I’ve reflected recently on discussions from the ATS seminar in Chicago for new faculty, blogging on various challenges new professors face and for which they’re largely ill-prepared. One thing I haven’t mentioned, but one that I’ve given more thought to than any other is the relation of my career to my family. I’ve thought about […]

I’ve been meditating on Mark 2:1-12 for the last few weeks. It’s a fascinating episode for many reasons, and among them is the role of the paralytic’s friends in vv. 1-5. Here’s the text: When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were […]

I’m putting together a statement for our catalog explaining GRTS’s commitment to training in Hebrew and Greek exegesis. This isn’t a final draft, but I’m posting it in its current form in order to solicit thoughts and impressions. Am I missing anything? Are there considerations that need to be expanded, removed, added? What do you […]

Expectations differ from institution to institution about the involvement of faculty in the formation of students and in service to the church and community. This was a significant aspect of our discussion at the seminar because some participants were on faculty at denominational schools that expect them to serve area churches in various ways. Since […]

For new faculty members who are fresh out of Ph.D. programs, navigating an entirely new institutional culture can be mystifying and frustrating. The tenure pathway may not be clearly laid out and the “word on the street” about how to achieve tenure differs from colleague to colleague. New faculty may have had lots of contact […]

Participants in the seminar held last weekend were asked to address how new faculty members can continue to participate in scholarship in the midst of so many demands on their time. The transition from graduate school researcher to full-time professor is not an easy one. In grad school, colleagues share their cutting edge research and […]

Many of us in higher education had no training in pedagogy. We did our research in our area of specialization and wrote seminar and conference papers, journal articles, and our dissertations. If we had opportunities to teach, we may have picked up some hints and tips about organizing material for a classroom presentation or to […]

Last weekend I was in Chicago for a seminar hosted by the Association of Theological Schools. The purpose of the meeting was to help new seminary and divinity school faculty members explore their vocations as “theological educators” within the common vocation of a theological faculty. As the invitation stated, “most of us were not trained […]

The Grand Rapids Press ran a lovely story of forgiveness in this morning’s paper.  It’s the account of a mother who is reaching out to the incarcerated young man who shot her son. I was struck by this woman’s realism regarding the choice confronting her.  She could surrender to the temptation to wallow in anger, […]

Students of Scripture know the supreme value of IVP’s line of dictionaries.  For most of us, they’re located within easy reach on the shelves of our studies and are seriously well-worn.  My Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels is one such volume and I’ve been very much looking forward to using the revised and updated […]