Happy Birthday!

I am very excited to celebrate one year of The Scholar Redeemer. There have been readers from 72 countries totaling nearly 11,000 views of 349 posts. By far, the most popular topic was the Professor Martin Gaskell court case. Topics have ranged from meditations, devotions and random thoughts, to observations of education in general and higher ed in particular, to government interactions with education, to the educational culture to apologetics to science/faith issues and so on.

It has been a faith journey for me personally as well. Many have asked how I am able to write something every day. Often I’d sit down, usually late at night, wanting nothing more than my pillow, to face a blank screen. Without any ideas jumping to get out, I’d simply pray for God to direct my thoughts and show me things from the day that might inspire, encourage or challenge folks.

Every time, usually within a couple of minutes, I’d have a topic. More often than not, I would not even know where I would end up as I began. God has been faithful. Many times, my thoughts would develop into completely new ideas I’d never considered before and it would be just as impactful for me as I’d hoped it would be for my readers, probably more so.

Chronological milestones are an appropriate time to reflect and recenter. The first post, published September 28, 2010 explained why I started this thing, and so I share it gain here, updated slightly as my perspectives have been updated from circling the planet one more time. If there was one thing I’d like to see differently, it would be an increased sense of community among readers, sharing their insights and even criticisms through comments. I know some folks have had difficulty with the interface on Blogspot, and I apologize. If you have this trouble, send the comment to me over email and I’ll post it for you. Be sure to tell me by what moniker you wish to be labeled.

Welcome Fellow Cats!

Let's face it--we academicians tend to be like cats. We're independent and tend to be loners, so ministering to us as a group tends to be like herding cats. Some of this seems outwardly imposed by the various demands we face by our classes, research, service, administration, family, and possible outside consulting or other obligations. We get in a rut, and tune out extraneous things, even when we sort of want to be involved, out of the fear of adding 'one more thing.'

We tend to get our spiritual encouragement on the run, and much of our information off of the web. That's where the Scholar Redeemer comes in--to address issues from a Christian, academic perspective, and to facilitate an online community for us. While this blog is targeted for faculty, it is open to academic staff, graduate students, undergraduates and, well, anyone with an interest in this breed of feline.

The title is a play on words from the book of Ruth--the kinsman-redeemer, a title often used in referring to Jesus. The higher education system is one of the most influential in the world, and those of us in it have been particularly blessed with contributing to that influence, and like all worldly systems, is in need of redemption by Christ. As the ultimate professor, teaching all of humanity about Himself, he is the Scholar-Redeemer.

Please join in through comments and emails. If you find this helpful or encouraging, please tell others.

Soli Deo Gloria