ARTICLES

During the late 1970s, I booked or helped present concerts with trailblazers like Larry Norman , Randy Stonehill , Phil Keaggy , the Archers , Found Free, and Honeytree . Their songs were wide-ranging. They were about coming clean, like “ Rattle Me Shake Me ,” nature, such as “ Here Comes the Sun ,” and our eternal destiny. “ I Wish We’d All Been Ready ” had many of us Arminians back at the altar. Every time these musicians arrived, whether in a rattly repurposed school bus or via a driver, there was an official interview of sorts—as a young Christian, I wanted to know if they were authentic in their faith. I suppose nothing has changed with this routine. Most recently, I’ve walked away smiling from time with Shane and Shane , Dylan Thomas, Brooke Ligertwood , Brandon Lake, Cody Carnes, JVKE (the Lawsons), Michael W., and others. From little to lots of time, it’s been uplifting.  Against this backdrop I’ve watched some singers in the secular space make rather bold statements—and was reminded of this public and private scrutiny of musicians’ public statements and lifestyle choices. Let me focus on one, as it highlights this election season.

We are at a crossroads in the US on many fronts, including the intersection of sound logic with pressing concerns. Throughout our history we have had men and women with tremendous influence speak into contemporary issues through their thought, whether manifest in writing or speaking. We are navigating an era in which many have tried to discard the law of noncontradiction. The very humanities basis for life’s important questions is considered suspect as educational institutions are under pressure. We indeed can learn from the steps of public intellectuals with transferable lessons for such a time as this.

GOLF & NETWORKING – A 20-year, transferable success story. I began our league 19 seasons ago: it's had hundreds participate, given 3,800 prizes, enjoyed widespread PR, hosted many “celebrity” guests, & realized untold business partnerships/deals. THE PATTENGALE PLAN: Work to have it absorbed by an organization and aligned with long-term respected sponsors--Indiana Wesleyan University absorbed ours. It’s the perfect soft-touch commitment & community connection (anyone can join). The focus is fun & friendship, but often serendipitous business follows. Secret sauce: structured fun, flexible attendance, & intentional networking (w/ meticulous stats & contacts). People love to relax into structure, and, in sports, w/ fairness & begin to own it--see my podcast, last post.

“WHO IS MARK NOLL?” WAS AN AWKWARD question coming from an academic administrator, accented by his dazed look when I mentioned Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. I left that Christian campus with mixed feelings, appreciative of meeting goodhearted professors but pricked deeply by that conversation—his obvious unawareness of a leading Christian thinker. I have found myself in his role, such as sharing the speaking platform with Martin Bernal before reading his Black Athena. Even more uncomfortable was sitting in England’s famous “pump room” at Bath prior to reading Northanger Abbey while being surrounded by Jane Austin veterans—my students. 

Have our colleges and universities lost sight of their purpose? "N o matter where they've attended school," the reader is assured in Becoming a Master Student, the most widely used text intended to orient incoming freshmen, " liberally educated people can state what they're willing to bet their lives on." But this otherwise helpful book fails to give students direction on how to discover such confidence.