May 28, 2014
"Christians need to be much bolder..."
Christian Union: The Magazine interviewed author and renowned speaker Eric Metaxas, Yale '84, on the subject of culture change for its Spring 2014 issue.CU: Regarding culture change and your recent books, did you find a common denominator between William Wilberforce, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, or any of the other subjects in Seven Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness?
EM: These were all men who were "in the world, but not of it," who all seemed to understand how to bring their faith into the "real world," as it were, into all spheres, not just the religious sphere.
May 28, 2014
Columbia Lecture Attracts Christians, Non-Christians
By Luke Foster, Columbia '14
Thursday nights at Columbia University tend to be quiet. Few students have classes on Fridays, so almost everyone prepares for the weekend and tries to recover from the hectic week. The Christian ministries on campus use Thursday evenings as times to worship and reflect.
But Thursday, February 20 was a little different.
For a week, posters and Facebook posts had been proclaiming an exciting event for that evening. Compass Christian Koinonia and Apologetics Café co-hosted a lecture with Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, a Ravi Zacharias International Ministries speaker. Several campus organizations helped publicize the event. Approximately 150 people of all faiths and no faith crowded into a small auditorium to engage with the ideas of Dr. Qureshi.
Dr. Qureshi, who titled his talk after his new book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, challenged students to pursue truth above beauty, and to be willing to submit to the most compelling view of the world, no matter the cost.
May 28, 2014
Course Reflects on Harvard's Religious History
By Brian Zhang, Harvard '15
In th
Susan Overall, Harvard Class of 2014e spring semester, Harvard students taking Religion 1513: Harvard's History and Religious Evolution have a chance to study their university's religious roots in the classroom. With 60 undergrads and four Harvard Divinity School students enrolled, the class is the most popular in the religion department.Dr. Stephen Shoemaker, the course's instructor, summarized the legacy of Harvard as "a history of left turns."While it is today regarded as a secular university, Harvard was founded in 1636 as a seminary for training Puritan ministers in the New England area.
May 28, 2014
The King's College President Greg Thornbury Speaks at Manhattan Salon
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
The new president of The King's College encouraged participants in a New York City Christian Union salon to reflect Christ as they labor in the powerful, but decidedly secular, corridors of their megalopolis.Greg Thornbury spoke on February 20 at the ministry's quarterly salon, which was held at the editorial offices of First Things journal in Manhattan.Thornbury, who stepped into his newest leadership role in July, entitled his message, "He Is Not Far from Any of Us: The Art of Living and Working with People of Non-Faith."
During the evening, Thornbury told listeners to be aware that many of their atheistic and agnostic counterparts are open to meaningful discussions on topics of faith, but they are exhausted with cultural wars.
May 28, 2014
Christian Union Alumna and Husband Now Sponsor Current Students' Bible Course
By Sarah Camp, Contributing Editor
Lindsay Grinols Simmons (Princeton '04) was one of just a handful of students involved with the budding Christian Union ministry when it first launched at Princeton over a decade ago. In fact, she was a member of the ministry's first women's Bible course. You might say that gives her a unique vantage point on the ministry's growth at Princeton over the years, where it has surged from three students in 2002 to more than 400 students in 2013-14."The year-over-year increase in Princeton students' engagement with Christian Union is astonishing," she says. "It shows Princeton students are hungry for the truth."
May 28, 2014
"The highest and best use of power is when it is put in the service of those who have none..."
Christian Union: The Magazine recently interviewed D. Michael Lindsay (Princeton Ph.D. '06), the president of Gordon College and a Pulitzer Prize-nominated sociologist. Dr. Lindsay's latest book, View from the Top: An Inside Look at How People in Power See and Shape the World, is the culmination of an unprecedented Platinum Study of 550 top CEOs and senior officials.CU: Your first book was entitled Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite. Even though View from the Top is about leaders from various backgrounds, did faith and achievement again intersect in any way?
