Almost 15 years ago the Christian student groups here at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia were holding a “Jesus Week” and wanted a panel of Christian professors to answer any faith-related questions that students might have. This sounded scary — Christianity has generally been viewed very critically by faculty and students here in Canada. […]
It was the end of my first lecture and a student in the back left-hand corner of the auditorium raised their hand to ask the third, and final, question. After being called on, he voiced rather loudly, “So, were you a virgin when you married your wife?” Not a typical question a student asks their […]
This was a first for me – I had never attended a conference for Christian faculty, despite having been a professor for over 20 years. Nor had I expected to ever attend such a conference. And yet, there I sat on the stage, not only attending, but pounding on a cajon, while my colleague, Janet, […]
A saint in our small church, Myra, approached me one Sunday. Myra is the same woman who prayed for me 20 years ago to marry Beth, my wonderful wife of now 20 years. Myra said, “I have been praying for more elders to be part of the leadership of our church, and I have been praying […]
I am stepping back into academia this year after a two-year detour working at my church. This brings with it a fresh excitement for returning to Boise State and engaging in ministry with students and faculty here. What I wasn’t prepared for – and have been pleasantly surprised by – is the movement of Christ […]
As I neared retirement, I was apprehensive about what I would do. The world has a view of retirement that differs significantly from the biblical view of service to The Kingdom. Many who follow the world’s egocentric advice end up being bored, isolated, and purposeless. Contrastingly, Christians recognize Solomon’s counsel in Proverbs 16:9: “The mind […]
During my senior year of undergrad, I signed up for a class far outside my mechanical engineering curriculum—Freud Debates Lewis—offered through the honors college. As someone who had grown up loving C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but had never studied Freud, I was intrigued by the chance to explore faith, culture, and reason […]
My husband James and I met as students at the University of Florida. Four years ago, we were grateful that God led us back as faculty, opening opportunities to engage with current students, and join my home department of Microbiology and Cell Science. For several years, on each of my birthdays, I seek a word […]
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 The trouble was—I had become just that: weary. On the outside, everything in my ministry at work looked the same. I identified myself as a Christian in the classroom, […]
As a young mechanical engineering professor in the 1990s, I was blessed to have senior colleagues who were strong believers. That made it easy for me to be open about my Christian faith with other faculty. I still had fears about sharing with students until I sat in a class with one of those senior […]
