Goshen and Eastern Mennonite Leave the CCCU

In a statement just posted on the website of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), it was announced that while 75% of CCCU presidents agreed with the board’s recommendation that Goshen College and Eastern Mennonite University be moved to affiliate status within the consortium, the two Mennonite schools decided to leave the CCCU voluntarily: While EMU and Goshen … More Goshen and Eastern Mennonite Leave the CCCU

Football at Christian Colleges and Universities

It’s relatively unusual for a religious private college to have a football team. While George Fox, Missouri Baptist, and Southeastern are among the most recent of the 270 NCAA football programs to have started in the last thirty-five years, it appears that about three in five schools in the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities do not have football teams, … More Football at Christian Colleges and Universities

Christianity, Comedy, and Joy

There are other things I’d love to see my university get recognized for, but if hilarious pictures of our nationally-ranked football team are going to get Bethel publicity, so be it. Apparently, this all started a few years back when now-assistant coach Jesse Phenow (also a Pietist Schoolman guest-blogger, I should point out) took this picture. When roster photo-taking time rolled … More Christianity, Comedy, and Joy

A Prophetic Impulse: Myron Augsburger and the Mennonite History of the CCCU (Devin Manzullo-Thomas)

One of the blessings of getting caught up in the ongoing debate over the future of Christian higher education is that I’ve been prompted to learn more about Myron Augsburger, the former president of both Eastern Mennonite University and the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). With the latter a week away from deciding whether the … More A Prophetic Impulse: Myron Augsburger and the Mennonite History of the CCCU (Devin Manzullo-Thomas)

Anabaptist Visions of Sport

Sharp-eyed followers of this blog might have noted a recent addition to my speaking schedule. This November I’ll be one of many scholars giving a paper at The Spirit of Sports, the 2015 Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. I’ll be part of a session organized by Baylor grad student/blogger Paul Putz, speaking on “Anabaptist … More Anabaptist Visions of Sport

“Not a Christian Habit of Mind”: Marilynne Robinson on Fear

In my “Body of Christ” address last week, I spent a fair amount of time trying to argue that anyone who follows the Resurrected Christ need not live in fear. For example: Do you live as a member of the body of a resurrected Christ? Or are you like the disciples? At the end of John’s account … More “Not a Christian Habit of Mind”: Marilynne Robinson on Fear

The Christian College Baseball All-Stars: Position Players

Yesterday the pitchers; today the position players for your Christian college baseball all-stars! Starting Lineup 1. *Dee Gordon (SS, Southeastern) 2. Freddy Sanchez (3B, Dallas Baptist) 3. Dale Alexander (1B, Milligan) 4. †Ben Zobrist (RF, Olivet Nazarene and Dallas Baptist) 5. *Stephen Vogt (C, Azusa Pacific) 6. *Larry Sheets (DH, Eastern Mennonite) 7. Lew Ford (LF, Dallas … More The Christian College Baseball All-Stars: Position Players

The Christian College Baseball All-Stars: Pitchers

In Monday afternoon’s post on Christian college alumni I observed that those schools seem to do surprisingly well — given their typically small sizes — at placing former students in professional sports. One sport in particular: In fact, you could build at least a mediocre major league baseball roster with nothing but players who spent at least a year or … More The Christian College Baseball All-Stars: Pitchers

New Interview on Pietism and Higher Education

Maybe some of you appear in the news media all the time. I don’t. So in a week that’s already seen me quoted in Christianity Today‘s story about the troubling situation at North Greenville University, it’s a bit overwhelming also to see an interview with me appear on the website of my denomination’s magazine, The Covenant Companion. Reporter Stan … More New Interview on Pietism and Higher Education

The Body of Christ

If you offered me fifteen minutes to share what’s at the heart of my belief as a Christian and how that shapes my understanding of education, I think this is the best answer I could give. It’s the text of the convocation address I delivered yesterday in the opening chapel of the 2015-2016 academic year at Bethel University. Thanks to … More The Body of Christ