Equipping Students to Have the Mind of Christ

Over 40 years ago, Wheaton College (IL) philosophy professor Arthur C. Holmes (1975) authored a small book titled The Idea of a Christian College that has informed the work of thousands of faculty in Christian postsecondary institutions worldwide. In this book, Holmes observed that the Christian college “is distinctive in that the Christian faith can touch the entire range of life and learning” (p. 45), yet the ways in which institutions from various theological traditions live out their faith commitment prioritize the “life of the mind” on some campuses, the “work of the hands” on others, and the “warmth of the heart” on still others.

Although the goal of equipping students to have “the mind of Christ” (I Cor. 2:16, KJV) is certainly an educational priority in Christian colleges and universities, emphasis on preparing graduates for lives of Kingdom contribution also is of high value, as it reflects the need to put faith (and knowledge) into action in ways that make our world a better place.

This issue of Christian Higher Education offers several articles that relate ways in which faculty and administrative leaders in Christ-centered institutions are explicitly incorporating and measuring the influence of faith on the life and learning of both students and graduates. Taken together, these articles demonstrate how scholars can assess the extent to which specific aspects of the Christian faith are actually demonstrated in action.

The contributions of two authors in this issue sought ways to begin to measure “faith in action.” In the first article entitled “Measuring Pharmacy Student Attitudes Toward Prayer: The Student Prayer Attitude Scale (SPAS),” authors Adam C. Pace and colleagues developed a valid and reliable instrument to measure pharmacy students’ attitude toward prayer. Working with faculty across seven schools of pharmacy within Christian universities, Pace and his colleagues found that pharmacy students from all theistic religious traditions perceived prayer to be a powerful influence in their lives, as well as in their academic performance—and the performance of others. The authors concluded that regardless of faith tradition, recognizing the role that prayer plays in the lives of students and the clients they will serve is an important way to equip faculty to better integrate faith issues into the classroom experience.

In the article by Morgan Lewing and Melissa Shehane entitled “The Institutionalization of Service-Learning at the Independent Colleges and Universities of the Gulf Coast Region,” the author describes how Christian colleges and universities possess many of the qualities that support service learning. However, previous research has noted that some institutions struggle to sustain and institutionalize service-learning due to limited administrative support, lack of faculty understanding, and lack of clarity of purpose. Additionally, although numerous researchers have documented the wide array of student success outcomes that have been positively correlated to participation in service-learning activities, the sustained success of service-learning within a university is highly dependent upon its internal acceptance and eventual institutionalization.

Using Furco's (2009) Self-Assessment Rubric for the Institutionalization of Service-Learning in Higher Education, Lewing analyzed survey responses from 17 Chief Academic Officers to assess the level of service-learning institutionalization within faith-based, faith-affiliated, and secular institutions of the Gulf Coast Region of the United States. The majority of administrators reported scores indicative of development at the midpoint of the continuum, the Quality Building Stage. The presence of a university philosophy and mission was the most developed dimension, and community partner involvement was the least developed.

One means of carrying Christian faith into action is discussed in the article authored by Allison Ash and colleagues that is titled “The Paradox of Faith: White Administrators and Antiracism Advocacy in Christian Higher Education.” Using a narrative inquiry methodology, this qualitative study involved interviews with eight White administrative leaders serving in dominantly White colleges and universities who had been nominated for their commitment to proactively address issues of racial injustice. The comprehensive review of the literature that undergirds this research illustrates the complexities of the historical relationship between race and Christianity, in which some sectors of the church have named and worked to alleviate injustices while others have contributed to creating and reifying racist institutions and social relations. The discussion of findings conveys how the faith of the participants both motivated yet also hindered their anti-racism advocacy. Although their Christian faith served as a primary motivator for this work, participants reported concerns about the politicization of racial justice issues and fear of suspicion from institutional leaders because of their anti-racism advocacy.

Finally, our featured Faith Integration article in this issue is a quantitative study by author Michael J. Borst: “Online Discussions Improve Student Perceptions of Instructor Efforts to Relate Faith to Learning in Graduate Occupational Therapy Courses.” Borst addressed the research question: Does the addition of a single online discussion targeting integration of faith and learning in graduate occupational therapy courses significantly increase student ratings on a course evaluation question addressing faith-learning integration? The literature review of this article provides a helpful overview of various approaches to the integrative task, extending from the early contributions of Holmes (1975) to more recent reconsiderations of the enterprise of faith/learning integration (e.g., Cosgrove, 2015; Esqueda, 2014; VanZanten, 2011).

Focusing in part on research within the field of occupational therapy, Borst documents from the literature that “the most effective occupational therapists have examined and integrated their own spirituality.” Based on data from three classes in a graduate occupational therapy program, Borst found that the addition of a single online discussion targeting faith-learning integration was related to more positive student perceptions of instructor effectiveness in faith integration, both in face-to-face and online learning environments, and with both traditionally aged and older adult learners. These findings provide support for the value of even one pedagogical activity that intentionally integrates faith issues into the content of the course.

Collectively, the articles included in this issue of the journal represent ways of linking faith and action. Whether it be the power of prayer attitudes to shape behavior, institutionalizing service learning so that our students experience the embodied mission of Christian higher education, becoming an anti-racist advocate because of—or in spite of—our faith traditions, or providing opportunities for students to intentionally connect the Christian faith to the content of a course, the research conducted by the authors of these articles points to the many opportunities that exist within our work as Christian educators to bring the whole of our faith to the learning environment in which we work.