The following interdisciplinary seminars and workshops will be offered on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 30, in two blocks. Precise schedule and location information is forthcoming.

Seminar Descriptions

Biblical Justice and Global Witness: The Confrontation of Abusive Injustice as Fulfillment of our Calling
Andrea Saccoccio and International Justice Mission
In this seminar we will examine the intersection of the most significant data, analysis, and emerging trends of injustice and oppression confronting the world in the new millennium with the immense and profoundly practical biblical teachings on justice and the work of building the kingdom of God.

Bosscher-Hammond Prize Competition Finals
Following Christ 2008 and Andy Crouch, Chair
The seven finalists in InterVarsity’s Bosscher-Hammond Prize Competition will make oral presentations of their entry before the BHP Jury, and you have the chance to listen in. Come learn more about the seven finalists and their great ideas in the integration of faith, learning, and practice across the academic and professional disciplines, and how they demonstrate the contributions of Christians to human flourishing.

Christian Faithfulness While Accumulating Advantage
D. Michael Lindsay
In light of the gospel, how should we think about the advantages that come with advanced degrees, university honors, and special opportunities afforded to only a select few when compared to the rest of the world? Much has been written about the stewardship of money, but we have little theological reflection on the stewardship of power and influence. How do we remain faithful to Christ while navigating the opportunities and hazards that accompany recognition and honor? Lindsay, author of Faith in the Halls of Power, will explore these topics and offer practical advice drawn from the things he has observed while interviewing some of the nation’s most prominent Christians.

Educational Inequity and What You Can Do about It
Shani Jackson Dowell and Teach for America
As Christians we are commanded to seek justice for all — yet for the 13 million children growing up in low-income communities today, justice is still illusive. Disparities in educational opportunities fundamentally impact the lives of children growing up in poverty today by limiting their earning potential, voter participation, civic engagement, and community involvement. We will bring light to the shocking achievement gap on both the national and regional levels and describe how this issue is actually solvable from inside and outside the classroom. We will highlight several success stories from real classrooms where students are making significant academic gains even in one year. We will also highlight how everyone can have an impact on educational reform through school leadership initiatives, public policy, medicine, ministry, and beyond.

Evangelism in the Academy
David Suryk
Should graduate students, post-docs, and faculty do evangelism at the university? Deep down we all know the answer is “yes,” but stereotypes concerning evangelism can make us queasy even to think about doing it ourselves. This seminar will challenge — and then replace — traditional understandings of evangelism, the biblical Story, and even the Gospel itself that too often keep us from doing our part in evangelism. We will situate evangelism in the unfolding biblical Story in which God calls us now to follow Christ at the university. Join others to learn biblical, practical, and encouraging ways to move forward in evangelism.

Evangelism in the Workplace
Michael Avramovich
Not that evangelism ever sounds easy to most of us, but evangelism in the workplace? That can sound nearly impossible, given the potential pitfalls. Lawyer and businessman Michael Avramovich will share proven principles and approaches to being a faithful (and tactful) witness with colleagues in a professional setting. He’ll cover detailed information about the legal ramifications of evangelism and how to navigate them prudently, whether you work in the private or public sector. Come and be well informed about this important topic so that fears and misconceptions needn’t drive your actions.

Faith and Pedagogy: How to Integrate Spiritual Issues into the Classroom Curriculum
Andrew Lee
Educators usually focus on fostering academic competence but overlook the inner life of students. “Spiritual” issues such as meaning in life, self-worth, character development, moral values, and community concerns are often neglected and relegated to the religious realm. Yet if, as Parker Palmer has said, “We teach who we are,” how can Christian educators legitimately integrate spiritual matters into the classroom curriculum in order to enrich the lives of their students? This workshop will explore constructive ways to do this.

Family Goals for Academics and Professionals
Kirsten Freitag Murray
You’ve set your academic and career goals, but what’s happening with your family goals? The challenge is to be as intentional about your closest relationships as you are about your work. Whether you are pursuing a graduate degree or a professional career, it is never too late to clearly define/redefine your purpose and direction as a family. Spend some time looking at the particular challenges that we face as academic and professional families. Can we navigate the pressures of work days that blur into dinner and family time and simply “end up” with a family that is emotionally connected? Explore with us the concept of setting family goals, merging your career and family goals, and planning specific ways in which you can work toward these goals. This seminar is open to spouses (whether registered for FC08 or not) and is appropriate for singles as well as couples, with children or not. Offered in both time slots.

Launching and Building a Campus Fellowship
Lynn Gill
Would you like to have a Christian community for graduate students or faculty on your campus but you don’t know how to get started? Would you like to hear about how other communities have formed on other colleges and universities? This will be an informal seminar with stories and ideas on how to begin a fellowship that grows, lasts, and is a blessing to the university community. There will be plenty of time for questions.

