Chapter 9. . . . 169
      Negotiating Leading and Being Led
      Mark J. Troyer
    • Chapter 10. . . . 183
      Choosing to Engage the Culture
      Eileen Hulme & Paul Kaak
  • Endnotes 195

Endorsements

This ‘field guide’ for Christian educators is distinguished by its holistic
approach. Addressed especially to those who are new to Christian higher education, it sets that enterprise in its cultural and historical contexts, and provides valuable guidelines for integrating faith and learning in classrooms and scholarship, and for engaging the wider culture. Beyond those more intellectual concerns, it adds wise advice for engaging in Christian education as part of a balanced Christian life that includes concerns for community, joy in one’s vocation, principles for leadership, and the value of worship and rest.

— George Marsden
University of Notre Dame, author of The Outrageous
Idea of Christian Scholarship

John Henry Newman once said that ‘a university is . . . knowing her children one by one, not a factory, or a mint, or a treadmill.’ With firm conviction that all truth is Gods truth, the contributors to The Soul of a Christian University offer helpful suggestions and practical arguments that help transform the mundane classroom into an atmosphere of incarnational, interactive exchange that begins to restore John Newman’s ideal. The suggested reading and endnotes are worth the price of the book.

— Jay Kesler
President Emeritus, Taylor University

In this fine volume, Stephen Beers and his colleagues succeed in surveying the scope of Christian higher education. The book offers both inspiring and helpful strategies for application for the practitioners who make the institutions of the CCCU places of Christ-centered excellence.

— Kimberly C. Thornbury
Vice President for Student Services and Dean of Students, Union University, Jackson, Tennessee