ML: I found Christ's example of sacrificial leadership modeled again and again in the lives of what I call "platinum leaders," those who have risen to the top of their institutions and are able to catalyze change. The relational dimension of leadership requires those who seek influence to think carefully about the ways their personal values and faith commitments intersect with their responsibilities. View from the Top was written for a general audience, but I think faith is so essential to good leadership that I added a conclusion to the text that seeks to explain how the two relate. Luke 12:48 says, "Unto whom much is given, much is required." The key idea of the book is that responsibility accompanies leadership. We must use the blessings we are given to bless others. The highest and best use of power is when it is put in the service of those who have none.
CU: As a leadership development ministry, Christian Union has a vested interest in mentoring. In View from the Top, you indicate the important role mentoring has played with some top executives. Could you elaborate?
ML: Mentorship is key for the development of young leaders. It is essential for providing access to well-connected networks and also for passing down wisdom and experience. In the stories of many leaders, I found a series of mentoring chains. For example, Harvard Kennedy School professor Dick Neustadt invested in the life and career of young NAACP lawyer Vernon Jordan, in particular by inviting him to join the Bilderberg Conference. Years later, Jordan invited his friend and protégé Bill Clinton to the conference, introducing him to other global leaders. Indeed, we all benefit from mentors who take an interest in our lives and help us become all that God wants us to be.
CU: In View from the Top, one of your chapters is entitled "Lead With Your Life: Because It's Much More than a Job." How do we lead with our lives? Who is someone that embodies this trait?
ML: As I quickly learned after becoming the president of Gordon, institutional leadership is much, much more than a 9-5 job. The CEO or the president is so closely associated with her organization that their very life must reflect the institution's values. Every leader who aspires to make a significant difference in her firm, industry, or in society must inspire her constituents, not only with her words, but with her actions, habits, and traits. The quickest way to bring down a political opponent is to uncover marital infidelity; voters surmise that a politician unfaithful to his wife will be unfaithful to his political promises. Similarly, when CEOs institute layoffs and pay cuts, while simultaneously raking in millions, employees, shareholders, and the general public resent the hypocrisy. One of my favorite examples (of leading with your life) is Colleen Barrett, the former president of Southwest Airlines, who really embodied the friendly and helpful persona of the airline.
CU: Talk about the role that large institutions play in shaping culture and why you encourage your students to embrace, not avoid large institutions when they look for jobs.
ML: The conceit of the Internet age is that now anyone with a wireless connection has the capability to influence millions—through a tweet, viral video, or Tumblr feed. Though widespread, these ephemeral forms of communication are not nearly as weighty as major institutions such as Harvard University, Procter & Gamble, the Wall Street Journal, or the Supreme Court. Events such as the Arab Spring of 2011 demonstrate that social media can precipitate revolutions, but they cannot maintain and organize the revolutionary impulse for long-term change. For that, society relies on institutions. By becoming part of these influential entities, students can begin to leverage their God-given talents for the widest impact.
May 28, 2014
"The highest and best use of power is when it is put in the service of those who have none..."
Christian Union: The Magazine recently interviewed D. Michael Lindsay (Princeton Ph.D. '06), the president of Gordon College and a Pulitzer Prize-nominated sociologist. Dr. Lindsay's latest book, View from the Top: An Inside Look at How People in Power See and Shape the World, is the culmination of an unprecedented Platinum Study of 550 top CEOs and senior officials.CU: Your first book was entitled Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite. Even though View from the Top is about leaders from various backgrounds, did faith and achievement again intersect in any way?
ML: I found Christ's example of sacrificial leadership modeled again and again in the lives of what I call "platinum leaders," those who have risen to the top of their institutions and are able to catalyze change. The relational dimension of leadership requires those who seek influence to think carefully about the ways their personal values and faith commitments intersect with their responsibilities. View from the Top was written for a general audience, but I think faith is so essential to good leadership that I added a conclusion to the text that seeks to explain how the two relate. Luke 12:48 says, "Unto whom much is given, much is required." The key idea of the book is that responsibility accompanies leadership. We must use the blessings we are given to bless others. The highest and best use of power is when it is put in the service of those who have none.
CU: As a leadership development ministry, Christian Union has a vested interest in mentoring. In View from the Top, you indicate the important role mentoring has played with some top executives. Could you elaborate?
