Please reflect on our initial set of discussion topics (and associated discussion prompts, not intended to be exhaustive) developed from your pre-pre-conference survey responses. Although there may be some overlap here and there, we will ask you to begin with one of these discussion topic for our opening Discussion Session No. 1. You will later have an opportunity to re-imagine your group’s topic, join other groups, or start new discussion groups as the day unfolds.
1. Purpose/Role of the Christian Scholar. What is the purpose/role of the Christian scholar in today’s Academy, and how has it changed in the 21st century? In what ways do Marsden’s and Noll’s ideas—along with the other legacy scholars—help reconceptualize and reimagine this purpose/role? How can Marsden/Noll be updated and applied to help Christian scholars engage faithfully and positively with today’s socio-political environment? Given the powerful hegemonic influences in the Academy against Christianity, and evangelical Christianity in particular, how can Christians continue to faithfully do the work of a scholar? How can the work and life of Christian scholars help re-imagine and reform the current state of higher education?
2. Faith-learning Integration Strategies in the Classroom. What are some beneficial spaces and creative ways for Christian views/presuppositions to be introduced into learning? What innovative teaching strategies can we use to help students engage with faith-informed ideas? How can we help students interact with ontological, epistemological, and axiological presuppositions that support/challenge a Christian world and life view? How can we construct cognitive frameworks that develop learners’ skills for empathy and perspective taking? How might a theology shaped by those on the margins influence our understanding of what it means to integrate faith into teaching and learning?
3. Faith-learning Integration Strategies in Research and Scholarship. How can we integrate Christian perspectives in our research in ways that resonate with those in the Academy? What theoretical foundations and methodological approaches lend themselves to inroads? Assuming pluralism has not made good on its promises for “a place at the table” for all viewpoints, what are the pathways for Christian thinking to gain prominence? How can Christian scholars earn the right to be heard and cultivate the kind of scholarship that Marsden and Noll talk about? How might a theology shaped by those on the margins influence our understanding of integrating faith with our research and scholarship?
4. Christian Scholarship and the Church. In what ways can and should Christian scholars support/help/equip the Church with their teaching and research? What tools can Christian communication scholars offer a politicized and polarized American Church? What are the criteria for effective scholarship that enhances the mission and purpose of the Church? How can individual churches work to cultivate a robust “evangelical mind” among their leaders, among their congregants, and within the culture of that church? How does the global church in its various forms shape faith-learning paradigms that have concerns beyond tribalism and resentment (e.g., war, famine, socio-economic inequality, structural injustice, etc.)?
5. Christian Higher Education and the “Evangelical Mind.” For institutions of higher education that have the Christian faith at the core of their identities and missions, how have they succeeded and failed at cultivating and fostering the “evangelical mind” in their students and in their institutional cultures? What unique pressures do they face as they seek to accomplish this work, and how well have they responded to these pressures? How can they encourage research and scholarship among faculty and students that demonstrates Christian views and perspectives? How can they better prepare the next generation of Christian scholars for ministry in the Academy?
6. Navigating Disagreements: Building Trust and Respect Among Christian Scholars. What strategies can be employed to facilitate constructive dialogue and collaboration among Christian scholars who disagree on political, cultural, theoretical, and other issues? How can we build the “trust and respect factor” for better working relationships among Christian scholars? How can we navigate profound differences and work together in meaningful ways that maintain healthy relationships? What role does humility play in maintaining healthy relationships amid disagreements, and how can it be cultivated? How can Christian scholars model forgiveness and reconciliation in professional and academic settings?
7. Creating Common Ground: Christian and Non-Christian Scholarly Collaboration. How can we learn with and from one another? What are some pathways for discovering or creating common ground between Christians and non-Christians? What are effective methods for fostering mutual respect and understanding between Christian and non-Christian scholars in academic settings? How can interdisciplinary research benefit from the collaboration between Christian and non-Christian scholars? What are some successful examples of initiatives that have bridged the gap between faith-based and secular academic communities? How can Christian scholars be a witness to their non-Christian colleagues?