Professors ‘write the book’

Professors ‘write the book’ on faith, resilience and Scripture

Bible professors lead the way in bringing book projects into the classroom to impact students

Since coming to Lipscomb in 2011, Dr. Josh Strahan (’04) (at left), associate professor in the College of Bible & Ministry, began to notice a shift in the way the younger generation viewed Christianity. It didn’t matter whether his students had gone to church their whole lives or not, it seemed that students often didn’t know the basics of Christianity and why those basics matter.

His students’ demonstration of what sociologists call moralistic therapeutic deism, or the watering down of Christianity into a general moral wishful thinking, spurred him to write his book The Basics of Christian Belief: Bible, Theology and Life’s Big Questions, which was released in 2020 and is now used as a textbook in Lipscomb’s required Bible courses.

The story behind Strahan’s book is just one way that Lipscomb students and Lipscomb faculty authors have fueled each other in a reciprocal relationship that has spawned 19 books on faith, spirituality, the Bible and the Church in just the past five years.

“We encourage and expect our professors to write scholarly works, because it cannot help but force you to consider new things and rethink your class presentations,” said College of Bible & Ministry Dean Dr. Leonard Allen (at right), author of Poured Out: The Spirit of God Empowering the Mission of God. “I think it greatly enhances what we can do for students.”

Using his own book in his courses makes class discussions more immediately relevant, said

19 Books written or edited by Bible faculty since 2018* *As reported to the Office of the Provost.

Strahan. “Students share what they find compelling, and they get a chance to challenge ideas, which is meaningful since the author is right there in the room,” he said.

Dr. Holly Allen (at right), formerly a professor of Family Science and Christian Ministry, is now a retired adjunct who still teaches two classes shored up by a career researching educational psychology, intergenerational Christian formation, and children’s and family studies.

Upon arriving at Lipscomb eight years ago, she began exploring academic literature on resilience in children in order to revamp the Nurturing Spiritual Development course into a service-learning course where students had an opportunity to work with children who had suffered trauma.

In delving into studies on resilience in children who suffered trauma, poverty or relocation as a refugee, she discovered that a primary thread running through them all was the conclusion that some type of spirituality helped protect children from the ill effects of trauma.

That realization sparked her 2021 book Forming Resilient Children: The Role of Spiritual Formation as Healthy Development, which gathers much of the resiliency research she was reading into one source for her students.

Now she uses the book as a textbook in her course using a “flipped classroom” model, where students read chapters from her book before arriving in class. It “has brought the class alive,” Allen says, as she now uses class time as more of a hands-on laboratory.

Students do role-playing and practice various methods for enhancing children’s spirituality such as: walking a labyrinth, participating in a Godly play story, writing a letter to God, praying in color, drawing a picture of God and reading children’s books and engaging with the question, “Who are you in this story?”

Her most well-known work, Intergenerational Christian Formation: Bringing the Whole Church Together in Ministry, Community, and Worship, published in 2012 but due for a revision by 2023, also boosts engaging class discussion and students’ understanding of how they can maximize their role in church congregations, Allen said.

“Students are keenly interested in how church leadership can look different. By the time they get to the chapter on intergenerational leadership, they are starting to see that churches need to involve all generations, building on the unique strengths and resources of each demographic,” she said.

Dr. John Mark Hicks (at lower left), professor, is the college’s most prolific writer with six books published since 2019 and 10 books authored or coauthored by him before that. He says the nurturing relationship between students and faculty authors is definitely reciprocal.

“In teaching, I am prompted by students to think more deeply about particular ideas or justification for those ideas. That prompts me to be more focused in my studies and to search for more responsible responses. I think students propel my writing in many ways,” he said. “Doing that research and writing then informs what I do in the classroom, because now I have more informed responses that I can explore in the classroom.”

That reciprocal relationship is certainly seen in his latest book, Around the Bible in 80 Days: The Story of God from Creation to New Creation, which was sparked by his teaching of the undergraduate course called: God, Creation and New Creation.

The book’s format lays out God’s overall redemptive story from the first act of creation to the renewal of all creation in the new heaven and new Earth. The book was shaped by “years of trying to walk through the story of God theologically with students,” said Hicks.

