Personal Faith

DISPLAY:

Handling Success, Handling Failure

As a professor for 33 years, I experienced a lot of failures. I have had: Grant proposals denied (even with great scores), Papers rejected, Presentation abstracts rejected, and Book proposals rejected. In my Christian ministry, I have failed many times as well. Sometimes I was too fearful or shy, sometimes too pushy, sometimes simply a […]

What Should I Do, Lord?

Because I studied chemistry as both an undergrad and a Ph.D. student, it’s hard for me to believe that I became a professor in a different field – electrical engineering and computer science. Perhaps even more surprisingly, I never thought about an academic career while I was in college. I used to be really shy, […]

When God Proves You Wrong

As Christian professors I believe many of us think of the university as being pretty resistant to the knowledge of God. Sometimes, God proves us wrong. This story may make more sense if you understand my background. An interest in science made me an avid reader in high school. It also cooled me toward the […]

What I Learned From Students This Summer Overseas

Hanging out with a Cru group of Cal Poly undergrads in East Asia this summer was an eye-opener. They were excited, energetic, and fresh — qualities a 77-year-old prof has in short supply. And while they were learning the language and customs of our host country, they were so alive to sharing the Good News […]

God and Sex

I walked to the podium and surveyed the hall—one of the largest at my state university, 440 seats, all full, with approximately 880 eyes looking back at me. They were all there to hear me talk about “God and Sex.” As a senior professor, I had been in places like this many times before, and […]

The Never Ending Pattern That Outlasts All of My Research

I believe that God has called me to be a professor. He has given me the incredible privilege of teaching hundreds of students in my engineering classes and working on cutting edge research. When I look back from the standpoint of eternity, however,  I won’t be surprised if this morning’s conversation will be far more […]

Why the Dean Called Last Night

During my undergraduate years, I began to wonder whether there was something fundamentally incompatible between higher education and being a follower of Jesus. In fact, I went through my entire undergraduate and graduate years at the University of Texas without hearing any of my 50-or-so professors ever identify themselves as a follower of Jesus. Some […]

A Common Call to Uncommon Contentment Part 2

/*! elementor – v3.6.4 – 13-04-2022 */ .elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px} Living Contentment out on Campus #2 What would our lives on campus look like if we modeled Paul’s approach to contentment as we touched on last week?  How does viewing our career as a Christian lead to different choices? First, we […]

A Common Call to Uncommon Contentment #1

In the course of a recent conversation, I said in a matter-of-fact way that I had made career choices that did not maximize my professional productivity.  And that I had made those choices specifically because I was a Christian. Later, as I have thought about what lies at the heart of counter-cultural career choices we […]

International Travel – Part 2

I never saw it coming—this potential for global impact. As Christian faculty, we can have an incredible and immediate influence around the world.  Here are some simple steps to take: /*! elementor – v3.6.4 – 13-04-2022 */ .elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px} 1. Develop the Right Motivation I’ve changed so much. As a […]