How is God inviting you into His story this year? Read more…
Making God a Priority In Grad School: How to Avoid the Spiritual Comb Over
Two decades ago, I moved to a new city that I’d never visited before to start a post-doc fellowship. The work was interesting and the hours fairly regular, at least at first. When I arrived in the city, I wanted to make my walk with God a priority. Read more…
Remembering the Sabbath (Growing Spiritually in Academic Life Series)
In sharing thoughts on prospering in your life as an academic, I’m not going to tell you to work hard. You wouldn’t be reading this if you needed reminding!Read more…
Engaged Learning, YouTube, and Audience Needs
We have content that we want to offer, while our audience has content that they want to receive, and often somewhere else lies the content that our audience needs. Read more…
Engaged Learning in Church
W. Brian Lane shares some ways to use engaged learning techniques in church settings. Read more…
Engaged Learning: How Can It Help?
Physics professor Brian Lane gives us some approachable methods for improving student learning. Read more…
In June or January: The Myth of Summertime (Summer Snapshot 2018)
William Carlos Williams once wrote, “In summer, the song sings itself.” Isn’t that a lovely idea? It certainly captured my mood back in May as I danced around the proverbial maypole and looked over the vast expanse of the summer months blooming ahead . . . Read more…
Science Corner: Giving Thanks for 6 Years of ESN Science Blogging
Next month will be 6 years that I’ve been blogging about science and related topics for the Emerging Scholars Network. Which means that just about exactly 6 years ago, Tom Grosh called me up and invited me to write forRead more…
I Found a Postdoc in the Sciences: Now What? (Pt 2)
We figured it was time for a follow-up on what to do once you’ve found the postdoc you were looking for.Read more…
I Found a Postdoc in the Sciences: Now What? (Pt 1)
Postdocs occupy a weird, liminal space in the path of the scholar.Read more…
A Prayer for Those Finishing a Semester
One end of semester day during my own PhD study years, I went down to my local coffee shop and ordered a latte. The barista took one look at me and said, “An extra shot, then?”Read more…
Academic Writing as Christian Action (Masterclass in Writing, Part 12)
With today’s consideration of Academic Writing as Christian Action, Dr. Royce Francis wraps up his Masterclass in writing. I have been inspired by his weaving together of theological reflection and practical suggestions on becoming a skilled writer in general and within one’sRead more…
Writing in Obedience and Love Leads to Worship (Masterclass in Writing, Part 11)
What this means is that when we write to pursue an area of inquiry in obedient and affectionate response to the call of Christ, our writing is an act of worship that reveals both us and God in the process.Read more…
Characteristics of a Good Mentor: A Doer, Life Experience
To find a good mentor, it is important to have a strong sense of self. You need to know who you are, and what kind of person you want to become…Both mentor and student need to respect one another’s time, honesty, and commitment to the relationship.Read more…
Love (Masterclass in Writing, Part 10)
Your vocation, your calling, must be undertaken in love. It is a response to the call of the Holy Spirit into places you didn’t even know existed. He has selected a place for you in the body of Christ, and for us this includes academic inquiry.Read more…
Obedience (Masterclass in Writing, Part 9)
For the past 8 weeks, we have been reflecting on writing disciplines for an academic who believes in Jesus. But for the next four weeks, let’s talk about why your writing is important. I want to speak first about obedience.Read more…
Authority, Awareness, Attention Span (Masterclass in Writing, Part 8)
When writing, always consider the needs of your audience as more important than your own writing needs.Read more…
What is Your Trajectory? (Masterclass in Writing, Part 7)
As we are writing, it is not enough to focus on our community’s framing and rhetorical expectations. We must always look towards how we will become integral members of those who shape the direction of the community. Is your trajectory towards the center of the community of practice? What is your plan for developing a sustained, systematic program of research?Read more…
Where Are You Planted? (Masterclass in Writing, Part 6)
The goal of writing is to communicate your message with authority to your intended audience in the form they expect and the limited time they have. This post addresses the first of these A’s: audience awareness.Read more…
Master Yourself by Choosing Your Master (Masterclass in Writing, Part 5)
To manage your time well, make sure you know your Master’s voice. Otherwise, you may end up choosing the wrong master.Read more…
Discipline Produces Freedom (Masterclass in Writing, Part 4)
There is a question I have been thinking of for some time now: “What does it mean to say that I am free?” Closely related to this is: “Can I truly be free?”Read more…
Read Because You Love Ideas (Masterclass in Writing, Part 3)
I view reading as one of the primary ways we express our love for ideas.Read more…
Writing Starts With Reading (Masterclass in Writing, Part 2)
To some, it may seem counter-intuitive to start a discussion on writing with an imperative to read.Read more…
Written on Their Hearts: Writing, Worship, and Spiritual Formation in the Life of the Mind
Take a masterclass in writing with a professor experienced in writing, engineering, and teaching writing. Read more…