Review: March Madness ’14, Reads, Opportunities . . .

ESN March Madness ’14 . . .

A quick ESN March Madness ’14  round between “Finding & keeping vocation” and “Realizing justice in action” followed by a face-off  with “Diversity in higher ed” to see who goes to the finals to take on “Integrating faith & field” surprised me by starting with a tie in my own household. Hmm . . .

My wife has stuck to her position that  “Realizing justice in action”  is possibly the “most pressing issue for the Christian to engage when journeying in higher ed”. Do you agree? I’ll count the votes on Sunday night to begin the finals week.  If you haven’t voted in  ESN March Madness ’14 (and invited others to do likewise), now is the time to engage to make sure your vote is heard.

As I’ve shared before, this tourney is influencing our priority of focus as we prepare for Fall 2014. If you have a desire to address a particular topic or recommend a possible contributor (e.g., book to be reviewed, book reviewer, interview, offer a reflection), please let me know.

Must reads . . .

Below are a few pieces which really caught my attention, with lots more on ESN’s Facebook Wall 🙂 Please do not hesitate to share your must reads in the comments section below.

Michael Frost On His Book, Incarnate from InterVarsity Press on Vimeo.

• Last week I gave attention to  Mark Eckel‘s review of  Incarnate: The Body of Christ in an Age of Disengagement (Michael Frost. InterVarsity Press, 2014) on his blog  and some of the importance of conversation regarding the incarnation in our household, on campus, and in the seminary classes I’m taking. In follow-up:
  • InterVarsity Press  interview of  Michael Frost on  Incarnate  (also inserted above).
  • In this week’s seminary classes we discussed
    • “What is salvation?” for the second week in Survey of Christian Theology.
    • Philippians 2 in Biblical Hermeneutics. Note: I’m sure my paper on the “Christ Hymn” will lead to at least one blog post.
  • In case you didn’t notice, Mark Eckel’s Getting a “Big Head”?,  first in a four part  ESN blog series on  The Marks of a Christian Scholar: A Vocational Description (Part One), was posted on Thursday.  Yes,  I am very excited to have Mark join the growing team of contributors to the ESN Blog!
• “‘How does one educate a million village girls? One at a time.’ In this award-winning story, Priscilla Kelso shares her heart for girls growing up as she did, on an island in the Philippines, and her work to provide them with the education they need to move beyond the sugar cane field.” — The Well.
  • Comment: On Tuesday, When You Rise, Lift Someone Up With You   was posted as one of the winners of the “Call for Stories at ‘The Well’ (Women in the Academy & the Professions). What a powerful series reflecting the work of the Kingdom of God! I encourage you not only to read all the winners, but also to prayerfully consider with whom to share their encouragement and insights, e.g., family, friends, fellowship group members, Sunday school class, colleagues.
• On the ESN Blog, I hope that you haven’t missed . . .
  • Sunday:  Devotions: Wisdom – Convergence,  the second post in  ESN Devotions: Wisdom Series — a five week series by Carl Shank.
  • Monday/Tuesday: The reports by  David Vosburg  and Katy Tangenberg  on  “Developing a Christian Mind at Oxford”. Once again “Thank-you!” to Katy and David for their contributions to the Emerging Scholars Network blog as we seek to expand not only the Emerging Scholars Network learning community, but also refine our interaction with the resources upon which we draw and build. AND if you have material to share from conferences which you have attended and/or you desire to share about upcoming gatherings, please let me know.
  • Wednesday:  Tom Ingebritsen  picked up his  Christianity and Science series  with  Is Evolution Compatible with belief in God as the Creator?
    • Next Wednesday: Lord willing, Tom Ingebritsen  will address  What about Adam and Eve?  For a PDF providing material on the series, click here.
  • Thursday: As mentioned above  Mark Eckel’s Getting a “Big Head”?   is the first in a four part  ESN blog series on  The Marks of a Christian Scholar: A Vocational Description (Part One).  Part Two in queue for next week.
  • Tomorrow:  Lord willing, David  (The Urban Resident) will follow-up with Part Two of  Reasons: Why I am a Christian. Stay tuned.
  • Note: Although Bob Trube did not post on the ESN blog this week, don’t miss Bringing Discipleship and Scholarship Together –  Part One and Part Two on his blog (Bob on Books).

Opportunities

The Ends and Goals of Higher Education in Twenty-First-Century America: Change and the Calling of the Christian Educator discussion group is ready to get started! As you probably know, this is  tied to the March 2014 symposium with Dr. Santa J. Ono (president of the University of Cincinnati) and the upcoming 2014 Midwest Faculty Conference (June 21-27, Cedar Campus, Upper Peninsula, MI).

Below is Getting Personal on Twitter Pays Off for a College Leader — a Chronicle of Higher Ed video interview with Dr. Santa J. Ono. Note: The first part of the interview touches on why there are so few Asian-American college presidents in the United States. For more on this topic read his Chronicle piece:  Why So Few Asians Are College Presidents  (10/28/2013).

The Christian Schoolman’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

We purpose

– Gratefulness for our opportunities,  Appreciation for our giftedness;
– Precision in our reading, Accuracy in our writing;
– Understanding in our discussions, Humility in our knowledge;
– Thoughtfulness in our answers; Sanctification in our learning;
– Investment in our assignments; Godliness in our workmanship;
– Discipleship in our relationships; Commitment to our mission;
– Scholarship in our schoolwork;  Cohesiveness in our worldview;
– Increase for Jesus, Decrease for ourselves, Glory for our Lord.

May You make it so in us. Amen.^[1]

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Notes