Below is the ESN Members News for March 2008, which was sent by email to all ESN members.

Join ESN today if you would like to receive these updates by email.

ESN News – March 2008

Dear ESN Member,

We hope that, this Easter, you had an opportunity to pause from your academic schedule and celebrate the risen Christ. May the promise of his resurrection sustain you and help you to flourish in your academic, professional, and personal life.

There are now 2,895 members of the Emerging Scholars Network! Here is your members-only update for March 2008.

On behalf of the whole ESN team,

Mike Hickerson
Associate Director, Emerging Scholars Network

In This Issue

1. The Well: Women in the Academy & Professions
2. First Emerging Scholars Network National Gathering
3. ESN Resources and Partners
4. Articles We Recommend
5. Upcoming Events
6. Quarterly Quotation

1 – Calling Women to Come to “The Well”

InterVarsity’s Women in the Academy & Professions ministry team now publishes a website for graduate and professional women to gather in an online community. With thoughtful content and opportunities to hear from women in similar roles, we hope you will find this a place to exercise your mind, rest your soul, and refresh your spirit and personal commitment to your calling. God’s purposes for women are unique and we pray this resource will be a place you come to receive wisdom, be strengthened, and find encouragement in your walk.

Please visit this site and share it with female scholars you know.
The Well

2 – First Emerging Scholars Network National Gathering!

When: December 27–31, 2008
Where: Chicago, IL

Don’t miss the first national gathering of the Emerging Scholars Network! InterVarsity’s Graduate & Faculty Ministries will hold its third Following Christ conference in Chicago from December 28-31, 2008. But for ESN members, the conference gets started early on December 27, with a special one-day event focused on “Flourishing in the Academy.”  Drawing on the wisdom and experience of recognized scholars,this gathering will address the specific challenges you may be facing at your current stage in the academic journey.

Following Christ 2008 will feature plenary sessions by N. T. Wright, Francis Collins, Carmen Acevedo Butcher, MaryKate Morse, and Jeff Van Duzer.  Past Following Christ conferences have been powerful times for graduate students, faculty, and professionals, engaging both mind and spirit. Speakers at previous conferences have included  Dallas Willard, Marva Dawn, Vinoth Ramachandra, Harold Dean Trulear, and Jeremy Begbie. More details about Following Christ 2008 and the ESN day-ahead conference are available at the Following Christ website.

3 – Resources and Partners

Wow, all that is for me?! Are you aware of the many resources available to you through your Emerging Scholars Network membership? Please review our list of partners be sure you are taking full advantage of all the benefits! Discounts from several Christian publishers, including InterVarsity Press, as well as resources like Mars Hill Audio Journal, Christian Scholars Review and Books and Culture are available only to members. Don’t miss out on these fantastic sources for intellectual and spiritual growth at ESN savings. If you know others who could benefit, pass it on. Grow the network near you!

Why Should I Join ESN?

We are also pleased to join with the Christian Scholars Foundation for the second year of the CSF-ESN Grant to Advance Christian Scholarship. The Foundation graciously provides this opportunity solely to ESN members. This grant is intended to encourage and foster the growth and development of junior faculty members seeking to advance Christian scholarship. The deadline for the preliminary, one-page application is March 31, 2008.

Grant guidelines and more information

4 – Articles We Recommend

In place of our usual book review, we wanted to bring your attention to two articles recently published on InterVarsity websites.

First, God and the Genome, published February 14, 2008.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project and plenary speaker for Following Christ 2008, spoke at Stanford University recently. Stimulating conversations were sparked by this event, sponsored by InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministry staff and Stanford graduate students. Attendees spilled over from one location to the next and the event was followed by more than a week of student meetings to discuss and debate ideas presented. Complete audio and video of Dr. Collins’ talk is available online.  Listen to find out more about why this talk brought much-enjoyed contemplation to the topics of biology and faith.(Audio from a related talk by Dr. Collins at UC Berkeley is also available from ESN Partner, the Veritas Forum)

Second, Dorothy Boorse, wrote an article you can read at “The Well” online. “In Focus: Loving the Academic Life” explores why scholars become faculty and what makes it not just a bearable career, but an enjoyable one. If you find yourself doubting your calling or struggling with discouragement, this is a great topic for self-examination. Are you called to the academic life? No matter the answer, trust that God calls each of us to do something we truly enjoy. A quick and worthy read, find the full article at The Well.

5 – Events

We hope to see you at this year’s Faculty Conference at InterVarsity’s Cedar Camp, June 21-27, 2008. The setting is the shores of beautiful Lake Huron and we are sure you will find it to be one of the most spectacular vacations you and your family will find. Cedar Campus relaxed, informal meeting of Christian scholars and outstanding programming for children and youth as well. Meet and talk personally with Dallas Willard of the University of Southern California, Kelly Monroe Kullberg, founder of the Veritas Forum,  Mary Poplin, Claremont Graduate University, and Terry Morrison, Director Emeritus of InterVarsity Faculty Ministry. If you cannot attend,  be sure to pass on the invitation to others. This is a unique opportunity for Christian faculty.

Other regional events for faculty and emerging scholars will be held this spring and summer in Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Jersey, and more. Visit the ESN events page for a complete listing of upcoming symposia and conferences.

6 – Quarterly Quotation

If you are discouraged in this current season, we hope that these words from Dietrich Bonhoeffer – and the community of your fellow Christians – will encourage you.  We are fairly confident that Dr. Bonhoeffer intended this passage to apply to both brothers and sisters in Christ.

“God has willed that we should seek and find His living Word in the witness of a brother, in the mouth of man.  Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him.  He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth.  He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation.  He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ.  The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother; his own heart is uncertain, his brother’s is sure.”