The Integration of Faith and Learning: More than a Prayer

NATHAN A. FINN

Woah, we’re half way there

Woah, livin’ on a prayer

Take my hand, we'll make it I swear

Woah, livin’ on a prayer

The lyrics above are the chorus to the 1986 hit song “Livin’ on a Prayer,” by the rock band Bon Jovi. I often think of these lyrics when I think about the integration of faith and learning in the classroom. In my experience, far too many Christian professors are just livin’ on a prayer.

In my role as the chief academic officer at North Greenville University, I interview every individual we are considering putting in front of our students as a teacher, from adjuncts to full professors. Part of our hiring process is asking prospective instructors to reflect on how to integrate faith in the classroom. The results are often mixed.

They almost always knock it out of the park when it comes to their faith. It’s rare for me to interview a candidate who isn’t deeply committed to personal piety. They want to begin class with prayer and a devotion. They want to talk openly about their faith in Christ. They want to share the gospel with unbelieving students. And these are good things! But they’re only halfway there.

It gets trickier when it comes to integrating the faith in the classroom. Many of them have never reflected on how to bring the Scriptures and the best of the Christian Intellectual Tradition to bear upon their disciplines. Many have never taken the time to interrogate the core assumptions of their disciplines from the perspective of a biblical worldview. Many have given little thought to how to frame their disciplines in the context of the grand biblical narrative of creation, fall, and redemption. Simply put, many of them don’t know how to think in a distinctively Christian manner about their disciplines.

To be fair, they aren’t entirely at fault in this deficiency. Unfortunately, local churches often do little to equip their members to think in intentionally Christian ways about their various vocations. Secular graduate programs naturally have little if anything to offer along these lines to believing students who aspire to be Christ-centered scholars. Many prospective faculty members have never had a professional mentor who has modeled this sort of robust academic discipleship. For many Christian academics, a shortsighted vision for faith and learning isn’t so much a lack of desire as it is a lack of direction.

This is why a Christ-centered approach to faculty development is so important. It will often be the case that Christian universities will hire instructors who love Christ and love students, and who want to make a significant kingdom impact in the lives of the latter, but who are ill-equipped to think Christianly about their respective disciplines. They have the right instincts, but they lack the proper formation to fully translate those instincts into the classroom.

Every Christian school needs a clearly defined strategy to help faculty members make the jump from simply livin’ on a prayer to a holistic vision for the integration of faith and learning. Faculty need to be provided with opportunities to read and discuss key writings about Christ-centered higher education in general and Christian approaches to their particular disciplines. Seasoned professors who exemplify academic discipleship should mentor junior faculty members, helping them to mature beyond mere piety without outgrowing warm-hearted faith in Christ. Faculty need to be exposed to the insights of scholars who are pacesetters in faith and learning, both from within their institutions and beyond. Part of the faculty tenure or promotion process should include processes for critical reflection on faith and learning and examples of classroom application.

Most important, if a school is going to commit itself to the integration of faith and learning it needs leaders who understand the issues at stake and are willing to prioritize holistic academic discipleship. Presidents need to understand the importance of thoroughly Christ-centered academic programs, and they need to hire chief academic officers who are willing to lead faculty in this direction. The deans and department chairs should be faculty leaders who are fully on board. Staff leaders should understand that part of their role is to be non-academic champions of academic discipleship. Faith-learning integration is an all-hands-on-deck endeavor.

Thank God for pious professors; may their tribe increase. But may piety and intellect be properly integrated, thus putting back together what has been torn asunder by the fragmentation of sin. Academic discipleship will always be a hard path to trod, but it will always be worth the effort to take every thought captive to Christ in every discipline.

Nathan A. Finn serves as Provost and Dean of the University Faculty at North Greenville University in Upstate South Carolina. He has written widely on higher education, spiritual formation, and Baptist history and identity.