The Idea and Practice of a Christian University

Overview
Uncover a holistic vision of Christian higher education from academics to athletics and regents to students. This book offers a biblical, Lutheran view of higher education that's rooted in the interaction of faith and learning. Each chapter shows how Lutheran Christian education is oriented toward the students' cultivation of wisdom and vocation for freedom to serve society, nature, and the Church.
 
Discussion questions are included at the end of each chapter.


Endorsements
“This is an extremely illuminating book that will be of great help to our universities and to the LCMS as a whole. At a time when synodical universities are struggling with ‘Lutheran Identity,’ this book serves as a template for faculty, administrators, boards, and students for how that can be achieved and for how that identity can help colleges to be truly excellent at every level.”

—Dr. Gene Edward Veith, Professor of Literature, Patrick Henry College

“The essays assembled in this volume provide valuable glimpses into the splendor of Lutheran higher education properly delivered. The reader is invited to immerse himself in the beauty of Lutheran higher education through discussions that engage the interaction of core Lutheran fundamentals and the heart of higher education. This work offers a refreshing explication of the richness that is the Lutheran approach to Christian higher education. The Idea and Practice of a Christian University: A Lutheran Approach is an essential text for anyone involved or interested in Lutheran higher education.”
 
—Rev. Dr. Paul A. Philp, Director of Institutional Research and Integrity for The Concordia University System

“This book illuminates how and why certain Lutheran-shaped concepts and skills, such as vocation, the two kingdoms, and ‘faith seeking understanding for service’ should continue to interact with and influence Christian and even secular higher education. Moreover, I found that the creative insights from authors spanning multiple disciplines, and even the co-curricular arena, added fresh and engaging new ideas regarding how Lutheranism can nourish the university.”

—Dr. Perry L. Glanzer, Professor of Educational Foundations at Baylor University and Resident Scholar with Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion

“The effort to transfer Lutheranism’s European Protestant heritage into American culture has not always been easy. This unusually helpful collection of essays explains what Lutheran higher education tries to do, has done, and would like to do—both in maintaining the best of the heritage and serving the needs of the present. The book’s many contributors offer much to ponder for anyone who values the heritage of the Reformation, the cause of Christ in the United States, and the application of specifically Lutheran insights to the practices of higher education.”

—Mark A. Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame


About the Editor
Rev. Dr. Scott A. Ashmon is Director of Core Curriculum at Concordia University Irvine. He is also Associate Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew.

Contributors include Russell Dawn, Jeff Mallinson, Steven P. Mueller, Korey D. Maas, Bret Taylor, Mary Scott, Cindy Steinbeck, James V. Bachman, Jack M. Schultz, Roderick B. Soper, Michael E. Young, Christopher “Kit” Nagel, Kerri L. Tom, Peter Senkbeil, Jonathan Ruehs, Scott Keith, Gilbert Fugitt, and Timothy Preuss.