Faculty Interview: Jay McGhee, Natural Sciences

At  The Ends and Goals of Higher Education in Twenty-First-Century America: Change and the Calling of the Christian Educator,  I had the privilege  of getting to know a number of Christians who serve Christ in higher education. One such faculty was Dr. Jay McGhee, who serves as  Assistant Professor,  Department of Natural Sciences, Northwest Missouri State University. In follow-up to our time together, I asked him a few questions regarding his life in higher education. We pray that you will find these words an encouragement as they “pull back” some of the veil of one Christian’s work-life journey in higher education. To God be the glory! ~ Thomas B. Grosh IV, Associate Director, Emerging Scholars Network

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What were the key moments or individuals that guided you toward an academic vocation?

Several factors guided me towards an academic vocation. I began college after a brief stint in  the U.S. Army, and one of the things I liked about the army were the field experiences. I had hopes that  through college I could pursue a course of study that would allow me to continue to do work outdoors.  I’m also a fan of John Steinbeck. His novel Cannery Row, along with his eulogy of his friend Ed Ricketts (a  biologist) really influenced me to try wildlife biology as a major. Eventually, I took a course called  Evolution & Genetics, which required some active research on my part as an undergraduate. It was my  first experience actually conducting science, and I loved it. When I continued my education in graduate  school, I earned money as a lab TA, and that got me hooked on teaching. Where can you both teach and  practice science? At the university!

How does your faith in Christ and theology of vocation influence your work as a faculty member in your  particular field of study?

Martin Luther once told a cobbler that the best way he could serve the Lord was to make good  shoes. In a similar way, I’m called to teach good biology, i.e. biology that is up-to-date, well-established,  and presented in a way that honors Christ. “Christ-honoring” in this case means teaching to the best  of my ability, and presenting material such that it doesn’t serve to dehumanize people, which can  sometimes happen in biology. If you aren’t careful, you can fall into conceptual explanations that work  off the assumption that people are basically glorified machines, and I try to avoid that. I also strive to  interweave teaching and research as much as possible. Rather than compartmentalize the two, I work  to develop research programs that undergraduates can easily participate in. This gives them a better  education in the form of hands-on training, and allows me to pursue research questions that I find  enjoyable, without really having to chase grant monies. I should say, however, that being at a smaller  school that focuses primarily on teaching really helps me to do that, I doubt I’d be able to pursue that  strategy at a research I university.

How do you nurture your relationship with God?

Primarily, I remain connected and committed to my local church. In physical bodies, cells that  do not remain connected to the larger body tend to wither and die, and I think the same principle is at  work in Christ’s body, the church. Christians that want to thrive in their relationship with God have to  remain connected to their “spiritual nutrient pathway”. In a healthy church, that nutrition for  maintenance and growth will come in the form of fellowship with other believers, regular Bible reading  and study, application of the sacraments (the Lord’s Supper and baptism) and a regular reaffirmation of  the gospel: Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection paying the debt for our sin, making us righteous in  God’s sight, sanctifying us and allowing for our adoption as children of God. I’m also trying to develop  an active prayer life at home (but it’s been tough going), concurrent with very regular Bible reading. I’d  also like to say, that although marriage in academia is not always easy, and certainly God does not call  everyone to marriage, my wife has been instrumental in my spiritual growth. Her love and support is  such that I do not think I could have grown the little that I have without it.

What books influenced you the most through the academic process? How did they influence you?

Books that have helped me develop how I think about evolution and science: Dennis Chitty’s Do  Lemmings Commit Suicide: Beautiful Hypotheses and Ugly Facts, Evolution: The Remarkable History of  a Scientific Theory, by Edward Larson, What It Means to be 98% Chimpanzee, by Jonathon Marks, The  Soul of Science, by Nancy Pearcey & Charles Thaxton. A book that has helped me think about ecology  from a Christian perspective is Francis Schaeffer’s Pollution and the Death of Man.

What topics must Christians be prepared to engage in today’s higher education?

Typically we have 3 missions in the academy: teaching, research, and service to the university  and the larger community. These are good missions, and a Christian professor can worship Christ by  performing these duties to the best of their ability. By focusing on these, I think we can alleviate the  smaller, passing crises that will arise every generation. As such, we need to be focused on developing  students into open-minded thinkers who are prepared to engage their chosen vocation so that they can  better serve society. While not directly evangelistic, a truly open-minded thinker may be a more fertile  mind for the truth of Jesus Christ. We need to develop enjoyable research avenues that help society  and reveal the glory of God (thus research does not absolutely require direct application). We need to find  ways as a college or university, or as representatives thereof, to serve the larger community. This acts to  spread the blessings inherent in the university (knowledge, resources, student workers) to those who  would not normally have access to it.