Rev. Bruce Reyes Chow, moderator of PC(USA) joins FTE President Trace Haythorn in an informal Q&A with our fellows class of 2009. This event took place at FTE's 2009 Excellence in Ministry Conference at Virginia Theological Seminary.
A recent study shows that students who pursue studies in the humanities in college are likely to show a decrease in religious belief during their four years, while education majors tend to see an increase and folks in the “hard” sciences remain about the same. What’s going on here? And what are the implications for our communities?
Let’s start with the education students. The fact that their faith is increasing seems to parallel the kind of hope that is central to the very act of engaging young people in any pedagogical exercise. One must not only know the content; one must have a deep and abiding trust (faith?) that children can learn, that the next generation can build upon the successes of the previous generation, that the world is not as it should be and education plays a special role in moving societies towards a greater good. Further, schools function in a similar way to communities of faith: they are places where citizens gather, where they share certain common commitments, where they experience common rituals, where memories and friendships, connections and deep bonds are formed. It is no wonder education majors experience an increase in faith.
What does it take to set the church loose on the world as agents of God's healing and shalom? What kinds of leaders are necessary to lead that kind of church? What does it take to form leaders for that church?
I am a child of autumn. Born in September on a rainy Wednesday, there is something in my core that loves a cool, wet day. Gray clouds invite me to reflect, fall colors fill me with a sense of home. I’ve always had an irrational love for college football (despite deep misgivings about the expense and violence of the game). And I have always loved school. There’s just something about the smell of those old institutions that makes my heart race a bit, perhaps with a longing for the potential they embody. And yet….
