I appreciate that Soerens and Yang do not make economic claims central to their book, but I also appreciate that they have examined some of the most common economic claims related to immigration. Read more…
Science in Review: Meet the New Boss, v4.8.23 of the Old Boss
I commend the whole series [on AI and Christianity] to you; the articles are brief introductions to a variety of topics in artificial intelligence and how they intersect with traditional Christian thinking and concerns, along with resources for more details.Read more…
Leaving Academia, Part 3
When I started applying for non-academic jobs, I felt directionless and did not know how to start. Providentially, I stumbled upon the simple realization that I can leverage skills and expertise gained in graduate experience to navigate these new unknowns. By adopting familiar practices of research, replication, and resilience, I became more organized, confident, and ultimately successful in the job application process.Read more…
Leaving Academia, Part 2
Now what? As it became clear that I would not have an academic job, I felt lost and overwhelmed. Having given no serious thought to a non-academic career, I wondered if my academic apprenticeship had any value in preparing me for life outside the academy.Read more…
Leaving Academia, Part 1
For the better part of a decade, my life ambition was to become a professor. I was confident that hard work and a few providential breaks would land me a tenure-track political science professor position. I believed that God had called me to a life in the academy, to be a witness pointing peers and students to Christ.Read more…
Imago Dei: Witness and Work (Part 5 of 5)
As someone who is involved in ministry vocationally, I have found that I have an interesting perspective on how many in the church understand the significance of work and its intersection with faith. I have encountered something of a double standard relating to the value of work for people who are in ministry positions and for believers involved in “secular professions.”Read more…
Scheduling for our Souls (Scholar’s Compass)
I’m not sure where you are on your academic path, but as a freshly graduated Ph.D., I am excited as I start a job as an Assistant Professor this year. It means I get to learn how to create my life schedule amongst a bunch of newness: new city, new home, new church, new university, new community (including new coffee shops!), new university, new colleagues, new students, and honestly, a new me.Read more…
Another School Year: Finding Progress in the Repetition
A few years ago, when I first moved to the University of Michigan as a campus ministry worker with Cru, I was fascinated by the return of the school year. I came from a small college, and the large university setting was mesmerizing. This year, I am not so chipper. Read more…
Summer Snapshot: Reimagining Work
This summer I have been focusing on reimagining work instead of escaping work. I started the summer completing one of the heaviest projects of my life, my dissertation. PhD in hand, I spent a good few weeks reflecting on how to “come out of the tunnel” after an intense academic year.Read more…
Loving Your Spouse, Kids (And Anyone, Really) While You’re Still In School—Part 4
Last week, I offered the first part of a list of hands on ways to love your family and friends in grad school. Here’s the rest of the list.Read more…
Loving Your Spouse, Kids (And Anyone, Really) While You’re Still In School—Part 3
So let’s take a step back and see where we are on the map. We’ve spent a lot of time on acknowledging our tendency to idolize grad school, and, why we do that. What are some practical ways to focus on God and care for others? Read more…
Loving Your Spouse, Kids (And Anyone, Really) While You’re Still In School—Part 2
But all this begs the question: why would we put our thesis or research in God’s place anyway? Read more…
Loving Your Spouse, Kids (And Anyone, Really) While You’re Still In School—Part 1
Shoot. As I heard the front door open from my basement study, I grew frustrated. I’ve been reading and studying all day and there’s still SO much more to do.Read more…
Book Review: Acedia and Its Discontents, by R. J. Snell
Acedia and Its Discontents is an exploration of the vice usually known as sloth, often thought of as laziness. The author argues that acedia is a contempt of all relationships and a destructive embrace of autonomous unchecked freedom rather than the love of God and the good work to which God calls us.Read more…
My Calling at Work (Liturgies of Calling, Post 2)
O Christ, teach us to rejoice in our sufferings. Teach us what it means to fill up in our flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ. Teach us what it means to suffer for the sake of Your body, the church.Read more…
The Courageous Christian Scholar (Scholar’s Compass)
Often, in the Old Testament, the familiar refrain, “Be strong and courageous,” is given by God to such leaders as Moses and Joshua. Biblical courage is not psycho-babble; it is based on the presence and favor of God, on behalf of His people, and is predicated upon God’s promises in the present concerning His future intervention.Read more…
Diligence in the Life of the Christian Scholar (Scholar’s Compass)
What is diligence? Related English words give us some clues as to what diligence is, words such as: endurance, perseverance, persistence, or to be committed and tenacious. Read more…
Learning to wait on God in North Korea (Scholar’s Compass)
I recently had another opportunity to teach a class at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), in North Korea. Each of the times I have taught at PUST, there has been challenge and reward. Read more…
Devotions: Bearing the Image of God (4)
“Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49). The goal of a redeemed image of God in humans is complete and finalRead more…
Devotions: Bearing the image of God (1)
Thank-you to Carl Shank for his earlier Devotional series on Wisdom. I look forward to this Devotional series on Bearing the image of God, a topic which the Emerging Scholars Network will give focused attention to in the coming months as weRead more…
Review: An Unhurried Life
In An Unhurried Life: Following Jesus’ Rhythms of Work and Rest Alan Fadling contends many of us are suffering from hurry sickness, and that it is not only detrimental to our bodies but also to our souls. We are going tooRead more…
What Is Ministry?
About 18 months ago, I stepped down from my position as Associate Director of the Emerging Scholars Network and handed the reins over to my faithful coworker Tom Grosh. I kept my toe in the world of campus ministry byRead more…
What I Remembered at Urbana 12
Last month’s Urbana 12 taught me a few things — for example, on a panel of three people, it takes a long time for each panel member to answer each question from the audience. The more important lessons, though, wereRead more…
Finding Calcutta: An “Advent”-ure
Have you found yourself on an Advent-ure as we’ve considered Finding Calcutta? Do you find yourself longing for and waiting upon the coming of the Lord in your life, your neighborhood, your discipline, your campus, your nation, the creation?Read more…