Mission-Driven Colleges: Keeping First Things First in Christian Higher Education

In Mission-Driven Colleges: Keeping First Things First in Christian Higher Education, Scott Rae and Rick Langer argue that a successful Christian university goes beyond simply incorporating religious studies. They propose that the entire institution, from its leadership to its curriculum, must be designed to nurture a distinctive Christian worldview. Through four foundational questions, Rae and Langer demonstrate how to build the structural framework that empowers a Christian university to thrive. They guide educators and administrators in strategizing, planning, and implementing practices that ensure both a deep Christian identity and academic rigor. Mission-Driven Colleges is a vital resource for anyone committed to the success of Christian universities, offering a clear path to realizing their full educational mission.

Release date: February 1, 2025

, Paperback 192 B&H Academics 2025
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Scott Rae

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The Apologetics Study Bible helps today’s Christians better understand, defend, and proclaim their beliefs in this age of increasing moral and spiritual relativism. More than one-hundred key questions and articles placed throughout the volume about faith and science prompt a rewarding study experience at every reading. Highlights of this thinking person’s edition of God’s Word include the full text of the popular HCSB translation, an introduction to each Bible book focusing on its inherent elements of apologetics, and profiles of historic Christian apologists from Justin Martyr to C.S. Lewis.

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Richard Langer

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How are Christians to engage the broader culture? How might we be both persuasive and civil, and both challenge the beliefs of others and offer love and respect? The task of bearing faithful witness to Jesus is complicated by persistent—and not altogether baseless—cultural stereotypes. In our post-Christian society, thoughtful Christians are considering again how to engage the dominant culture as a minority, a counterpublic, amid varying perceptions and misperceptions. Tim Muehlhoff and Richard Langer’s Winsome Persuasion presents a model for cultural engagement that integrates communication theory, theology, and Scripture. Penetrating, wise, and relentlessly practical, this timely book includes test cases and historical examples, such as William Wilberforce and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

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We generally assume that those sitting around us in church share our beliefs. But when our personal convictions are contested by fellow Christians, everything changes. We feel attacked from behind. When other Christians doubt or deny our convictions, we don’t experience it as a mere difference of opinion, but as a violation of an unspoken agreement. Tim Muehlhoff and Rick Langer offer a guide to help Christians navigate disagreements with one another.

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In Mission-Driven Colleges: Keeping First Things First in Christian Higher Education, Scott Rae and Rick Langer argue that a successful Christian university goes beyond simply incorporating religious studies. They propose that the entire institution, from its leadership to its curriculum, must be designed to nurture a distinctive Christian worldview.

The book delves into four foundational questions:

  • What defines a university?
  • What sets a Christian university apart?
  • What makes your specific university unique within the Christian landscape?
  • How can academic disciplines be approached from a Christian perspective?

Through these questions, Rae and Langer demonstrate how to build the structural framework that empowers a Christian university to thrive. They guide educators and administrators in strategizing, planning, and implementing practices that ensure both a deep Christian identity and academic rigor. Mission-Driven Colleges is a vital resource for anyone committed to the success of Christian universities, offering a clear path to realizing their full educational mission.

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