What does it mean to be a Presbyterian-related college or university these days? On the one hand, we are told that our increasingly secular age has reduced such links to tepid “values” affirmations (call that The Dying of the Light syndrome). On the other, we are reassured that college students widely affirm their spiritual interest and that colleges with strong faith connections are increasingly popular (the God in the Quad factor).
SNOWBIRD, UTAH –—Among Presbyterians, the word “missional” is as popular these days as “awesome” is for teenagers.
There were no voting booths in ancient Palestine. Yet prophets and popular movements did express their preferences, often at great risk. That risk intensified under the Romans. Sometimes today there seems to be almost as much discussion of St. Paul and empire in Biblical studies as there is about America and empire in political science.
Frequently the notion that the church has an important role to play in higher education seems freighted with nostalgia. We are likely to remember the crucial role the church played historically in founding some of the nation’s most influential colleges, some of which have become even more influential universities.
As financial distress spreads from Wall Street to Main Street, ushering in a recession likely to be long, churches have two fundamental responsibilities.
“My college will never give academic credit to a student for doing community service!” Words spoken by a college president in defense of academic integrity, but missing the integrity of community service by students and their mentors as a context within which learning takes place.
Long before I arrived, First Church in Lincoln was sending Christmas care packages to its college students. Sometime in late November the deacons gather and cram cookies, candy, games, pencils, and all sorts of trinkets into small boxes and mail them off to students across the country. It is an important ritual for our deacons. As they see the names on the boxes, they remember fondly the kids who have grown up here and moved on to pastures green.
LONDON — Christian Internet bloggers have received 10 commandments to help them avoid the danger of writing in haste what they might later regret at leisure.
Editor’s Note: This essay won the 2008 Outlook Church-College Partnership Award open to graduating seniors invited to write on the topic, “How my education at a PC(USA)-related college has equipped me for significant service and leadership.” The winner received a $1,000 prize. Information on the 2009 contest is available on page 14.
Editor’s note: This essay was first runner-up in the 2008 Outlook Church-College Partnership Award open to graduating seniors invited to write on the topic, “How my education at a PC(USA)-related college has equipped me for significant service and leadership.” The writer received a $200 award. Information on the 2009 contest is available on page 14.
Colleges and universities related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) begin the new academic year with new faculty members, campus improvements, and program changes. Here are their reports:
We interrupt our regularly scheduled cycle of reporting to direct our attention to you. Older folks speak often of you as “the church of the future;” at other times they amend their words with: “The youth ARE the church right now.”
Speaking of America’s church-related colleges and their tie with their founding churches, Fr. James Tunstead Burtchaell wrote a decade ago: “[T]here is usually some concern expressed today about how authentic or how enduring that tie really is; and often wistful concern is all that remains.”
SNOWBIRD, UTAH — The news is full of the nation’s economic crisis and for many congregations and Presbyterian families, there is a lot about which to be concerned. What will happen to endowments, investments, retirement funds? What about job stability and the price of gasoline, food and heating fuel, with the approaching winter?
LOUISVILLE — A volunteer worker with a Presbyterian-backed humanitarian aid group has filed an appeal after being found guilty of littering for leaving full water jugs in the Arizona desert for undocumented border crossers.
By a narrow margin, members of breakaway Kirk of the Hills Church in Tulsa, Okla., voted Oct. 19 to pay $1.75 million to Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery for the congregation’s land and buildings. They have until Nov. 15 to pay the presbytery.
(ENI) The United Reformed Church in Great Britain has condemned as "an offence against God" the assassination of Gayle Williams, a 34-year-old Christian aid worker in Kabul, and the chilling comments of those who said they killed her.
Editor’s note: This article was written by staff members of EKKLESIA, an independent, not-for-profit think tank that examines the role of religion in public life. Used by permission.
A woman working with a UK-registered Christian relief organization has been shot dead in Kabul by Taliban militants, who accused her of spreading Christianity among Afghans while assisting people with severe disabilities and training local aid workers.
(ENI) The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has issued a warning about the status of religious prisoners in Yemen, and cited the cases of Baha'is and Christians, who have been imprisoned for months without charge.
(ENI)--A Japanese Christian leader says he strongly opposes a U.S. nuclear powered aircraft carrier using the port of Yokosuka, south of Tokyo Bay, as a permanent base.
(ENI) The general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Samuel Kobia, has said the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, had told him that federal assistance would be provided to rebuild churches and Christian houses destroyed in violence against Christians in eastern Orissa state, and peace will be restored in the region.
The first question that has to be asked is “Why now?” Why release a biopic about a sitting president, right at the end of his second term, and just a couple of weeks before the election for his successor? The answer is obvious: This movie isn’t just about the perceived buffoonery of our 43rd President. It’s also about the whole dangerous collection of manipulators, cynics, lightweights, sycophants, and dim functionaries around him; a collection which, by implication, would still be sniffing the hallways of power were the impending election to proceed in a particular way. Ah, now we get it. This is Oliver Stone’s political statement, under the guise of a documentary-looking caricature study.
“Beverly Hills Chihuahua” is one of those cute little talking animals movies, featuring (the voice of) Drew Barrymore as the upscale, uppity Beverly Hills dog who winds up lost and alone in Mexico City. But she is saved despite herself, learns some self-reliance and some humility, and now we all like her a lot more, plus she has a better perspective, as well. Of course it’s a parable. But it’s sweet and kind-hearted, and the whole family can enjoy it, which in itself is rare enough.
[caption id="attachment_19768" align="alignright" width="160"]
“Jim Edwards addresses crowd at Presbyterian Gathering XI”[/caption]Christians sensing they are almost aliens in their own cultures have a lot in common with the first century believers, according to Jim Edwards of Whitworth University, who taught a Bible study at the closing session of this year’s Presbyterian Coalition 11th Annual Gathering in Newport Beach, Calif., October 15.
It is ironic that he was chosen to speak on “Why Stay?” at the Presbyterian Coalition’s annual gathering in Newport Beach, Calif., Mark D. Roberts said today (Oct. 15). He isn’t tied to considerations like pension, employment, and medical plan. Some of the oft-cited reasons don’t fly with him.
But he is staying and he has his reasons.
Roberts, senior director and scholar in residence for Laity Lodge, began
© Copyright 2026 The Presbyterian Outlook. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement. Website by Web Publisher PRO