Preface
Robert Boyle, illustrious scientist and Fellow of the Royal Society, described how, while in Geneva on a continental holiday, he underwent a conversion from nominal, unthinking Christianity to committed Christianity. As a result of his experiences, he stressed the need for Christians to have what he called an “examined faith.” [1]
John Stott, discussing Paul’s letter to the Christians in Philippi, drew attention to the importance for all Christians to heed the apostle’s exhortation to “contend for the faith of the Gospel.” He continues, “This describes a combination of evangelism and apologetics, not only proclaiming the gospel, but also defending it and arguing for its truth.”[2]
Echoing the views of Robert Boyle and John Stott, Mark Noll says, “If what we claim about Jesus Christ is true, then evangelicals should be among the most active, most serious, and most open-minded advocates of general human learning.” [Read more…] about Time to discuss faith, psychology and neuroscience?
Mentoring
Find Your Voice and Own It: Women and the Academic Life
Thank-you to J. Nathan Matias (@natematias), Research Assistant, MIT Media Lab Center for Civic Media, for venturing into and reporting on Women and the Academic Life as part of his Urbana12 series.* We’re looking forward to your responses to this material — any seminar participants with thoughts to add? Note: In addition to ESN’s mentoring resources, be sure to visit The Well – a website designed to support women in graduate and professional schools and women faculty as they seek, in their full and complex lives, to be followers of Christ. ~ Thomas B. Grosh IV, Associate Director of ESN.
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This weekend, I’m at Urbana, a gathering of Christian students interested in the work of the church worldwide. Over the last few days, I have been blogging seminars, in which a speaker gives a talk to around 50-60 participants.
What can Christian women expect from an academic life, and how can they flourish despite the challenges they face among families, churches, and university culture itself? Addressing this question is Dr Janet Clark, vice president and dean at Tyndale University College & Seminary in Toronto.
When Janet went to Urbana as a young person, she wondered if she would have to give up her academic interests to be part of God’s mission. And she was willing to do that. After attending Urbana, she moved to Borneo, where she lived and served for a decade. When she moved back to Toronto, she had a chance to reconnect with her love of the academic world.
Janet polls the crowd. About half of the attendees are gradstudents, a third are in gradschool, and a handful are in the middle of PhDs.
“If you have a love for learning, a love to teach, and an academic yearning, if you are being drawn to a missional life, these things are not necessarily incompatible,” Janet says. [Read more…] about Find Your Voice and Own It: Women and the Academic Life
A Christian Theology of Mentoring: History, Scripture, Virtue, and Discipline
Christians are characteristically convinced of the importance of mentoring because of the deep way it is embedded in their faith. Understanding God as Trinity presses on us the conviction that loving relationships are at the center of reality. We note that Jesus’ own ministry was centered on the mentoring of the Twelve, and especially the Three. This focus on the intensive formation of a “school of thought and practice†accounts in large part for the durable power of Jesus’ influence. Further, the maintenance of convictional and corporate identity in a minority movement also requires intensive and influential relationships. This is particularly the case for a minority not based in ethnicity or geographical concentration, but on distinctive beliefs that are not accepted and even arouse hostility in the wider cultural milieu. Finally, we are reminded of Jesus’ summary of God’s commandments. Unconditional love to God and love to neighbor of the sort we show to ourselves are the hallmarks of discipleship in the Kingdom of God.
[Read more…] about A Christian Theology of Mentoring: History, Scripture, Virtue, and Discipline
The Art of Mentoring as a Graduate Student
Tom recently posted about graduate students mentoring undergrads at Johns Hopkins. Graduate school offers many opportunities to mentor, whether that means chatting with your undergraduate students during office hours or introducing new graduate students to your department. Here are a few things I’ve learned about mentoring during graduate school.
1. Treat the person you’re mentoring as a less-experienced peer.
One of the things that most impresses me about my own mentors is how well they do this. They show respect for my ideas and projects, but they also offer wisdom about areas where they have more experience.
One of the best things you can do for someone you’re mentoring is to communicate your respect for their work, and within that context explain things that person may not know yet. When I’m open to learning from the knowledge and experience of those I’m mentoring, I’m more able to pass on my knowledge in turn. [Read more…] about The Art of Mentoring as a Graduate Student
The Art of Maintaining Relationships With Mentors
My last post ended with a section on following up with mentors, and I’d like to expand on that a bit here. In this post, I’ll look at a few ways of maintaining mentor relationships over time. Sustaining anything over years is a challenge, and maintaining mentoring relationships can be hard, however appreciative you are of a mentor’s gifts to you. It’s difficult to catch up with people, especially in academic life where there are so many time pressures. But here are a few thoughts on staying in touch with mentors.
Figure out a style that works for both of you.
Communication styles vary. Some professors find that writing long emails takes away from their energy for writing scholarship, so they prefer to catch up via occasional phone calls. Others like email because they can respond at their leisure and don’t have to worry about squeezing a phone call into a very complicated course schedule. Some people would much prefer a more substantial email every six months to a quick note more often, while others would rather hear from people more frequently even if that means less detail. As you spend time with your mentors, pay attention to what communication styles they prefer. Many professors will tell you up front which styles are most manageable for them; if not, you can often figure out from the way they tend to communicate with you. And of course it’s perfectly appropriate to ask a professor what’s the best way of keeping in touch, especially when you’re at a transition point such as graduating or moving to a different locality. [Read more…] about The Art of Maintaining Relationships With Mentors