If you’re an official member of the Emerging Scholars Network, then you’ve received my recent end-of-the-year emails. (If you aren’t an ESN member, then why not join right now?) These updates share the good news of ESN’s recent activities and invite ESN members to contribute to ESN. Last week, I reported the great work going on here at the Emerging Scholars Blog, which you, of course, already know about! Today, I reported on the ministry that my co-blogger Tom Grosh leads in South Central Pennsylvania. So you too can know about Tom’s work, and have an opportunity of your own to support ESN, I’ve re-published the email below. Enjoy!
Thank you for your membership in the Emerging Scholars Network. There are now 3,800 students, faculty, and other members who share our vision to encourage and equip the next generation of Christian scholars. Praise God!
Last week, I updated you about some of the great things happening on the Emerging Scholars Blog. ESN has also been advancing through regional events and on local campuses. InterVarsity campus staff member Thomas B. Grosh IV has made ESN a core part of his ministry in South Central Pennsylvania.
South Central Pennsylvania Christian Scholar Series
Tom serves several campuses in South Central Pennsylvania, and his passion for emerging scholars is evident through his weekly posts for the Emerging Scholars Blog. To serve the students and faculty near him, Tom has partnered with Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church, Elizabethtown Public Library, and Hearts & Minds Books to create the Christian Scholar Series. Several times a year, the series invites a Christian professor or author to speak to the church, local colleges, and the wider community.
The series launched in 2009 with Andy Crouch, author of Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling (IVP, 2008). Other speakers have included Mary Poplin, Professor of Education at Claremont Graduate University and author of Finding Calcutta (IVP, 2008); Dr. Phil Thuma, director of the Malaria Institute at Macha Mission Hospital in Zambia and a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health; and Dennis Hollinger, president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. On February 19, 2012, the Christian Scholar Series will host Scot McKnight, Professor of Biblical & Theological Studies at North Park University.
I asked Tom to explain why he thought a speaker series would build on his ESN work. “Relationships are key to the Emerging Scholars Network, and listening is needed for any relationship to grow,†he told me. “The Christian Scholar Series gives students a chance to hear the professional and personal stories of Christian faculty. We also host follow-up conversations to reflect on how they integrate their faith and work. When these students become professors, I hope this series will help them be fully present as they listen to their own students.â€
The faculty featured in the Christian Scholar Series also serve as examples for integrating faith with academic scholarship. “The series gives an opportunity for scholars to share their research with a wider audience. This is a blessing to the scholars, the larger Body of Christ, and the whole community, as well as to young scholars seeking models for following Christ with head, heart, and hands.â€
We’ve already seen the fruits of Tom’s labor in many ways. A large proportion of ESN members come from Pennsylvania, and several of our guest writers connected with us as a result of Tom’s efforts. You can read more about Tom’s ministry in Central Pennsylvania on his personal website and connect with the ministry via Facebook
Support the Emerging Scholars Network
As you plan your end-of-year giving, would you prayerfully consider a donation to support the work of the Emerging Scholars Network? If Tom’s work in South Central Pennsylvania resonates with you, I also encourage you to support his ministry directly, so that the Christian Scholar Series can influence even more future faculty.
In Christ,
Micheal Hickerson
Associate Director
Emerging Scholars Network
P.S. Next week, in my final email to you this year, I’ll tell you about a different kind of on-campus initiative at The Ohio State University.
Donations can also be sent to:
Emerging Scholars Network
c/o InterVarsity Christianity Fellowship
ATTN: Donor Services
PO Box 7895
Madison, WI 53707
About the author:
The former Associate Director for the Emerging Scholars Network, Micheal lives in Cincinnati with his wife and three children and works as a web manager for a national storage and organization company. He writes about work, vocation, and finding meaning in what you do at No Small Actors.