Jerry Pattengale – författare

In the 1990s, Christian colleges and universities experienced a record boom in students and employees. However, less than twenty years later Christian institutions experienced new challenges spurred on by four major changes: first, the "Great Recession" of 2008 and widespread debt; second, declining birthrates in certain regions of the United States; third, the passing of the Affordable Care Act, which raised the question of whether Christian institutes were required to cover contraceptives; and fourth, the Supreme Court's decision to legalize gay marriage, which brought issues of employment to the forefront at certain Evangelical institutions. Yet despite mounting challenges, most Christian colleges and universities are still stronger now than at any point in their respective histories by almost any measure.With The Anxious Middle, Todd C. Ream and Jerry Pattengale engage the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a model for navigating our tumultuous times. The authors argue that if the present age is defined by what Bonhoeffer calls in Creation and Fall the "anxious middle"—somewhere between Eden and the Apocalypse—the challenges faced by Christian higher education must be recognized as both existential and practical. To confront them while still embracing any opportunities afforded by occasional cross breezes, Christian colleges and universities would be wise to employ a fourfold approach to planning informed by Bonhoeffer's work as well as historic and contemporary examples: institutions should be articulate about their missions, imaginative in advancing them, collaborative in deploying them, and strategic in sharing them.  Trustees, administrators, faculty members, and others concerned with the future of Christian colleges and universities will find in The Anxious Middle a planning process applicable to organizational levels ranging from the campus-wide to the departmental or the programmatic. The result is an understanding of Christian higher education not merely focused on surviving but thriving between Eden and the Apocalypse.

An inspiring keepsake that honors the heroic sacrifice of today’s martyrs for the Christian faith—and shows how their actions mirror the courage of a long line of brave Christians.In the twenty-first century, we are witnessing an escalation in Christian persecution like we have rarely seen since the first century. Many people don’t realize that today thousands of Christians are dying cruel deaths throughout much of the world. There were, in fact, more martyrs in the last century than in all the previous Christian centuries combined. Millions have given their lives since the fall of Rome, and today tens of thousands die annually for their faith in Jesus. Most of these modern stories are not legendary; in fact, many are unknown.The New Book of Christian Martyrs commemorates those modern-day heroes. In this update to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Johnnie Moore and Jerry Pattengale highlight key martyrs of past centuries and feature stories of contemporary martyrs around the world. Through tears, Johnnie and Jerry offer this compendium of heroes from the first century to the twenty-first century, from Europe to Africa and from Asia to the Americas, to inspire Christians around the globe. Today, we live in solidarity with them and in the next life, we will rejoice by their side. We will never forget their sacrifice for the truth.

In the world of education, disorientation and uncertainty has been increasing for several decades, with the Covid-19 pandemic only exacerbating preexisting challenges. Christians called to academic vocations need authentic hope to sustain them in their work—and they need to be able to share that hope with a weary world.Habits of Hope explores a Christian understanding of hope and how it applies to the work of educators, administrators, scholars, and others in academia. Essays by master practitioners focus on six key educational practices and describe how these practices can cultivate hope within educators as well as among their students and everyone they serve:- integration- conversation- diversity- reading- writing- teachingContributors include Hans Boersma; Kimberly Battle-Walters Denu; Kevin G. Grove, CSC; Cherie Harder; Jon S. Kulaga; Philip Graham Ryken; David I. Smith; and Jessica Hooten Wilson.Christian hope, these thinkers are convinced, has two fundamental characteristics: it''s tied inextricably to the world to come, inaugurated by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and it''s active in its very nature. Habits of Hope combines theology and practical application to help educators find hope and infuse it throughout every area of their work.

Your Institution''s Mission Is Key to Its FlourishingFor church-related colleges and universities, a mission statement is a powerful tool. It communicates what is distinctive about each institution and its relationship to its faith tradition. Yet having a clear and compelling mission statement is not enough. Universities face ongoing challenges in stewarding their missions in a rapidly changing culture.In A Mission Held in Trust, leading administratorsand educators from both Protestant and Catholic institutions provide wisdom on mission alignment in higher education. Mission is designed to be held in trust by members of a community and stewarded for the next generation.Contributors shed light on a number of topics to help church-related colleges and universities advance their missions, including:- how mission statements serve as organizing rationales for exercising institutional identity;- challenges to mission in a post-secular cultural context;- issues of law, lobbying, messaging, and finance;- the theological, philosophical, and legal characteristics of fiduciary service; and- how students, educators, board members,and other stakeholders are formed for service.This book brings together a distinguished roster of higher education leaders from presidents of Notre Dame, Baylor, Biola, Pepperdine, Franciscan, and Samford to senior officials fromWheaton, Villanova, Saint Louis, and the Catholic University of America. Spanning Catholic, evangelical, and ecumenical institutions, their combined experience in leadership, formation, and ministry offers readers practical, hard-won wisdom they cantrust.In the midst of uncertainties and change, mission remains a sacred trust—inherited from predecessors and passed along to successors. A Mission Held in Trust is a unique ecumenical resource providing wisdom and encouragement for leaders seeking faithfulness in these vital vocations.About the ContributorsThis volume brings together an outstanding group of higher education leaders. Contributors include Kathleen Byrnes, vice president for student life at Villanova University; Barry H. Corey, President of Biola University; Robert A. Dowd, CSC, president of the University of Notre Dame; Jim Gash, president of Pepperdine University; Aquinas Guilbeau, OP, university chaplain and vice president of ministry and mission at Catholic University of America; John I. Jenkins, CSC, president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame; Karen An-hwei Lee, professor of English and provost at Wheaton College; Linda A. Livingstone, president of Baylor University; Edward A. Malloy, CSC, president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame; Dave Pivonka, TOR, president of Franciscan University; Molly A. Schaller, associate dean of the School of Education at Saint Louis University; Beck A. Taylor, president of Samford University.