“Dr. Ken, can I talk to you for a minute? I know that you are a Christian….” It was the first week of classes for the spring semester, and a student I will call Alice stopped me after class. She had struggled in a previous math class of mine, and I knew her slightly. I […]
Becoming a disciple of Jesus turned my thinking upside down in many ways, including the image of myself as a professor at a medium-sized, regional state university. The pre-pandemic Faculty Commons discussion group on the book “A Grander Story” resulted in a shift from seeing myself as a professor who happens to be a Christian […]
Is it possible to connect with students and be a light while teaching on Zoom? Yes—surprisingly—it is! As an assistant professor of Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin, I begin my classes each semester by talking about my three passions: theology, my family, and physiology. I relate theology to the motto engraved on […]
At the start of each semester, I ask my students to write a short biography about what means most to them. They each have a fascinating story; it’s just a matter of whether they tell it. Students are near graduation when they take my class, so they often express excitement, trepidation, and occasionally serious doubts […]
An inquisitive student in the vestibule just outside my large lecture room asked me a question before class that caught me off guard. He said, “On the ‘Meet the Prof’ website that you have linked on the course syllabus, I read your entry entitled The Wisdom of God or Man? I wonder why you, as […]
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” – 1 Peter 3:15 As the first day of class approaches, I always think about how to introduce myself to my students effectively. I have taken several approaches over the years, and the […]
Jesus has all authority and he has commissioned us to engage in the disciple-making process. The commission given in Matthew 28 is straightforward, “…Go and make disciples…”. As a faculty member for over 35 years, it is clear that Christian faculty are in a unique position to make disciples globally without ever leaving our university. […]
Recently, while thinking through the account of Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler, the phrase, “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him…” (Mark 10:21a, ESV) kept running through my mind. Each August, with the quickly approaching academic year, I begin to “feel the nerves” of another fresh group of students entering our program—joining those […]
Sadly, I have not been very open about my faith in my academic setting. Even though I want to, by the time I think about people’s reactions and what they would think of me, the zeal to say anything is gone. This began to change when I joined a Faculty Commons book discussion of “SENT” […]
Sadly, I have not been very open about my faith in my academic setting. Even though I want to, by the time I think about people’s reactions and what they would think of me, the zeal to say anything is gone. This began to change when I joined a Faculty Commons book discussion of “SENT” […]
