T-Minus Two Months and Counting
Adding New Features for Paid Subscribers
My book, The Fearless Christian University, releases two months from today!
For those who are new to this venture, here is how Eerdmans described the central thesis:
A bold vision for Christian higher education
What is Christian higher education, and what makes it distinctive? Sociologist and educator John Hawthorne laments the fact that fear has become a defining characteristic of many Christian universities today: fear of mission drift, public relations crises, demographic change, culture wars, and more. Hawthorne argues that when colleges focus their energies on such concerns, they fail to prepare students for constructive lives in a post-Christian society. Proposing a dramatically different vision, Hawthorne argues that the long-term success of today’s Christian university rests upon its ability to be fearless. He encourages Christian schools to center student questions and experiences, to pursue research that meets real needs in the church and society, and to participate boldly in their cultural contexts.
Hawthorne’s proposal draws on his decades of experience as a scholar and practitioner of Christian higher education, combining insights from administration and teaching roles in five different Christian universities with historical and sociological literature on conservative evangelicals and their institution building. The Fearless Christian University is essential reading for faculty, administrators, trustees, donors, and alumni and offers a clarion call to all who care about the future of Christian higher education.
As I recently wrote on a friend’s Facebook page, I’m increasingly having Don Quixote feelings. As strongly as I feel about the arguments of the book, every story I read about a Christian university cutting its humanities majors or restructuring their academic organization or making vacuous Christianese statements about mission or taking on the latest Culture War fight, it makes me feel like I’m tilting at windmills.
But then I’ve never been one to keep my opinions to myself. So I shake my head, put my shoulders back, climb back onto Rocinante, and head back into the fray.
With the pending release of the book and anticipating the launch activities coming after the holidays, and having recently crossed the 1100 subscriber threshold, I’ve decided it’s time to begin creating content specifically for paid subscribers. I’ll still write about Christian Higher Ed on the free side of this newsletter as warranted.
So what will be on the paid side (a steal at $5/month or $50/year) get you? Here are some preliminary ideas:
A weekly video commentary — might be about higher ed, the political landscape, culture, or of course sociology.
A bi-weekly asynchronous Q&A.
Reposting any podcasts that I do about the book
Sharing any news interviews I do about the book
Summaries of any talks I give about the book
What else? (leave a comment below)
Some of these will work and some won’t. And the format may change going forward.
Meanwhile, I’m very grateful for those who have already subscribed just because they wanted to support my work.