At Redeemer University, scholarship and teaching are grounded in the Reformed Christian tradition and understood as ways of participating in God’s renewing work in the world.
To strengthen this grounding, Redeemer holds two faculty development conferences each year, to deepen their engagement with the Reformed Christian tradition. Through workshops and interactive sessions, faculty are equipped to bring their Christian commitments to bear on their teaching and academic inquiry across the disciplines.
Dr. Bill DeJong, faculty chaplain and director of the Wolters Centre, commenced the sessions with a chapel message, “A Battle for the Mind,” based on 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. He argued that the decline of Christian thought at many universities founded by Christians resulted not primarily from external pressures but from Christian academics’ failure to develop distinctively Christian scholarship across the disciplines. DeJong encouraged faculty that in their teaching, research and academic pursuits they should not compromise their commitment to Christ, nor surrender to an ideological agenda, but demonstrate the lordship of Christ over every discipline.
“Every way of knowing all assumptions and all arguments must be brought under the lordship of Christ. The question isn’t simply whether we are scholars who are also Christians but whether our scholarship from beginning to end is under Christ’s lordship.”
DeJong and Dr. Daniel Gilman, assistant faculty chaplain and assistant professor of history, led a session on Christian scholarship, using the famous Father Brown mystery stories by author G.K. Chesterton as an illustration; they compared Christian scholars to Christian detectives in how they seek out truth, bringing their examination and inquiry into the larger story of God’s redemption in the world.
Every way of knowing all assumptions and all arguments must be brought under the lordship of Christ. The question isn’t simply whether we are scholars who are also Christians but whether our scholarship from beginning to end is under Christ’s lordship.
The workshops included a variety of sessions, including two on biblical hermeneutics facilitated by Dr. Jason Yuh, associate professor of Religion and Theology. He expounded on how our engagement with Scripture must be grounded in Christ’s death and resurrection, and that this directly correlates with how we live life.
Nicole Benbow, director of teaching and learning, facilitated a session that engaged faculty in discussions on belonging and learning in the classrooms. Dr. Ben Faber, professor of English, also led a workshop on Reformed scholar Calvin Seerveld, and Dr. Jantina Ellens, director of Core and assistant professor of Core Studies and English, led a session titled Reflective Practice and Worldview Formation in First-Year Core.
There were also tenure paper and reappointment prospectus presentations and research updates from the deans.
With the start of a new academic year, the conference gave faculty dedicated and valuable time to come together in learning, discussion, collaboration and prayer for the season ahead.