FC Missional Moment: Voices from the Commons
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A Grander Story: Part Two

If the ultimate story is God’s story, and if our story finds its significance in light of God’s story, would it not follow that your particular life story is insignificant? 

The Scriptures resoundingly refute such thinking: God created each of us for the purpose of playing a unique role in his grand story.

In Psalm 139:13-16 the author notes:
 

“For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
  My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them."

 
Each of us is handmade by God; these might be the most soul-encouraging verses in the Bible. God creates us for his purposes, and each of us is perfectly fashioned for him, and his plan for us. 

In Ephesians 2:10 the Apostle Paul expresses a similar thought: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Every faculty, whether a full professor or adjunct, whether at an elite R-1 university or the local community college, has been created by God, gifted by God, and called by God to play a unique role in God’s plan. These good works will include works with students and colleagues, works within a department and across a discipline, and works done to bring hope to the world. It’s a stirring thought to think God created you, gifted you, and called you to play a particular role in changing the world, from your unique place in the academy.

You were created for this Grander Story. 

Faculty Commons resources Christian professors and engages these professors in various strategic missional efforts, both on local campuses and around the world. We also engage students, both undergraduate and graduate, in various partnerships with professors.

For example: we encourage Cru students to pray for each of their professors, to work hard in class, and to seek opportunities to encourage or bless their professors.

Our challenge to them is something like this: “You think you are in Econ 204 (or whatever) because i) it didn’t meet on Friday, and ii) it didn’t meet before noon and iii) it was the easiest class you could take to fulfill your graduation requirements. But what if you are in that class because God put you there? What if God wants to use you in the life of the particular students in this class? What if you are in that class because God wants to use you to bless your professor?”

Students are stunned by the thought. A grander story perspective changes everything, even sleepy attendance in Econ 204. 

Similarly, many Christian professors can likewise be tempted to think they, too, are in a particular job or location solely because it was the best opportunity they could secure.

Very few, from our experience, would seem to view their current professor position as something that i) God created them for; ii) God gifted them for; iii) God called them to; and a place from which iv) God can use them to help change the world.

But when we embrace these four truths, our vocations find new meaning.  We literally begin to discover the good works that God has prepared for us. Nothing can be more thrilling.

-- Rick Hove and Heather Holleman
 

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This FC Missional Moment begins a year long invitation to A Grander Story. Our upcoming book, A Grander Story, is edited by Heather Holleman, PhD (English professor at Penn State) and Rick Hove, Executive Director of Faculty Commons.  We're also thankful for the many professors and Faculty Common's staff for their previous and current input to this series.


In Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, top-selling author and Anglican bishop, N.T. Wright tackles the biblical question of what happens after we die and shows how most Christians get it wrong. The hope of this Christian life is not life after death but "life after life after death." We do not “go to” heaven; we are resurrected and heaven comes down to earth--a difference that makes all of the difference to how we live on earth. Understanding this helps us live in the grander story unfolding all around us.  

 


This year, we are hosting more regional conferences for faculty at various locations.  We currently scheduling four conferences:

Minneapolis, MN--Oct 14-15, 2016
Tempe, AZ--Oct 29, 2016
Palo Alto, CA--April 8, 2017
Greenville, SC--TBD: Feb 10-11 or 17-18, 2017
 

Hear from other Christian professors
who have honored Christ in their teaching, research, and service

Explore with other Christian faculty our common call to the university and the world

Network with colleagues from other universities

Share ideas of effective ministry

graduate students welcome

Recent endorsement: I'm delighted to provide a strong endorsement for A Common Call. As a Christian biology professor at a public university, rarely am I around others who are like-minded in their prayerful desire to be salt and light on the university campus. A Common Call’s focus on practical ministry ideas is important, especially among a group that struggles with connecting heads and hearts.”--Jeff Hardin, University of Wisconsin

A Common Call Conference

 


 
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