“The classroom reveals the questions that are important for students, the concerns they have, and the areas they enjoyed or topics they wanted to explore more,” he said.

“Students are sounding boards for ideas, how ideas are received and how they are heard,” said Hicks.

Or, as Holly Allen says, “Writing informs my teaching, and teaching informs my writing.”

Lipscomb Faculty Reading Room

Lipscomb University faculty were busy putting pen to paper in the 2021-22 school year, exploring topics such as prayer, wisdom-based business operation, traditions, great ideas and the philosophical nature of morality. These books by Lipscomb faculty are now available online for purchase.

In the Great Stream: Imagining Churches of Christ in the Christian Tradition

Dr. Leonard Allen (Lipscomb Dean of the College of Bible)—Abilene Christian University Press, 2021

All throughout the modern period, there has been a steady campaign for people to “think for themselves” without tradition’s distorting restraint. As a result, many Christians now blindly sip a watered-down faith, marketed as “no creed but the Bible.” Allen shows, however, that we are always traditioning—even if one doesn’t believe in tradition. In the Great Stream explores the Great Tradition and how it can be our ally providing weight, ballast and bearings to all those who seek to live out—and to pass on—the faith.

According to a review by James L. Gorman in the journal Discipliana, “Allen urges Churches of Christ to rediscover and reclaim early Christian Tradition, following the examples of Robert Webber, J. I. Packer, D. H. Williams, and others… arguing that such rediscovery and rootedness is essential for any group who wishes to survive and thrive amid current challenges.”

Allen is the author or co-author of 14 books, including Poured Out: The Spirit of God Empowering the Mission of God; Answered By Fire: The Cane Ridge Revival Reconsidered; The Cruciform Church: Becoming a Cross-Shaped People in a Secular World; Distant Voices: Discovering a Forgotten Past for a Changing Church; and Things Unseen: Churches of Christ in (and after) the Modern Age.

Nature and Command: On the Metaphysical Foundations of Morality

Dr. J. Caleb Clanton (Lipscomb Research Professor in Philosophy) and Dr. Kraig Martin—University of Tennessee Press, 2022

Since at least the time of Plato, religious explanations of the metaphysical foundations of morality have typically fallen into one of two camps: natural law theory, according to which morality is fundamentally explained by facts about human nature—facts that God is responsible for—and divine command theory, which holds that moral obligations arise directly from God’s commands or some other prescriptive act of the divine will.

The authors offer an accessible analysis of these traditional views, reconstruct the various arguments for and against them, and offer an extended consideration of the historical emergence of the divide between these positions within the Christian tradition. Nature and Command goes on to develop and defend a theory that combines these two views—a metaethical approach that has not yet received the scholarly attention it deserves.

Clanton is one of Lipscomb’s most prolific writers, having authored or edited several books, including: Restoration and Philosophy; Philosophy of Religion in the Classical American Tradition; The Philosophy of Religion of Alexander Campbell, winner of the Lester McAllister Prize; The Ethics of Citizenship; and Religion & Democratic Citizenship.

Great Ideas in History, Politics & Philosophy: A Reader

Dr. J Caleb Clanton (Lipscomb Research Professor of Philosophy) and Dr. Richard Goode (Lipscomb Professor of History), editors—Baylor University Press, 2021

With the world at our fingertips through the internet, it can be paralyzing and overwhelming to take in all the information available. What’s needed is a way to tune out the noise and home in on foundational ideas that can help us better navigate the complexities of our highly interconnected age.

This volume offers streamlined access to seminal passages from some of the most important texts in human history—the great ideas—that have influenced and enriched human experience, cultures and civilizations for centuries. Selections are drawn from a variety of key traditions and historical contexts, including ancient Greece, China, India and Rome; Judaism, early Christianity and classical Islam; medieval Europe; the Renaissance and exploration period; the early modern period and Enlightenment; and early U.S. history.

Other books by Goode include And the Criminals With Him: Essays in Honor of Will D. Campbell; Writings on Reconciliation and Resistance and Crashing the Idols: The Vocation of Will D. Campbell.

