Seven Things I Wish All Pastors Knew About Academics—Part 2Posted on September 21, 2015 by J. Aaron SimmonsIn this second part, I want to focus on the experience and identity of academics in Christian communities. Many of the things that I wish pastors knew about academics speak to the way in which academics might be perceived as threatening to the leadership and power of pastors. Although I am attempting to show that such a notion is misguided, I admit that there is one way in which academics are threatening. . . .
Seven Things I Wish All Pastors Knew About Academics—Part 1Posted on September 14, 2015 by J. Aaron SimmonsIn this two-part blog post, I want to offer a short (and quite informal) series of thoughts that I have about what I wish pastors knew about academics as they relate to us in the congregations that they serve….
A Safe Space for Self-ReflectionPosted on December 1, 2014 by Jane S. WebsterWho am I and where am I going? And why am I in this classroom?!It took me about a week into my first course to realize that most of my students were not as passionately interested about religion and biblical studies as I was. I learned that most of them were in the room because they needed a required general education course and my course was the only one with space that fit their schedule. I tried to make the most of it by focusing on the skills they would need to develop—critical thinking and written communication, for example. It sounded good in theory but I was missing an amazing opportunity: engaging students in self-reflection….
Seven Things I Wish All Pastors Knew About Academics—PDF DownloadPosted on September 21, 2014 by J. Aaron Simmons