Articles for tag: Christian Higher Education

October 21, 2015

Christian Standard

Making the Grade

By Jim Tune Mark Twain spoke in 1900 on the value of an education. “Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail,” he said. “What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It”s like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won”t fatten the dog.” We need our schools in this movement of ours, perhaps more than ever. As president of the 2015 International Conference on Mission in Richmond, Virginia, October 29″”November 1, I”ve had the unique privilege of personally visiting nine of our Bible colleges and Christian universities. As I

December 28, 2014

Christian Standard

Churches & Colleges Working Together

By Jennifer Johnson At this summer”s North American Christian Convention, representatives from Emmanuel Christian Seminary, Ozark Christian College, Milligan College, and several churches participated in a workshop to discuss how our churches and our schools can partner to build stronger relationships and develop the leaders we need. “The changing landscape in America requires kingdom workers with a global perspective who can confront a secular culture with a Christian worldview,” says Phyllis Fox, director of church relations and the Youth in Ministry program at Milligan College and the coordinator of the workshop. “How can our Christian colleges and universities best prepare

October 17, 2014

Christian Standard

Higher Education and the Kingdom of God

By Wye Huxford The realities of the present are something quite different from our memories of the past. Nowhere is this more true than what we think about Christian higher education.  In Brian MacLaren”s A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey, Neo, the high school science teacher with a PhD, is having an exchange with Casey, a young lady who is considering attending seminary. Casey wants to know why Neo never advised her to go to seminary. Neo responds: “For someone as young as you, it would be so good if there was

August 24, 2014

Christian Standard

Just What Were You Thinking?

By D. Clay Perkins President, Mid-Atlantic Christian University, Elizabeth City, North Carolina After a board meeting for one of our excellent parachurch ministries, two friends, both of whom are very sound and successful in businesses, asked me what they thought was an awkward question. Both knew I had owned and managed two successful businesses and directed the business of a megachurch. “Just what were you thinking? Why did you become a Bible college president?” They went on to say things like: “Talk about a lousy business plan . . . the government subsidizes higher education student tuition with a plethora

August 23, 2014

Christian Standard

Collaboration: The Key to Strength

By John Derry President, Hope International University, Fullerton, California In 2008, I wrote an article for CHRISTIAN STANDARD called “The Future of Christian Church Colleges.” At that time, I anticipated challenges for our schools as they responded to changing demographics, new technology, and increasing accountability demands from government regulation and accreditation agencies. Shortly after the article appeared that March, our country entered the Great Recession. Virtually every industry was affected: banking, automotive, manufacturing, housing, retail, construction, health care, social services, and many others, including higher education. It created a new pressure point exacerbating financial challenges that were already severe. A 2012

August 22, 2014

Christian Standard

Training the Next Generation of Leaders

By Dean Collins President, Point University, West Point, Georgia When I think about the future of Christian higher education in general””and the colleges that come from our tradition in particular””my mind is conflicted. Will I operate out of fear of the brutal realities we face, or with faith that God wants us to do what we are called to do? About 13 years ago, Bob Andringa, then president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, predicted that in 25 years, 25 percent of Christian colleges would be out of business. I don”t know all of the reasons behind Andringa”s

August 18, 2014

Christian Standard

A Contrarian Perspective on Today”s Christian College Students

By Jon Weatherly Professor of New Testament and Dean of the College of Bible and Theology, Johnson University, Knoxville, Tennessee Conventional wisdom about Christian colleges doesn”t strike me as all that wise. Let me explain why. Having spent more than half my life as a student or teacher in Christian institutions of higher learning, I feel like an expert. That is, I feel like an expert not in the reality of Christian higher education, but in the opinions that other people have about Christian college students.  I have known many such students over the years, and some I have come

August 16, 2014

Christian Standard

College: It”s Different These Days

By Steve Richardson Chair of the Biblical Studies Department, and Associate Professor, Pacific Christian College of Ministry & Biblical Studies at Hope International University, Fullerton, California These observations are anecdotal and generalized. They are not the result of research but impressions shared by several faculty members who have taught more than 20 years at Hope International University in Fullerton, California. Many students vary from these generalities, of course. On the whole, today”s students are different in significant ways from their counterparts 10 to 15 years ago, and this presents challenges to teaching staff. Some of the statements may seem critical

August 1, 2013

Christian Standard

Point University Pursuing Merger with Montreat College

On Monday, July 29, Point University (West Point, GA) and Montreat College (Montreat, NC) announced the two institutions are pursuing a merger. According to a statement at www.pointmontreat.com, “Earlier this year, in a fortuitous meeting, representatives of Point University and Montreat College began discussions about ways the two schools could work together to improve on their current delivery of quality, Christian higher education. As the relationship has grown, they have discovered that their missions are very much the same. They are both committed to equipping college students to transform the world for the Kingdom of God.” The schools continue to work out details, but did confirm that

July 3, 2013

Christian Standard

Johnson University Merges with Florida Christian College

On Monday, Johnson University (Knoxville, TN) and Florida Christian College (Kissimmee, FL) officially merged and became part of the newly established Johnson University System. Florida Christian College is now Johnson University Florida. “This merger will advance the Florida campus by as much as half a century, which is the time it would have otherwise taken to build the degree options and opportunities that Johnson University has in place today,” said Kenny Funk, who served as most recent chairman of the former Florida Christian College Board of Trustees. “Within a few years, Johnson University Florida will have the expanded bachelor”s degree