Speaking with God: Probing Old Testament Prayers for Contemporary Significance

Dr. Phillip G. Camp (Lipscomb Professor of Bible) & Dr. Elaine A. Phillips, editors—Pickwick Publications, 2021

“Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy!” (Ps 86:1).

God’s people, past and present, know that the Lord of all creation listens to their prayers for mercy, help, forgiveness and justice. God’s people cry out to the heart of their God, sometimes through intense struggle and perplexity, and they expect an answer. There can be no less in a true relationship. They also celebrate their experiences of God’s faithfulness. There is no area of life outside the bounds of prayer.

The essays in this collection, written by biblical scholars, explore Old Testament prayers in order to enrich our understanding of Israel’s beliefs about and relationship with God. Equally important for each of the authors is the following question: Why do these prayers matter for the life of the Church today?

Camp’s other books include Finding Your Way: A Guide to Seminary Life and Beyond; Living as the Community of God: Moses Speaks to the Church in Deuteronomy; and Praying with Ancient Israel: Exploring the Theology of Prayer in the Old Testament.

Wisdom-Based Business: Applying Biblical Principles and EvidenceBased Research for a Purposeful and Profitable Business

Dr. Hannah Stolze (Lipscomb Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Transformative Sales & Supply Chain Leadership)—Zondervan Academic, 2021

At its best, business is both purposeful and profitable, dynamic and gainful, commercial and rewarding. Far from being opposites, good business and good behavior go handin-hand, and biblical principles can align with best practices. Stolze draws principles from the Bible’s wisdom literature and from evidence-based research to create a framework for business that is oriented toward excellence and sustainability.

Any Christian who works in the marketplace or is training to work in the marketplace will benefit from this book’s practical guidance on how to reflect Christian values in their corporate tasks and strategies— and on how those values can be, not hindrances, but keys to success.

Stolze’s scholarly work has appeared in the Harvard Business Review, Journal of Operations Management and the Journal of Supply Chain Management.

Summer Grant Awardees

Lipscomb funds summer research to advance treatments for cancer, education and physics

Each year, Lipscomb University awards up to six grants to allow faculty to focus on research and scholarship during the summer. Past grants have benefitted the development of new courses, the writing of books and poetry, innovative research in chemistry and biology and programs to enhance Lipscomb’s relationship within the national and international community.

In 2022, five faculty were awarded grants to conduct projects adding to humanity’s knowledge base in fighting cancer and illness in premature infants, education coaching for teachers of gifted students, the psychology of persuasion and quantum entanglement.

Dr. Kyle Brawner

Assistant Professor of Biology “Identification of Biomarkers for Necrotizing Enterocolitis” Student Research Assistants: Mohraeil Endraws, Paul Agaiby and Mariam Bushra

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the leading cause of gastrointestinal morbidity and mortality among premature infants, affecting approximately 10% of this population. Because current treatment options have not significantly improved the NEC mortality rate over the decades, a potentially promising approach would be to discover NEC biomarkers that can reliably identify cases of possible NEC in the very early stages, predict the severity and serve as novel therapeutic targets. Brawner’s ultimate goal is to determine if changes in tryptophan (Trp) metabolites might be used to identify infants at high risk of developing NEC and if Trp metabolizing pathways can be targeted as an NEC treatment approach. His focus this summer is to determine if two specific candidates—aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligands and kynurenine—can serve as such biomarkers. He and his student research team are performing cell culture experiments to determine if bacteria and bacterial products known to be involved in causing NEC lead to expression changes of Trpmetabolizing enzymes. Plans also include acquiring actual samples from NEC patients to see if the levels of Trp metabolites and enzymes that produce them are different compared to non-NEC samples.

Brawner was awarded a $25,000 grant from the 2021 Christian Scholars Foundation-Emerging Scholars Network for this continuing research.

To read more about Brawner’s research go to bit.ly/LipscombBrawner.

Dr. Lindsay Dillingham (’05)

Associate Professor of Marketing “Development of a Counterarguing Tendency Scale”

In research centering on resistance to persuasion, a person’s internal counterarguments when presented with information that contradicts their viewpoint can be predictive of overall resistance. However, to date, a person’s innate tendency to counterargue is not assessed in experimental settings as a variable that could impact the resistance process.