Pursuing Avocation with Passion and Strategy
Paul Park
Our vocational sphere is merely one among many within which we can help shape and influence culture towards human flourishing, and yet many of us struggle not to let the demands of career dominate our attention. How do we make space to discern God’s calling in avocational areas? And then how do we prioritize among many varied interests? In this interactive session, we will consider together what makes us holistically and distinctly Christian in our avocational pursuits. Paul Park will share his own story of how avocation turned into vocation through his involvement in nonprofit boards, philanthropy, and volunteering.

Quadruple-Bottom-Line Business for the Rest of Us
Mark Russell
A long-held belief of business is that its sole purpose is to maximize profits. But that’s not enough. In this seminar, Mark Russell will explore the spiritual purposes of business and how it can be a positive force for the common good. Business can have a quadruple bottom line that is financially profitable, socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and spiritually powerful. Christians should have a more comprehensive view of the nature and role of business than simply creating wealth.

Read, Mark, Learn, and Inwardly Digest: Resources for Understanding Contemporary Culture
Ken Myers
In How the New Makes Us Dumb, C. John Sommerville argued that most journalism fails to provide context for understanding the significance of contemporary events and trends. “The very survival of the news business depends on our seeing life as jumpy and scattered,” he wrote. By contrast, thoughtfulness concerning human flourishing requires the cultivation of a framework of understanding that is theologically rich and historically informed. In this seminar, Ken Myers (host and producer of the Mars Hill Audio Journal) will offer ideas, practical advice, and lists to help thoughtful people acquire and sustain such a framework. Offered in both time slots.

Surviving and Thriving during and after the Dissertation Process
Anne C. Bailey
In this seminar, attendees will discuss some of the best strategies for getting through the dissertation process. Historian (and FC08 plenary speaker) Anne Bailey will draw from her own personal and professional experiences in the field, though there will be a strong interactive component to this seminar. Those in attendance are invited to come and share their own experiences including successful strategies and pointers for graduate students and others.

Thriving as an Asian American Christian in the Academy
Tim Tseng
Some have proclaimed Barack Obama’s election to the presidency as the dawn of a post-racial America. What does this mean for ethnic and racial minorities in the academy who profess Christian faith? Specifically, even though Asian Americans are over-represented in academia, they still face difficult hurdles. This workshop, open to Asians and non-Asians alike, will focus on two questions: 1. How can Asian American Christians enter, survive, sustain, and thrive in the demanding world of academia? 2. How can Asian American Christian scholars integrate their faith, vocation, and ethnic or racial identities?

Touching the Sacred through Poetry, Music, and Photography
Judith Valente and Charles Renard
Are you seeking to slow down, find more balance, and get in touch with the sacred in the everyday? Husband-and-wife Valente and Reynard are noted Illinois poets who also lead lives deeply rooted in the professional world (as journalist and judge, respectively). In this seminar they will be accompanied by guitarist Don Breitfelder and will show how poetry, music, and image can be important resources for deepening the inner life. The couple will also be using the soulful photography of John Matt Dorn. This is a seminar for those seeking to take a break from the hectic pace of life and of the conference.

Understanding the Times: Cultural Discernment and Spiritual Insight
D. Michael Lindsay
First Chronicles 12 refers to the Sons of Issachar who “understood the times and knew what to do.” How can Christians today draw upon the insights of social science to discern the culture around us? Come and hear how careful, empirical observation can guide us in correctly seeing the world and learn surprising insights about the world we live in. This intriguing seminar — not just for those in the social sciences — will open your eyes and give you practical tools to understand your campus and community better.

Writing and Publishing for People Outside Your Profession
Andy Le Peau and Al Hsu
Have something to say to a wider audience? Want insider tips on the keys to writing effectively for those beyond your dissertation committee? Would you like to know how publishers think and how to get their attention? Veteran InterVarsity Press editors Andy Le Peau and Al Hsu will offer insights on organizing your material, keeping your audience in mind, improving your writing craft, using illustrations skillfully, and more. Whether it is blogging, creating curriculum, drafting a book, or writing articles for newspapers, magazines, or websites, come join the fun.

Writing as a Spiritual Discipline
Kelly Monroe Kullberg
Given the speed and noise of life, and the needs and expectations of others, have we found simple ways to slow down and discover much about our own lives, spiritual journeys, and callings? When you think about your life goals, what matters to you, and why? What are the milestones of your past and present, and what are your future hopes? What is the larger story to which you belong, and how might you know? This seminar will help to cultivate the habit of listening and writing beneath the surface, to live both reflectively and intentionally. Kelly will share from the process of writing Finding God Beyond Harvard and co-authoring the new Faith and Culture Devotional. Come and enjoy!