Models For Christian Higher Education

This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. This timely look at the state of Christian higher education in America contains descriptive, historical narratives that explore how fourteen Christian colleges and universities are successfully integrating faith and learning on their campuses despite the challenges posed by the increasingly pluralistic nature of modern culture. Written by respected representatives from seven major faith traditions -- Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Mennonite, Evangelical, Wesleyan/Holiness, and Baptist/Restorationist -- these narratives are also preceded by introductory essays that define the worldview and theological heritage of each given tradition and ask what that tradition can contribute to the task of higher education.

Bringing together leading scholars associated with Bethel University, this volume presents a distinctively Pietist approach to Christian higher education, which emphasizes the transformation of the whole person for service to God and neighbor.

This book is designed to help those who are interested in Christian higher education explore anew the unique features, opportunities, and contemporary challenges of one distinct type of educational institution -- the Christian college. What distinguishes Conceiving the Christian College from the many other books on this subject is its incisive discussion of a set of crucial ideas widely misunderstood in the world of Christian higher education. Now serving in his eleventh year as president of one of the nation's foremost Christian colleges, Duane Litfin is well placed to ask pressing questions regarding faith-based education. What is unique about Christian colleges? What is required to sustain them? How do they maintain their bearing in the tumultuous intellectual seas of the twenty-first century? Litfin's themes are large, but they are meant to refocus the conceptual challenges to Christian education in ways that will strengthen both the academic environment of today's Christian colleges and their impact on culture at large.

In this book, the authors first identify the "educational slogans" that often mark Christian higher educationó"All truth is God's truth," "Integration of Faith and Learning," "Holistic Education," and "The Personal Touch," for example. The authors then contrast these supposed distinctives with tacit assumptions prevalent in traditional models of Christian higher education. They first propose an agenda for existing Christian liberal arts colleges and then a new model called Ambrose House, consisting of interrelated phases. One chapter is a dialogue between two fictional characters, one defending Christian higher education and the other opposing it. Contents: Foreword; To the Reader; Prologue: A Rabbit Tale; From Slogans To Distinctives; Possibilities and Prioritites: A Dialogue in Which a Skeptic Calls Christian Higher Education to Task; Bandaids and Organ Transplants: Some Current Efforts at Innovation; The Skin of Our Teeth: The Very Least We Need To Do; Is Reform Really Feasible? A Dialogue; Epilogue: Serpents and Doves.

The decision for ministerial training institutions to become broader educational institutions that offer courses outside the traditional areas of theology is certainly not unique to a specific geographical context. While there are many examples of notable institutions making this transition in North America and Europe, very little reflection has been carried out in the global south. In this book, Dr Semeon Mulatu looks to institutions in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo that have completed or embarked upon the journey to university status. The study explores the motivations of educational leaders in pursuing such a transition, as well as the impact it has had or will have on the continued theological education and Christian mission of the institution. Here you will find answers to key questions such as: • What is lost and gained by a seminary becoming a university? • What are the challenges along the road? • Is it all worth it in the end?

This book takes stock of an important but often hidden aspect of American Protestant evangelicalism: its efforts in higher education. The many liberal arts colleges, graduate theological seminaries, and Bible colleges nationwide that serve evangelical traditions and movements have remained nearly invisible to the academic establishment until recently. The essays presented here reflect a maturing community of scholarship focused on the unfinished business of developing a thoroughly Christian approach to contemporary higher education. They offer new theoretical perspectives on the aims and bases of educating, candid assessments of shortcomings in evangelical scholarship, and concrete suggestion for effective approaches to contemporary problems.

The Toronto 2018 Symposium on Christian Higher Education provided an opportunity for leaders in the Canadian Christian higher education movement to reflect deeply on its development, current reality, and future possibilities. The Canadian Christian higher education scene comprises a wide range of institutions, including Christian universities, Bible colleges, and seminaries and graduate schools. Each type has its own distinctive history and likewise represents both challenges and opportunities. Even though they are intertwined in their common purpose, these higher educational institutions express this purpose in various ways. This volume is a collection of the papers and plenary talks designed to share the content of the symposium with a wider audience. The papers are all written by active scholars and researchers who are connected to the member institutions of Christian Higher Education Canada (CHEC). They not only illustrate the quality of the scholarship at these institutions, but they make their own critical contribution to an ongoing discussion regarding the role and place of Christian higher education within the wider society. This volume is intended to be helpful to students, faculty, staff, board members, and supporters of Canadian and other Christian higher education institutions, as well as interested individuals and scholars.

Our world is growing increasingly complex and confused—a unique and urgent context that calls for a grounded and fresh approach to Christian higher education. Christian higher education involves a distinctive way of thinking about teaching, learning, scholarship, curriculum, student life, administration, and governance that is rooted in the historic Christian faith. In this volume, twenty-nine experts from a variety of fields, including theology, the humanities, science, mathematics, social science, philosophy, the arts, and professional programs, explore how the foundational beliefs of Christianity influence higher education and its disciplines. Aimed at equipping the next generation to better engage the shifting cultural context, this book calls students, professors, trustees, administrators, and church leaders to a renewed commitment to the distinctive work of Christian higher education—for the good of the society, the good of the church, and the glory of God.