A scale to assess individual differences in counterarguing tendency is the first step to exploring this potential variable. Two previous rounds of data collection aimed at scale development indicate there are four

underlying psychological subconstructs of an individual’s tendency to counterargue. In addition, the newly developed scale will be analyzed alongside two existing, closely related scales to demonstrate validity.

To date Dr. Dillingham has published nine journal articles focusing on the resistance to persuasion process. The outlets for her work on this topic include Journal of Applied Communication Research, Annals of Tourism Research and Western Journal of Communication.

Dr. Emily Mofield

Assistant Professor of Education “Coaching in Gifted Education: Tools for Building Capacity and Catalyzing Change”

Coaching has become increasingly popular in school districts as a way to change teaching practices and impact student learning. As gifted programs offer enrichment within the regular classroom, the role of the gifted teacher often includes that of an enrichment coach who supports regular education teachers in meeting the needs of gifted students in their classrooms. Mofield is working this summer to complete relevant research to include in her latest book Coaching in Gifted Education: Tools for Building Capacity and Catalyzing Change, co-authored with Dr. Vicki Phelps of Milligan University. Though districts are using coaching as part of gifted programming more and more, there is not a resource that defines coaching in gifted education or provides the how-to steps for serving in this role. This book aims to provide example scenarios, coaching cycle guides with question prompts, and numerous tools to equip gifted education coaches for success. Mofield also co-authored with Phelps Collaboration, CoTeaching and Coaching in Gifted Education: Sharing Strategies to Support Gifted Learners which was recognized as the 2021 Book of the Year by the National Association for Gifted Children.

Dr. Josh Owens (’16)

Assistant Professor of Biology “Elucidating the effects of bacterially derived metabolites on metabolism” Student Research Assistants: Madeleine Enos (Langford-Yates Fellow), Carolyn Tran and Helana Khalif

Previously, Owens discovered a novel molecule, Valerobetaine (VB), that is capable of inhibiting fat metabolism. He discovered VB during his doctoral studies at Emory University working with bacteria found in the human gut.

At Emory, Owens showed that VB shuts off fat metabolism and exacerbates obesity in both mice and human subjects. Therefore, in settings of high fat consumption, VB is detrimental and causes weight gain, he said. Now he is working to find molecules that can increase fat metabolism. To find the new molecule, Owens is targeting several potential bacteria that have been shown to be beneficial in settings of weight loss but how they accomplish this is not understood. The ultimate goal is to find novel molecules that can be packaged and used as drugs in the future to aid patients in weight loss. Additionally, Owens is researching how VB could be used as an anti-cancer drug, especially in regards to treating cancer that has metastasized or spread, he said.

Owens was awarded a $26,000 grant from the Christian Scholars Foundation-Emerging Scholars Network for this continuing research. Part of this proposal will be done in collaboration with Dr. Ken Liu at Emory University.

Read more about Owens’ tie to former Lipscomb biology professor Willis Owens at bit.ly/LipscombOwens.

Dr. Michael Watson

Professor of Physics “Computation Simulation of Quantum Entanglement Binding between Spacetime Regions” Student Research Assistants: Jocelyn Howland and Soren Thompson

Watson’s investigation this summer is based upon emergent spacetime research. Current research proposes that the connectivity of space emerges from the strength of the quantum entanglement between regions. Watson and the student researchers will work on understanding this relationship in order to codify the entangled connections between multiple “spacetime particles.” The purpose of simulating the connections will be to investigate how spacetime emerges as a function of particle number, coupling strength and connectivity density. The simulation may allow investigation into other emergent properties, e.g. pressure, internal energy, etc.

“Entanglement may provide a means to draw regions together, but what makes them spread apart? The regions cannot overlap, does this imply a separation pressure between regions? These are a couple of the questions that I wish to explore in this project,” said Watson.

Read more about Watson’s work with the world’s eighth most powerful supercomputer in the world at bit.ly/LipscombWatson.