Issue 7 - Editorial Introduction
In the summer of 2023, the International Alliance for Christian Education (IACE) launched Integration: A Journal of Faith and Learning. The goal was to offer a high-quality, yet accessible journal for current and future faculty, administrators, and other professionals who work primarily within the ecosystem of Christ-centered higher education in the USA. Since that time, we’ve published two issues per year, all of which are available online for free at the IACE website. This is our seventh issue.
This issue opens with an article from Michelle Kurth of Grand Canyon University on how to teach on controversial topics in a Christ-centered classroom. We anticipate many faculty members will find her article to be a helpful resource. Our next two articles will be of special interest to those serving in leadership roles in Christian institutions. Mitch Jaeger of the Impact 360 Institute contributes an article on the importance of spiritual formation for educational leadership. This is an important topic for every Christian, of course, but Jaeger applies it to current and aspiring leaders in Christian education. We then offer an interview with Shelette Stewart on how Christian colleges and universities can drive revenue through professional continuing education and executive education. Stewart is the founder and principal of Stewart Consulting, LLC, and also serves as a member of the IACE board of reference and advisory council.
IACE partners with B&H Academic to publish a series of books for Christian educators. This issue includes three chapters that intersect with that series. Jennifer Patterson, who serves with the Colson Center for Christian Worldview and is a member of the IACE board of directors, writes about the importance of forming Christians to think wisely about religious freedom. Patterson’s article, which is adapted from her plenary address at the 2026 IACE National Conference, draws upon her new book Faith and Freedom: Six Theological Reflections on Religious Liberty, which she co-edited with her husband, Eric Patterson. Another recent volume in the IACE series is Faithful Faculty: Vocational Flourishing in Christian Higher Education, co-edited by Donny Mathis of North Greenville University and Jacob Shatzer of Union University. We are grateful to B&H Academic for permission to republish Mathis’s article, “Flourishing at a Mission-Driven Institution,” in this issue of Integration. Amy Crider of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary then offers a more reflective essay on the nature of Christian writing. Crider has previously presented on this topic at IACE Faculty Development Conferences. Her co-authored book with Jonathan Pennington of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Borrowed Light: A Trinitarian Approach to Christian Writing, is scheduled to be published by B&H Academic in early 2027.
As always, we include reviews of books that will be of interest to Integration readers. If you would like to review a book for the journal, please contact our managing editor and book review editor, Mike Garrett,” through the “Book Review Enquiries” tab on the Integration website. If you want to submit an article for consideration for a future issue of Integration, please use the “Contact the Journal” tab on the same page.
We want to close with a word of thanks to our friend Hunter Baker, who was a founding senior editor for the journal. Following many years of teaching and leadership at Union University and North Greenville University, Hunter has taken on a new role as Senior Fellow for Civic Renewal and Religious Liberty at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy. In light of that transition, he has stepped down as a senior editor for Integration. We are thankful for all of Hunter’s hard work in helping us to get this journal off the ground and to establish its ongoing presence. We are grateful he has agreed to continue serve with Integration by joining our board of advisors, and we look forward to continuing to work with him in that new role.
NATHAN A. FINN
Executive Director, Institute for Faith and Culture & Professor of Faith and Culture I North Greenville University
MELINDA STEPHENS
Provost, Chief Academic Officer, & Professor of Chemistry I Geneva College