So much to tell, so little time…
June ASC Board Retreat & Strategic Planning
About a month ago, the ASC board convened in Muncie for a two-day strategic planning session. We were led through this process by Dr. David Wright, a wise and generous guide indeed!
We have all come away with a renewed sense of mission, a clearer vision, and a palpable excitement for the future of Alcuin Study Center. We are now working through the action steps and SMART goals from that weekend as we head toward our 5-year goals.
This behind-the-scenes work is not the stuff of exciting newsletters, but without it, Alcuin Study Center has no future. I am so thankful for a board of directors and other advisors who are willing to put the time into infrastructure and strategy.
Annual Meeting of Consortium of Christian Study Centers
This past week I spent a few days at UVA in Charlottesville, Virginia at the Consortium of Christian Study Centers’ Annual Meeting.
This is always a highlight of the year for me. It’s a feast of fellowship and encouragement, best practices and new ideas, spiritual and intellectual formation all rolled into one.
This was my fanboy moment. That’s Ken Myers with me. He is the creator and host of Mars Hill Audio (no relation to Mars Hill Church) named after Paul’s interaction with the philosophers on Mars Hill in Athens in Acts 17. I used to subscribe to Mars Hill Tapes (yes, cassettes) and then the CDs, and now, of course, it’s all MP3. It was the best podcast long before podcasts. Much of how I think has been shaped by Ken’s work and I felt like a 16-year-old me meeting Bono.
Iron Sharpening Iron
These Annual Meetings are quite powerful in many ways. First of all, as Consortium director Karl Johnson emphasizes every year: “This is not a conference. It is a meeting for those doing the work to learn from one another.” The vast majority of our workshops and about 1/2 of the plenary sessions are led by staff members of various study centers.
Last year I co-led a workshop addressing some of the concerns unique to smaller study centers (like ours, The Pascal Study Center at University of Illinois, The Bradley Center at Virginia Tech, or The Nicaea Study Center at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs) as opposed to the issues facing larger centers (like Anselm House at University of Minnesota, Upper House at University of Wisconsin, The Center for Christian Studies at UVA, or the North Carolina Study Center at Chapel Hill).
This year I was on a plenary panel of directors who have done substantial work with faculty at their centers, offering advice on how to engage with faculty. I was joined by members of centers at Duke University, MIT, University of Minnesota, and University of Wisconsin.
I was also on the planning committee for the Annual Meeting this year, and have been asked to lead that committee in the years to come. I am thrilled to serve the Consortium of Christian Study Centers in this way, and more than a bit terrified by the responsibility of the task; the bar is set very high. I’d appreciate your prayers for wisdom as I move forward in this role. Thank you.
CCS: a Vision of ASC’s future?
This year’s meeting was hosted by The Center for Christian Studies (CCS) at University of Virginia, Charlottesville. CCS is the original study center, dating back 50 years. In that time it has never moved from its original house, but it has had a few substantial updates. I’m inspired to think of what Alcuin Study Center might become over the next few decades!
Modality & Sodality
Our final plenary session was led by another guest, Charlie Cotherman, author of To Think Christianly: A History of L’Abri, Regent College, and the Christian Study Center Movement. Charlie engaged with the Center for Christian Studies at UVA while pursuing his PhD. and is a friend of the Consortium. Drawing from Ralph Winter’s work, Charlie’s admonition to us was simply this: Remember that study centers are sodalities while the Church is the modality. That is, we are akin to guilds, monasteries, or orders that serve the Church, and when we cease to serve the Church, we’ve lost the whole point. Amen and amen.
Let’s Go De-Fence!
Do you remember the “super-hero” film, The Mystery Men? One of the heroes was a humble and lovable character called the Shoveler, played by William H. Macey (far left). His best line in the film is “God gave me a gift. I shovel well. I shovel very well.” Well, these guys were also given that gift, and they are heroes to me! (Several others showed up to help either before or after I snapped this photo; those of you that didn’t make the photo, please forgive me.)
“God gave me a gift. I shovel well. I shovel very well.”
-The Shoveler
We dug holes, cut wrought iron, and carried about 2400 lbs of fence to the scrap metal yard. Not only does our yard look much more welcoming, but we also now have the space to construct and install the beautiful new sign that Westminster PCA gifted us last Spring. We hope to have it up before classes begin!
The Resurrection in Literature and Film
I was recently invited to be a guest on Indianapolis Theological Seminary’s podcast, World Upside Down. The theme this season is The Resurrection. I was tapped to talk about the resurrection in art and culture, or more precisely, literature and film. To be honest, I was very nervous (which is kind of odd for me). I think it went well, but I haven’t actually listened to it yet. Maybe you’ll beat me to it. If so, let me know what you think.
I am grateful for the rich relationship that Alcuin Study Center has with Indianapolis Theological Seminary!
That’s our July edition of Notes from Alcuin. The August issue will be out very shortly and will have a preview of this Fall’s classes and events. Stay tuned!
And thank you for your prayers, support, involvement, and interest in Alcuin Study Center!
In Christ, in Whom all things hold together,
Executive Director, ASC