Part of Our Scholar’s Compass Discussion Guide
Unit Introduction: Christianity has a long and rich tradition of intellectual engagement. In this unit, we’ll explore the question: What ideas might be connecting points between your work in your field and your faith?
As you reflect, you might find that ideas from your field help you understand an aspect of theology better. Or you might discover that theology helps you gain insight into something about your work. It’s okay if this process takes a long time, and it’s okay if your initial thoughts on it aren’t fully worked out. The goal of this unit is to start or grow your thinking, wherever you are right now. You may still be thinking about some of these questions 5 or 10 years from now or even further out, and if you are, that’s a very good thing.
This group discussion guide is designed to be flexible, so some groups will be doing all four units and others may only be exploring one. We have provided short notes on: 1) How the unit fits into the overall discussion guide 2) How the unit functions individually.
How This Unit Fits Into Overall Discussion Guide: In Unit 1, we explored some ways to love your neighbor through your academic work. Unit 2 is about developing the virtues that help you become a good academic citizen. Unit 3 focuses on navigating challenging moments in your academic life as you connect faith and work. In Unit 4, after you have practiced a number of other ways of connecting faith and work, we turn to connecting ideas from your academic life and the life of faith. This can be a lifelong process of growth, and it’s helpful for it to be rooted in loving neighbor, developing virtues, and growing through difficult seasons. That’s why we have made this unit the final one in this discussion guide. As usual, though, you can also do just this unit.
How This Unit Functions Individually: In this unit, 3 different scholars invite you to think about different ways to connect ideas in faith and ideas in your academic work. The first scholar reflects on how some large paradigms from theology help her think about core ideas and activities of her work in the field of archaeology. Another looks at how his experience as an engineer connects with his experience of reading one particular passage of Scripture. A third looks at a specific aspect of God’s character celebrated by Christians, and explores how practitioners of his field can emulate that aspect as a way to honor God. After 3 sessions, we hope you’ll have 1-3 ideas for how you might start connecting ideas about faith and your work in your field. They don’t have to be in the same mode as any of these particular authors, but hopefully these scholars will encourage your own creativity.
Session 1: Large Patterns in Theology & Your Field Area
Reading: Integrating Faith and Archaeology, by Eline van Asperen
Are there any large patterns you see in Scripture and theology that help you understand ideas in your field? Or are there ideas from your field that give you insight into Scripture and theology? In today’s reading, Eline articulates several theological patterns that help her think about what she is doing when she practices the academic discipline of archaeology. As you think about ideas from both your field and your faith, you may start to discover large intellectual patterns that illuminate each other. It’s okay if that takes a long time, and we hope that Eline’s reflection will help you find excitement for the journey.
Here’s a quick guide to exploring in small groups. If you’re having a fantastic discussion of one point, feel free to spend longer on it even if you don’t get to everything.
Small Group Discussion Guide:
Introductions: Each person please share your name, field area, and something new you learned recently. Examples could include a trivia fact you learned, a sport you recently tried, a new discovery in your field, etc.
Reading: Take 5 minutes to read the Scholar’s Compass entry silently & write a few personal notes on what stood out to you.
- Each person please share: What is one idea in this reflection you would like to think about more?
- Eline describes some core ideas and practices in her field and how they connect to theology. What are a few ideas you think about often in your field, or in a current project? Share 1 or 2 briefly with the group.
- Do you see any potential connections between those ideas from your field and ideas from your faith? If you want, you can take 3-5 minutes to write about this question. If you have some thoughts on this, describe some possible connections to the group. If not, that’s okay. This question is meant to start a journey of thinking about these things, and it’s fine if it takes a while for your thoughts to develop.
- Can you think of any encouraging examples of scholars who have connected ideas from their fields with ideas from their faith? Examples could include someone you personally know, someone whose books you have read or talks you have heard, someone from history, etc.
- Next Steps: Take 5 minutes to talk with each other about one next step you could take this week to keep exploring connections between ideas in faith and your field. If you have some ideas already, what would be a simple way to explore them a bit further? If you feel a bit stuck, what might be one thing that could help you move forward?
Session 2: Connecting Your Experience of Your Field and Your Experience of Scripture
Reading: Words of Authority, by Deryck Chan
In the previous reflection, Eline van Asperen models thinking about large concepts from our fields and our faith and how they might connect. It’s also extremely helpful to start with one specific insight connecting your experience of reading Scripture and your experience of your field. That’s what our next author does. Deryck Chan connects his experience of reading one passage of Scripture with his experience of a specific practice within his field of engineering. We hope his reflections help you imagine how you might do the same.
Here’s a quick guide to exploring in small groups. If you’re having a fantastic discussion of one point, feel free to spend longer on it even if you don’t get to everything.
Small Group Discussion Guide:
Introductions: Each person please share your name, field area, and one activity you do often right now in your work. Examples could include doing math, grading papers, conducting interviews, reading philosophy, etc.
Reading: Take 5 minutes to read the Scholar’s Compass entry silently & write a few personal notes on what stood out to you.
Discussion Questions:
- Each person please share: What is one thing that stood out to you as you read?
- Think back to the activities you described in the introductions, things you do often right now in your work. Can you think of any connections between any of those activities and your experience of reading Scripture? Are there other activities or experiences from your field that might connect to your experience of reading Scripture?
- What are some passages of Scripture you have read recently? Or passages that are especially meaningful to you in general? Do you see any connections between your experience of reading them and specific activities you do in your field?
- For right now, we’re focusing on getting started with these ideas, so it’s okay if they’re not fully formed yet. Do you know any pastors or theologians or other wise people who could help you develop these ideas further?
- Next Steps: Take 5 minutes to talk together about how your thoughts on ideas in faith and work are developing. Did you have any insights from the last reading that have stayed with you or grown over time? How might you further explore the ideas you talked about this week?
Session 3: Understanding God’s Character by Practicing Your Discipline
Reading: Creativity That Delights, by David Vosburg
So far in this unit, we have explored two ways of connecting ideas from your faith and your field: 1) Looking for big concepts from your field that connect with big concepts from your faith and 2) Starting with a specific experience from your field that connects with a specific experience of reading Scripture. Here, we explore a model of understanding one specific characteristic of God through the practice of an academic discipline. In this case, the discipline is chemistry and the aspect of God’s character is creativity. David Vosburg guides us in reflecting on this idea.
Small Group Discussion Guide:
Here’s a quick guide to exploring in small groups. If you’re having a fantastic discussion of one point, feel free to spend longer on it even if you don’t get to everything.
Introductions: Each person please say your name, field area, and one thing you enjoy doing outside of work.
Reading: Take 5 minutes to read the Scholar’s Compass entry silently & write a few personal notes on what stood out to you.
Discussion Questions:
- Each person please share: What is one thing that stood out to you as you read?
- Where do you see a space for creativity in your own field area? Can you think of any ways that your work gives you insight into God’s creativity?
- Are there other aspects of God’s character that you see a glimpse of through your work? What are some of the activities or moments of the academic life when these aspects of God’s character stand out to you?
- Is there a friend or colleague you would like to talk with about how you see God’s character in your work? How would you describe the experience to that person?
- Next Steps: Since this is the end of a unit and of the whole discussion guide (if you chose to do it in order), this is a great time to reflect together on what you are learning. As you look back over your discussions, what are a few ways of connecting faith and work that seem most likely to work for you? How could you imagine growing in your ability to connect faith and work over time?