March 15, 2013

Christian Standard

A Decades-Long Korean Connection

By John Derry When 100 international students arrive on a small college campus, it can present an interesting challenge as well as a wonderful opportunity. That”s what happens each fall at Hope International University (HIU) when we welcome study abroad students from Dongseo University (DSU), one of the top 10 universities in Korea. The students are accompanied by two visiting professors and study at HIU for two semesters. More than 500 students apply, and 100 are selected by DSU to attend the English as a Second Language program and experience living in the United States. The students are fully engaged

February 4, 2013

Christian Standard

Re: Formation — Studying Spiritual Formation in Our Colleges and Universities

By Jennifer Johnson In the last few years, several Christian church and church of Christ colleges and universities have created new degree programs in spiritual formation. It”s representative of a wider movement in the academic world; as Richard Foster wrote in a recent article on TheOoze.com, “Seminary courses in spiritual formation proliferate like baby rabbits.” However, these new programs are purposeful as well as popular””each one is designed to develop mature leaders who are growing in the image of Christ and taking him into the world. Here are several of the degrees and programs we”ve discovered among these schools. Lincoln

July 20, 2012

Christian Standard

Interview with Alicia Ellis Crumpton

By Paul Boatman Alicia Crumpton has made a midlife career change to lead a unique academic program with a global impact.   Tell us about your ministry.I”ve been doing ministry all my adult life. I was a consultant””ministering by listening, assessing, and helping people set and move toward goals. For many years I did that with businesses, from “mom and pop” operations to corporations and city governments. I think I am doing the same thing, but now my clients are international Christian leaders who are doctoral students.You just hinted at a major leap. Oh, it is different, but I think

March 25, 2012

Christian Standard

Christian Church Colleges?

By Darrel Rowland More students from non-Restoration Movement churches are attending colleges and universities associated with independent Christian churches and churches of Christ. Is that good news or bad? To find out, CHRISTIAN STANDARD contacted leaders of the movement”s institutions of higher learning. Those from 15 responded, together representing about 85 percent of total enrollment. The “good news” camp points to the benefits of exposure to faithful biblical teaching, which in several cases has led to baptisms””sometimes in college swimming pools. “We view having non-Restoration Movement students as a blessed opportunity to share our message with those who might never

March 20, 2012

Christian Standard

Interview with Terry Stine

By Paul Boatman After a career in ministry and missions, Terry Stine is completing his fifth year as president of Boise Bible College in Idaho.   Many were surprised when you became president of Boise Bible College. How did that happen? Well, my lifelong ministry objective is to preach the Word and go where God sends me. My end-of-life goal is to hear “well done, good and faithful servant.” Wherever God sends me, I go and I stay there until he moves me somewhere else. I”ve never looked to jump from one location to another.   But you have been

June 15, 2011

Christian Standard

Warm but Not Fuzzy

By Frederick W. Norris Earthquakes, a Pacific tsunami that reached California, shifting yet continuous wars, shaky economies. These events grab our attention with ghastly pictures of eroding life. There are, however, flashes of light that remind us of our abiding hope in Christ. God is not dead; neither does God sleep. The loss of schools for educating church leaders in the 1930s during the Depression, cultural secularism, and movement toward world war provided the conditions for the birth of our colleges. We made it then, and we can make it now, because God still rules. The courageous people who backed

March 10, 2011

Christian Standard

Our Annual Campus Tour

By Mark A. Taylor Several trends are notable in our annual “campus tour” this year. Our colleges have become externally focused. The reports are rich with accounts of mission trips and community service projects. Many of these schools are thrusting their students into the world for a taste of the service they will render after they graduate. Our colleges continue to strive toward excellence. Two are changing their names to reflect a redefined mission. Others describe new degree programs, several building projects, cooperative programs with other universities, and in one case, a total campus move. Although many of these colleges

March 9, 2011

Christian Standard

Why We Won”t “˜Lose Our Light”

By Gary Tiffin Christian church colleges and universities could be in trouble in ways we have not considered. Books about similar institutions in the last few years raise quite a few questions. Here is how the story often plays out: a Christian group founds a college, but over decades the relationship weakens and eventually the college frees itself from any obligation or actual alignment with its founding group. Then the college becomes independent and more secular than religious, with few if any remaining traces of its religious roots*. This scenario is not ours! We are not in danger of “losing

March 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Accessibility, Affordability, and Accountability: A “˜Spellings Report” for Our Schools

By Tom Tanner Consider these three numbers: 184 million; 14,075; 33. Is this some kind of new DaVinci code? No. These are figures that factor into any conversation about the state of Christian higher education among Christian churches and churches of Christ. Based on data from this year”s annual college report (see chart on pp. 16, 17), these churches support 33 different schools scattered from Alberta to Atlanta, and beyond the Atlantic to Austria. Collectively these 33 schools last year enrolled 14,075 students and spent just over $184 million. What do these numbers mean? Are they good numbers or bad?

March 11, 2009

Christian Standard

More Than a Matter of Percentage

By Mark A. Taylor Please notice one new bit of information in this year”s Christian college summary“”and tell us what you think about it! We”re speaking of the column headed “% Restoration Movement.” We asked the schools who contribute to this report, “What percentage of your student body has roots in Stone-Campbell congregations typically referred to as the Restoration Movement?” All of them except two, who don”t track this information, gave us a figure. What are we to conclude from the wide range of percentages reported? “¢ The percentage of Restoration Movement students enrolling in these schools is not, in

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