A little over two years ago, before the pandemic, ESN launched our ESN Conversations, monthly conversations with scholars about the intersection of faith and scholarship. Over 400 people have participated in conversations. The early conversations weren’t recorded, mostly due to legal reasons, but also to give us a chance to learn how to do this.
By July of 2020, we had worked out those issues and began, with an interview of Elaine Howard Ecklund, to post these interviews on our newly created Emerging Scholars Network YouTube Channel. Some of our other guests have been John Inazu, Justin Giboney, Michael Card, Gordon Smith, and most recently, Dan Stringer, on his new book, Struggling with Evangelicalism. In all, we have posted twenty-two videos to date, with more on the way!
You may host or participate in a group and be looking for content, or maybe had a speaker fall through. You might find one or several conversations that address you group’s needs. Most consist of a 25 minute interview, and another 25 minutes of audience Q & A.
Perhaps the holidays will allow you a chance to view one of these conversations. Let me share a few you might enjoy:
Uncommon Ground: John Inazu
Our conversation came shortly after John and Tim Keller’s co-authored Uncommon Ground was published. We explored the idea of the uncommon ground of the gospel that is at the heart of the book and how John and other faculty at Washington University in St. Louis pursue uncommon ground conversations with students and faculty through the Carver Project.
Justin Giboney: Compassion & Conviction
This conversation occurred in the run-up to the 2020 election. Giboney’s ideas of political engagement combining compassion and conviction were so encouraging as a contrast to our deeply divided discourse.
Group Conversation: Power Women
This conversation is a delight to watch, for women or men. Karen Guzman, the director of our sister ministry, Women in the Academy and Professions, moderated a discussion with four of the contributors to Power Women, a new book exploring how women who are professors, mothers, and Christians have found ways to navigate these callings. There was much laughter, good practical ideas, and spiritual challenges in this conversation.
Michael Card: The Nazarene
This is our most viewed post on our YouTube channel. A year ago, Michael Card published a book called The Nazarene, with forty reflections drawn from his music lyrics. Most striking were his insights into the role of imagination in our study of scripture, and particularly the gospel narratives. Consider this ESN’s Christmas gift to you! It was to us!
We hope you will take some time at the ESN YouTube home page to look over the various videos, both for your own and others’ benefit. We would also invite you to take a moment and subscribe to the page and allow notifications to let you know when a new video has been posted. If you cannot attend one of our conversations, this is the quickest way to find out when it has been posted on YouTube. So, if you are not up for your 25th viewing of A Christmas story, stop by and check out our videos!
PS: Os Guinness will be with us January 5, 2022!
We are so thrilled to have OS Guinness with us on January 5 at 12 pm ET to talk about his new book, The Great Quest, on the life well lived. We hope many of you will join us live for that. Sign up for a weblink to the conversation is at https://tinyurl.com/ESNGreatQuest.
About the author:
The Emerging Scholars Network is always seeking opportunities to identify, encourage, and equip the next generation of Christian scholars to be a redeeming influence in the academy, church, and the world. As you have an announcement, a "call for papers", an event, a prayer request (e.g., campus, field, higher ed), a resource suggestion, a review, etc., which is in concord with our Kingdom of God endeavor, please send materials (marketing/sales material not accepted) for consideration to post via email or the ESN Writer Survey. Thank-you. To God be the glory!
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