As we celebrate joyfully in this season, we often tidy frequently. Mark Eckel describes how the act of housekeeping fits into our spiritual lives, letting us enter into many of the same modes of experience Christian scholars often seek in humanities study. Reading “I understood with a clarity that I have experienced at few other times in my life, that getting to the grocery store was one of the things that Really Mattered. The dissertation could wait; dinner could not’I measured my days by whether, at the end of … [Read more...] about Scholar’s Compass: Housework is Anything but Ordinary
Evaluating Christian professors
The Marks of a Christian Scholar: A Vocational Description (Part Four)[1] Mark Eckel, ThM PhD, Professor of Leadership, Education & Discipleship Capital Seminary & Graduate School, Washington, D.C. By what means will I be evaluated? What will someone identify to show that I am a Christian scholar-teacher-discipler?[2] How will I know if my professorial life conforms to a standard? Assessment questions haunted me during my PhD research. Validation is imperative in any scientific pursuit. But how could I … [Read more...] about Evaluating Christian professors
“Time” to be imitated?
The Marks of a Christian Scholar: A Vocational Description (Part Three)[1] Mark Eckel, ThM PhD, Professor of Leadership, Education & Discipleship Capital Seminary & Graduate School, Washington, D.C. By guiding attention we take in our hands the key to the formation and the development of personality and character. -- Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky[2] My first stint as an educator was chosen by a four letter word: time. My training was in pastoral studies. But I was being offered a position as a high … [Read more...] about “Time” to be imitated?
Owning education
The Marks of a Christian Teacher: A Vocational Description (Part Two)[1] Mark Eckel, ThM PhD, Professor of Leadership, Education & Discipleship Capital Seminary & Graduate School, Washington, D.C. The true function of the teacher is to create the most favorable conditions for self-learning. True teaching is not that which gives knowledge, but that which stimulates pupils to gain it. One might say that he teaches best who teaches least.[2] “I do not want you to believe anything I tell you.” My mantra was … [Read more...] about Owning education
Getting a “Big Head”?
The Marks of a Christian Scholar: A Vocational Description (Part One) Mark Eckel, ThM PhD, Professor of Leadership, Education & Discipleship[1] Capital Seminary & Graduate School, Washington, D.C. “The Christian scholar-teacher must be a person who believes in Christian higher education, who is committed to the mission of his or her institution. It is not enough to hire faculty who happen to be Christians, even if they are fine scholars. We must find and keep faculty who are committed to the project.” … [Read more...] about Getting a “Big Head”?