I remember my one experience teaching at a public university, which will go unnamed. I was an adjunct there for at least three semesters and thoroughly enjoyed the classes I taught. Student evaluations at the end of each semester were high, and it was my first taste of college-level teaching, prior to getting my first full-time position.
I recall fondly one student who walked out to the car with me after the last class session one time, telling me that what I had presented during class had changed his mind about abortion—he now saw how wrong it was.
Not so fondly do I recall one very loud and critical feminist whose age told me she was straight out of the 1960s, arguing vocally with me during class and then reporting me to the chair of the history department. The crux of her message to the chair was that I, with my conservative views, never should be allowed to teach there again.
The phone call I received from the chairperson, a woman I never met face to face, was cordial, to an extent, as I explained the perspective I brought to the classroom. She mouthed the right words, saying that all views should be allowed—after all, everyone believes in free speech, right?
I got off the phone thinking everything was fine. I was never asked to teach there again, despite the positive student reviews. One radical feminist got me tossed.
I can’t imagine what would happen to me today if I ever tried to teach at another public university. The attitudes have hardened considerably since the 1980s.
This is why I’m so grateful that the Lord has opened doors for me to teach at Christian colleges and universities for the last 27 years. Yes, I’ve had my heartaches along the way, and, at times, I’ve joked that it’s one of God’s minor miracles that I still believe in Christian higher education.
Yet I’ve had the high honor of helping to direct the thinking and the lives of a few thousand students during this time. Also, I’ve been given wonderful opportunities to develop courses tailored to my interests: “Ronald Reagan and Modern American Conservatism,” “The Witness of Whittaker Chambers,” and “C. S. Lewis: History and Influence,” to name a few.
The Obergefell decision is the latest threat to the liberty of Christian colleges to be what God has called them to be. We are at a critical junction in this nation with respect to the future of Christian higher education. Please pray for our liberty to continue unhindered, and pray that those involved with Christian education remain firm in the faith, never wavering from the truths in God’s Word.