Gary is currently on a writing break completing edits for The Jesus Climb: Journeying from Student to Disciple (Abilene Christian University Press / Leafwood Publishers, 2024)
Watch for the “The Jesus Climb,” April 2024
The Holy Spirit and the Liberal Arts: Higher Education, Innovation, and the Mission of the Church
Will twenty-first century Christian college leaders rise to the challenge of innovation as we have throughout history or will we merely get stuck in the past?
Spiritual Formation: Following Jesus as a Student (Podcast)
John C. Lemon interviews Gary on what it meant to following Jesus as a student in the First Century and today.
The Two-Handed Warrior: Life of the Mind and Spirit (Podcast)
John C. Lemon interviews Gary on how we can live devoted to both the Life of the Mind and the Life of the Spirit in this turbulent season of coming to grips with social injustice.
Welcome to Your Hastily Prepared Online College “Remote Learning” Course (Humor)
With the help of our men’s field hockey coach turned online-learning coordinator, I have developed a virtual experience that matches the intimacy and rigor cultivated in my face-to-face class (…or not)!
Here’s a strange idea — what if a university marketed itself as a place to acquire an education?
The classics really do teach us how to live good and meaningful lives Jacob Howland, The Dallas Morning News American colleges and universities face strong headwinds, including skyrocketing costs and a shrinking supply of prospective students. Many are scrambling to…
The Greco-Roman Liberal Arts: When Students were More than Numbers
Whereas Plato and Aristotle interacted with their students as friends, the depersonalized modern university student is often little more than a number. No relationship means no moral transformation, at least not for the good.
With Prayer in the School of Christ: Higher Education and the Knowledge of God
For Jesus prayer and education were inseparable, because education and the knowledge of God are inseparable.
Saint Patrick and the Missional Future of Christian Higher Education
The patron saint of Ireland is rarely credited with what was perhaps his greatest achievement. (Hint: It’s not green beer.)
3 College Trends the Class of 2021 Should Expect, by Brian Witte
While the value of such specialized degrees is occasionally debated, there is a clear trend toward increased diversity in majors. Once a rare sight, design your own major programs, like that of Swarthmore College, allow students to explore and combine disparate disciplines, like biology and music.
The Endangered Liberal Arts College, by Jason Jones
Saving Sweet Briar (for now) doesn’t undo the disinformation campaign against the liberal arts, who comprise about 4 percent of U.S. colleges and do extraordinary things typically not found in any other institution type. Data supporting this claim of quality can be found in multiple studies (outlined and hyperlinked below), and it deserves some attention because such dedication to uncompromised quality in a close academic community falls on deaf ears in our national conversation that focuses primarily on quantity, scale and technology.
Academic Branding: Professors Producing Hollywood-Style Previews to Attract Students, by Daniel A. Gross
Harvard University was an early adopter in short videos shared across social networks to boost student interest and attendance as they “shop” for classes. They have an intimacy that course catalogs and posters lack.