It has been a wonderful year at the Emerging Scholars Network! We’ve enjoyed great online roundtables, conversations, and book club discussions. The Early Career Track at the American Scientific Affiliation’s annual meeting built on our great partnership with that organization. We partnered with the Christian Scholars Foundation in announcing a $25,000 grant. We realized our dream of publishing our Scholar’s Compass posts in booklet form for use by individuals and groups.
Our blog has been a centerpiece of the Emerging Scholars Network. We’ve been blessed with great writing about the Christian scholar’s journey in the academy. This year was no exception. These were the favorite posts of 2021, based on views. If you missed any the first time, they might make for some great holiday reads.
10. An Artist Looks at Genesis: The Garden We Long For. Cam Anderson, an artist and former Graduate and Faculty Ministry Director wrote a wonderful series of reflections on the first chapters of Genesis from an artist’s perspective.
9. Vaccines: Try A Little Empathy. A writer for the Centers for Disease Control contributed this article, which could be helpful in some family conversations over the holidays.
8. Jesus, The Depth of our Reserves in Seasons of Weariness. Sara Chang gave these reflections for a group of Graduate and Faculty Ministry staff. She discusses the “double weariness” most of us have struggled with during the COVID pandemic–so pertinent amid a new wave.
7. Advent Reflection One: How Long, O Lord. This was the first of our current Advent Reflections series, written by the Vice President of GFM, Bobby Gross. I hope you will read the whole series if you have not already!
6. Incarnational Presence: The Incarnation Principle. Julian Reese, a GFM staff in Tennessee wins the award of the only person to have two in the top ten! This was the second in his Incarnational Presence series, a model for faithful Christian presence and engagement in our departments.
5. Incarnational Presence: An Introduction. This was the first post in Julian’s series. He quotes a non-believing faculty member at the beginning of the article: “But if you can become some kind of renewing presence, we’ll almost have to take that seriously. That, I think, is part of what Graduate/Faculty Ministries has done here at UT.” The series elaborates how we might become that presence.
4. A Christian Mathematician’s Apology: Integrating Faith and Mathematics. This was part of a longer article that Union University mathematician Matt Lunsford shared with us. Here is a post with all four articles and a bibliography.
3. Vocation: Discerning the Work to Which God is Calling Me. Former GFM staffer Jeremy Hatfield offers some very helpful guidance in discerning the call of God in our lives.
2. A Prayer for Graduate Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Cornell graduate student Rebecca Gerdes shared this wonderful prayer that obviously gave voice to many of our prayers!
1. Critical Race Theory: An Overview and Appraisal. Critical race theory has been a contentious issue this year. We asked Jeff Liou, whose doctoral research was on critical race theory and who serves as InterVarsity’s National Director of Theological Formation, to offer this appraisal. The article also offers several discussion questions for group.
We hope you enjoy this collection and that it whets your appetite for what we will post in 2022! And consider writing for us!
Bob Trube is Associate Director of Faculty Ministry and Director of the Emerging Scholars Network. He blogs on books regularly at bobonbooks.com. He resides in Columbus, Ohio, with Marilyn and enjoys reading, gardening, choral singing, and plein air painting.
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