FEBA Forever!

 

One of my favorite articles in psychology is entitled “Why I do not attend case conferences” by Paul Meehl (1973). In this humorous and sometimes biting essay, Paul Meehl explains the apparent discrepancy noted by his students that, despite decades of continuous clinical practice, he almost never attends case conferences in which students are required to present and discuss their clinical cases. His answer is that the intellectual level is so low that he cannot bear to attend, and he then ennumerates a list of offenses such as the idea that all evidence is equally good, the tendency to reward every student for even the lamest efforts, and other types of generally unscientific thinking.

 

The article is provocative and intentially offered as a polemic. Meehl is funny. For example, he offers “Uncle George’s pancakes fallacy…a patient does not like to throw away leftover pancakes and he stores them in the attic. A mitigating clinician says, ‘Why, there is nothing so terrible about that—I remember good ole Uncle George from my childhood, he used to store uneaten pancakes in the attic.’ The proper conclusion from such a personal recollection is, of course, not that the patient is mentally well but that good ole Uncle George—whatever may have been his other delightful qualities—was mentally aberrated” (p. 239). However, Meehl is not simply writing a humor column. He has a number of points to make, because he does care about the competent practice of psychology.

 

His points are not interesting here, but I am writing in the same spirit as Meehl to explain my paradox. I consider myself a fairly zealous Christian, but I do not attend Christian Faculty Conferences. I have a long history of trying to become a Christian professor in the secular university. After 5 years on the faculty, as I prepare for my tenure review, I have been reflecting on what I’ve done to get here and attempt to establish myself as a missionary to the campus.

 

I felt called to minister in the secular university before I finished high school, although I could not have articulated any coherent reason at the time. I chose to be educated at a Christian University (Biola University), so that I could learn to articulate and defend my Christian worldview. This is where my quest to obtain a position on the faculty of a secular university began. I have not wavered from this mission, and during my graduate education at Colorado University, Colorado Springs and The Ohio State University I remained active in my local church and tried to become equipped as a Christian worker. At Ohio State I tracked down the very helpful and kindly director of the Faculty ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. I have read (among others) J.P. Moreland, Dallas Willard, and William Lane Craig, and I have heard them all speak in person and via mp3 from various internet resources. I am acutely aware of the decline of Christianity in the University. For a real-life example, the director of Campus Crusade at Kent and I searched for Christian faculty and staff to start a prayer meeting. We found only about 6 people who were clearly Christians among the nearly 900 tenure-track faculty. So far as I can tell, they are doing very little to advance the cause of Christ in the University. I have continued to work in my local church, and now help to lead a home church and men’s bible study (comprised of mostly post-college twentysomethings with no children). I am a deacon in my church, an ordained minister in the state of Ohio, have performed several weddings for members of my home church, and am a trustee of my church. In addition to being in the teaching rotation for church and bible studies, I have preached in the main church service on several occaisions.

 

I consider myself a tent-maker missionary to the secular University. I invite graduate students and undergraduate students to my church, my home church, and outreach events sponsored by my home church. I share the gospel in my office with unsaved students. My efforts have not been fruitless, as a several students (and non-students) have received Christ during the course of my ministry efforts. Some become incorporated into my local fellowship and are discipled. Some leave Ohio when their education is finished. Others attend other churches, but continue to speak with me regarding spiritual matters. Together we plan coordinated outreach efforts targeting faculty and students whom we long to see receive Christ. I have not yet succeeded in building a home church of actual college students from my university, but I am working on it.

 

I have tried to work with local para-church missions organizations on campus such as Campus Crusade for Christ and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (during a very brief attempt to plant a local chapter). I have referred undergraduates to their meetings, and I have attended these meetings to observe them. I meet with the local director of Campus Crusade periodically, and started a faculty/staff prayer meeting with the former director (discontinued when he left and was replaced). I have also become familiar with the faculty ministries of Campus Crusade (Christian Leadership Ministry) and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (Intervarsity Faculty Ministry). I signed up to be a faculty mentor with Intervarsity’s “Emerging Scholars Network.” I have read Leadership University (http://www.leaderu.com/), have read the websites of Christian Leadership Ministries and Intervarsity’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries, and have downloaded ministry resources. When Campus Crusade sent some ambassadors from Indiana to meet with the faculty, I was one of the only Christian tenure-track professors to show up. When a Christian professor at another university hosted a back-to-school prayer breakfast, I’ve attended every year I was invited. When the new director of Campus Crusade showed up, I made a point of meeting with him as soon as his schedule would allow.

 

For all this, I have not attended a Christian Faculty conference or retreat. I will not be at “The Heart of the University” sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ in Washington this year. I will not be at “Spiritual Formation and the Academic Life” sponsored by Intervarsity Faculty Ministry. How can this be? Why would I choose not to avail myself of these resources when I have diligently sought out so many others?

 

In a nutshell, I have come to the conclusion that Campus Crusade and Intervarsity Fellowship are barking up the wrong tree(s) in their faculty ministries. They do have some valuable resources online, but in terms of practical help and instruction/equipping, I think they have the wrong focus. Thus, their conferences are probably not that helpful. In fact, I think that the emphasis on conferences as a ministry tool is unfortunate. First of all, I don’t have money for conferences. Second, I would prefer practical help right where I am trying to minister. Third, conferences are a high intensity, low frequency approach to assisting faculty. High intensity—probably very inspiring, motivating, and stimulating. They are probably very exciting and emotionally rewarding. But low frequency—they are only once a year. Try sustaining a marriage on one fantastic vacation a year with minimal interaction in between! It doesn’t work. What is required is fairly frequent, but less emotionally intense, encouragement and support. The demands on faculty are so strong and compelling that one pep rally per year probably does not lead to sustainable ministry efforts that are hard work, every week of the year.

 

In all fairness, these conferences are perhaps very enlightening for the large group of Christian faculty who are doing nothing. In my experience, most Christian faculty are too enamored with the kosmos. Work in the secular university can be so enriching and/or grueling, and the academy has become so decadent/indulgent or hectic/draining that the temptation to give 100% for career is overwhelming. This has been a great struggle for me. The “carrot” of a chance to feather a very nice nest, combined with the “stick” of being fired for failing to receive tenure are powerful forces that compel most Christian faculty to put their job first. So the Christians in academics who are totally “asleep in the light” would probably benefit from a kick start of any kind—including a national conference.

 

However, these objections are minor compared to the three themes in Christian ministry among the faculty that concern me. They are: academic integration, spiritual disciplines, and kingdom theology applied to the university. Unfortunately, academic integration is overrated, spiritual disciplines are stupid, and recapturing the university for Christ is a fool’s errand. However, these are the three aspects of ministry that Campus Crusade and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship seem to emphasize for faculty. How sad, given that both of these para-church organizations appear to have solid missions strategies for reaching the undergraduates. If it were me, the only priority would be to involve faculty in the mission!

 

In my next blog (Part 2), I will try to explain my objections to academic integration, spiritual disciplines, and kingdom theology applied to the university.

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