Category: Education

The Abandonment of Biblical Education

I’ve been cataloging the biggest failures of the church in our day, beginning with a watered-down salvation message, then on to our lack of renewed minds when it comes to putting the faith into practice, allowing worldly thinking to dominate. There’s one more leg on the three-legged stool of failure—the abandonment of Biblical education. In early America, most education was centered in the church or home, and the lion’s share of the home-schooled portion of society was Christian also. That… Read more »

Happy New Year? Why Would We Think So?

On January 1st each year we fall into a pattern long emblazoned on our psyche of saying “Happy New Year!” I realize it’s mostly a hope that we hold out, expecting that things certainly have to be better this time around. But on what basis do we hold to such a hope? Is there a solid reason for hoping, or is this more a shadowy, wispy type of wishful thinking? For me, on a personal level, I have what I… Read more »

My Teaching Ministry–Final Thoughts

When I began this series last week, I didn’t know it would last this many days. I had thought of providing a general overview, but as it progressed, I sought to share more details. I left out a lot of the pain. As I’ve told a number of people recently, the fact that I still believe in Christian higher education is one of the Lord’s minor miracles. There was a period in which I seriously debated within myself whether to… Read more »

My Teaching Ministry–Part VII

While at Patrick Henry, I had searched for a new position for a couple of years, with nothing solid in sight. Then through a third party, I learned Southeastern University (SEU) in Lakeland, Florida, had an open history position as it sought to grow the degree program. I had never heard of SEU. One Google search later, I sent my CV via e-mail. A few hours later, I got a phone call. The next week I had an on-site interview,… Read more »

My Teaching Ministry–Part VI

Like the prophet Daniel, I could see the handwriting on the wall with respect to my future at Regent, so I began to seek another position.I wanted to teach in a place where I could unite wholeheartedly with the overall mission. Patrick Henry College (PHC) had begun in 2000, the same year as the Regent upheavals. The founding father of the college, Michael Farris, was a lawyer who had also founded the Home School Legal Defense Association. I knew the… Read more »

My Teaching Ministry–Part V

The Lord has His times and places. Prior to teaching at Indiana Wesleyan, I had been an adjunct at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. My teaching had been well received there, and I had hoped for a full-time position, but none was available at that time. But as my fifth year at Indiana Wesleyan was ending, the door opened—providentially, I believe—to return to Regent to teach in the master’s program in the Robertson School of Government. For me, this… Read more »

My Teaching Ministry–Part IV

After the Lord turned my heart around again, I sought to teach fulltime at a Christian university. During my adjunct stint at Regent—the same time the Lord spoke to me while driving the car (see last Friday’s post)—one of my students informed me that there was an opening for a history professor at the university where he had just received his undergraduate degree. Since he was impressed with my teaching, he opened the door by contacting the department chair. I… Read more »