The Future of Baptist Higher Education

276 Pages·2006·1.33 MB·English

by  Donald D. Schmeltekopf

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his volume is an excellent collection of papers delivered at a T
national colloquium held at Baylor University that highlights h
the superb diversity of thought that exists within the Baptist e
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higher education ranks. The book makes a contribution to F
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the question, “how shall Baptist colleges and universities
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preserve their heritage while providing leadership within the
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—Bob R. Agee, Executive Director, Association of e

Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools o of Baptist
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The Future of Baptist Higher Education investigates four
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key issues that inform Baptist efforts at higher education: t
the denominational conflict that has afflicted Baptists
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since the 1980s, the secularization of higher education in
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America, the dominance of the market-driven tendencies g
in American higher education today, and the meaning of h
Christian higher education. This volume clearly illustrates e
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that Baptist higher education, as with the Christian life itself,

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is far more complex than any one imperial interpretation.
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Donald D. Schmeltekopf (Ph.D. Drew University) is i
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Provost Emeritus and Hazel and Harry Chavanne Professor
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of Christian Ethics in Business at Baylor University. Dianna

M. Vitanza (Ph.D. Northern Illinois University) is Associate Y
Professor of English at Baylor University. editors
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Th e Future of Baptist Higher
Education
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Th e Future of Baptist
Higher Education
Donald D. Schmeltekopf
and
Dianna M. Vitanza
Editors

Baylor University Press
Waco, Texas USA
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In memory of the founders of Baptist
colleges and universities across America
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Contents
Preface ix
Introduction
1 Baptist Identity and Christian Higher Education 3
Donald D. Schmeltekopf and Dianna M. Vitanza
Part One: Four Models for Baptist Higher Education
2 Integrating Faith and Learning in an Ecumenical Context 25
David P. Gushee
3 Building on a Shared Identity within a Shared History 53
William E. Hull
4 Fostering Dissent in the Postmodern Academy 65
Bill J. Leonard
5 Blending Baptist with Orthodox in the Christian University 83
David S. Dockery
Part Two: Faculty and Students and Baptist Higher Education
6 Who Will Our Students Be in a Postmodern,
Postdenominational, and Materialistic Age? 101
Richard Franklin
7 Religious Identity, Academic Reputation,
and Attracting the Best Faculty and Students 113
Larry Lyon
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viii Contents
Part Th ree: Baptist Higher Education and Its Constituencies
8 Is Higher Education a Justifi able Mission
of Baptist Churches and Baptist Bodies? 129
James C. Denison
9 Can Baptist Institutions of Higher Education
Meet the Needs of Increasingly Diverse Constituencies? 145
Albert Reyes
10 Can Baptist Institutions of Higher Education
Meet the Needs of Youth in a Post-9/11 World? 159
Denton Lotz
11 To Whom Are Baptist Colleges and Universities Accountable?
Response 1 171
Daniel Vestal
Response 2 177
R. Kirby Godsey
12 Th e University, the Church, and the Culture 187
Th omas E. Corts
Part Four: Conclusion
13 Th e Future of Baptist Higher Education: Secular or Religious? 203
Martin E. Marty
14 Can the Secular Be Sanctifi ed? 219
Curtis W. Freeman
Notes 233
Contributors 263
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