ML: Mentorship is key for the development of young leaders. It is essential for providing access to well-connected networks and also for passing down wisdom and experience. In the stories of many leaders, I found a series of mentoring chains. For example, Harvard Kennedy School professor Dick Neustadt invested in the life and career of young NAACP lawyer Vernon Jordan, in particular by inviting him to join the Bilderberg Conference. Years later, Jordan invited his friend and protégé Bill Clinton to the conference, introducing him to other global leaders. Indeed, we all benefit from mentors who take an interest in our lives and help us become all that God wants us to be.
CU: In View from the Top, one of your chapters is entitled "Lead With Your Life: Because It's Much More than a Job." How do we lead with our lives? Who is someone that embodies this trait?
ML: As I quickly learned after becoming the president of Gordon, institutional leadership is much, much more than a 9-5 job. The CEO or the president is so closely associated with her organization that their very life must reflect the institution's values. Every leader who aspires to make a significant difference in her firm, industry, or in society must inspire her constituents, not only with her words, but with her actions, habits, and traits. The quickest way to bring down a political opponent is to uncover marital infidelity; voters surmise that a politician unfaithful to his wife will be unfaithful to his political promises. Similarly, when CEOs institute layoffs and pay cuts, while simultaneously raking in millions, employees, shareholders, and the general public resent the hypocrisy. One of my favorite examples (of leading with your life) is Colleen Barrett, the former president of Southwest Airlines, who really embodied the friendly and helpful persona of the airline.
CU: Talk about the role that large institutions play in shaping culture and why you encourage your students to embrace, not avoid large institutions when they look for jobs.
ML: The conceit of the Internet age is that now anyone with a wireless connection has the capability to influence millions—through a tweet, viral video, or Tumblr feed. Though widespread, these ephemeral forms of communication are not nearly as weighty as major institutions such as Harvard University, Procter & Gamble, the Wall Street Journal, or the Supreme Court. Events such as the Arab Spring of 2011 demonstrate that social media can precipitate revolutions, but they cannot maintain and organize the revolutionary impulse for long-term change. For that, society relies on institutions. By becoming part of these influential entities, students can begin to leverage their God-given talents for the widest impact.
April 18, 2014
The following was a Plenary Session at the 2014 Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action, presented by Dr. Charles Gilmer, the president of The Impact Movement.(41:27)
April 18, 2014
The following was a Plenary Session at the 2014 Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action, presented by Christian Union Teaching Fellow, Nick Nowalk. (45:50)
April 18, 2014
The following was a Plenary Session at the 2014 Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action, presented by Ken Eldred. (40:00)
April 18, 2014
The following was a Plenary Session at the 2014 Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action, presented by Baroness Caroline Cox. (46:09)
April 17, 2014
In March, Christian Union brought together nearly 400 students from the eight Ivy League universities for the fourth Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action. This is one of the plenary sessions from the Congress, with Dr. Charles Gilmer. (41:27)
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Mark Catlin at the Ivy League Congress of Faith and Action seminar. (1:20:45)
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God calls us to transform the world. The good news is that God doesn’t abandon us for this task. God is reconciling to himself all things through Christ—including Ivy League campuses. Christ now extends his ministry of reconciliation through his people. Hence, we are called to transform the culture of our campuses in the name of Christ, by the power of the Spirit, the joy of the campus, and the glory of God. What then does it look like for us to engage our campuses with a cruciform way of life in order to transform our campuses with resurrection power?
To download this audio file in an mp3 format to listen to on your computer or portable audio player, please click the download button
in the window below: God calls us to transform the world. The good news is that God doesn’t abandon us for this task. God is reconciling to himself all things through Christ—including Ivy League campuses. Christ now extends his ministry of reconciliation through his people. Hence, we are called to transform the culture of our campuses in the name of Christ, by the power of the Spirit, the joy of the campus, and the glory of God. What then does it look like for us to engage our campuses with a cruciform way of life in order to transform our campuses with resurrection power?
April 17, 2014
Dr. Carol Swain at the Ivy League Congress of Faith and Action seminar. (1:35:36)
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Dr. Swain shares her own abortion story and how it has influenced her position on abortion and the law. In addition, she discusses Planned Parenthood and the prevalence of abortion in black communities across the nation.
