James Madison Christian Faculty Fellowship

Christian Faculty Fellowship member Anthony Tongen shared this link about grace and teaching: Francis Su acceptance speech. In it, mathematician Francis Su accepts a teaching award and makes these two points about grace:

• “Your accomplishments are NOT what make you a worthy human being.”
• “You learn this lesson when someone shows you GRACE: good things you didn’t earn or deserve, but you’re getting them anyway.”

In the speech, Su explains that in his religious view, Jesus is the ultimate giver and source of grace. Many of us who take teaching seriously have found this talk insightful and inspiring. Here again is the link: http://mathyawp.blogspot.mx/2013/01/the-lesson-of-grace-in-teaching.html

Our series on faith and popular culture continues Friday, March 1, with The Hunger Games. We’ll meet at 7:30 a.m. at Mr. J’s Bagels on East Market Street for the discussion. Both the young-adult novel and movie The Hunger Games were big hits in 2012 — but what does the story tell us about our culture? And how do we, as people of faith, respond to The Hunger Games while being faithful to our Christian witness? Here are two articles for advance reading:

• Christians and The Hunger Games http://www.credenda.org/index.php/Reviews/christians-and-the-hunger-games.html
• Christianity Today’s review of the movie http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/marchweb-only/hungergames.html 

The first meeting of the new year for the James Madison Christian Faculty Fellowship will be Friday, January 11, at 7:30 a.m. at Mr. J’s Bagels on East Market Street. Our theme for the semester is “Faith and Popular Culture,” and our first meeting will explore The Hobbit. Its author, J.R.R. Tolkien, was a dedicated Christian — but are there Christian themes in The Hobbit? And how can we relate to this book, the movie series based on it, and the culture in general, in a way that honors Christ? Advance reading (not required) consists of these two articles:

• A feature article on Christian themes in The Hobbit
• A background profile on Tolkien from Christianity Today

Join us for a lively discussion!

Our last meeting of the fall “Congregational Connections” series is set for Friday, December 7, at 7:30 a.m. at Mr. J’s Bagels on East Market Street. Our guest will be Kerry Willis of Harrisonburg First Church of the Nazarene. At each of our meetings, we have had as a guest someone who is involved in ministry at the local churches some of our students attend. Come join us to talk about our connections with local congregations.

On October 5, our fall “congregational connections” series continues with Jack Mercer of Harrisonburg Baptist. The meeting is set for 7:30 a.m. at Mr. J’s Bagels on East Market Street. Through the fall series, we’re connecting with the local churches some of our students attend — which are, also, the churches we would recommend to new believers or inquirers. Join us on October 5!