To download this audio file in an mp3 format to listen to on your computer or portable audio player, please click the download button
in the window below: Dr. Swain shares her own abortion story and how it has influenced her position on abortion and the law. In addition, she discusses Planned Parenthood and the prevalence of abortion in black communities across the nation.
April 17, 2014
Quincy Watkins at the Ivy League Congress of Faith and Action seminar. (31:04)
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“But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.” (1 Cor 14:3 NIV)
Many believers have never experienced the supernatural ways God still speaks today, but he does! Quincy Watkins ministered prophetically to the attendees of this seminar, for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.
To download this audio file in an mp3 format to listen to on your computer or portable audio player, please click the download button
in the window below: “But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.” (1 Cor 14:3 NIV)
Many believers have never experienced the supernatural ways God still speaks today, but he does! Quincy Watkins ministered prophetically to the attendees of this seminar, for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.
April 17, 2014
In March, Christian Union brought together nearly 400 students, from a variety of ministries and representing all eight Ivy League universities, for the fourth Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action. This is one of the plenary sessions from the Congress, with Nick Nowalk. (45:50)
To listen to this presentation, click the play button below. To download an mp3 file to listen to while offline or using a portable device, click on the download button () in the window below:
To listen to this presentation, click the play button below. To download an mp3 file to listen to while offline or using a portable device, click on the download button (
) in the window below: April 17, 2014
In March, Christian Union brought together nearly 400 students---from a variety of ministries, representing all eight Ivy League universities---for the fourth Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action. This is one of the plenary sessions from the Congress, with Ken Eldred. (40:00)
To listen to this presentation, click the play button below. To download an mp3 file to listen to while offline or using a portable device, click on the download button () in the window below:
To listen to this presentation, click the play button below. To download an mp3 file to listen to while offline or using a portable device, click on the download button (
) in the window below: April 17, 2014
Ryan T. Anderson at the Ivy League Congress of Faith and Action seminar. (1:29:47)
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Marriage is based on the truth that men and women are complementary, the biological fact that reproduction depends on a man and a woman, and the reality that children need a mother and a father. Redefining marriage does not simply expand the existing understanding of marriage; it rejects these truths.
Marriage is society’s least restrictive means of ensuring the well-being of children. By encouraging the norms of marriage— monogamy, sexual exclusivity, and permanence—the state strengthens civil society and reduces its own role. The future of this country depends on the future of marriage. The future of marriage depends on citizens understanding what it is and why it matters and demanding that government policies support, not undermine, true marriage.
To download this audio file in an mp3 format to listen to on your computer or portable audio player, please click the download button
in the window below: Marriage is based on the truth that men and women are complementary, the biological fact that reproduction depends on a man and a woman, and the reality that children need a mother and a father. Redefining marriage does not simply expand the existing understanding of marriage; it rejects these truths.
Marriage is society’s least restrictive means of ensuring the well-being of children. By encouraging the norms of marriage— monogamy, sexual exclusivity, and permanence—the state strengthens civil society and reduces its own role. The future of this country depends on the future of marriage. The future of marriage depends on citizens understanding what it is and why it matters and demanding that government policies support, not undermine, true marriage.
April 17, 2014
Dr. Garth Rosell spoke at the Ivy League Congress of Faith and Action seminar.(1:27:58)
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Many centuries ago, God gave a vision of “dry bones” to the Prophet Ezekiel and asked him an important question: “Can these bones live again?” It is a question that confronts each of us too. Is spiritual renewal really possible? Can the “dry bones” of our own lives and institutions be truly revived? Can old structures be given new life and hope? If you, like hundreds of students throughout New England, yearn to see a fresh outpouring of spiritual awakening on our region and throughout the world, then this seminar is the place for you.
To download this audio file in an mp3 format to listen to on your computer or portable audio player, please click the download button
in the window below: Many centuries ago, God gave a vision of “dry bones” to the Prophet Ezekiel and asked him an important question: “Can these bones live again?” It is a question that confronts each of us too. Is spiritual renewal really possible? Can the “dry bones” of our own lives and institutions be truly revived? Can old structures be given new life and hope? If you, like hundreds of students throughout New England, yearn to see a fresh outpouring of spiritual awakening on our region and throughout the world, then this seminar is the place for you.
