This is the second podcast in a series I’m doing on campus ministries. I am interviewing a leader from each, asking them the same questions so that you have an “apples to apples” comparison of the different ministries’ Missions, emphases, distinctives, approaches, and cultures.

In this episode I interview a leader with CRU’s campus ministry. He is the first guest I’ve had on the show twice. You first met Roger Hershey when we discussed his book The Finishers on Episode #13. As perhaps the longest-serving staff in CRU’s Campus Ministry (now in his 50th year), I can think of no one better to help us understand CRU’s ministry.

Furthermore, Roger is the staff worker who ministered to me during my college years (as well as before and after). Before moving into college ministry he directed CRU’s high school ministry in Cincinnati, which God used to bring me to faith in Christ in 1980. Roger then discipled me during my years at Miami University in the early 80s. Finally, from 1989 to 1992 I had the privilege of serving on Roger’s staff team, and I learned much about leadership from him during those years (I’ve summarized some of what I learned in my article “Three Types of Leaders–Two to Avoid and One to Become”). And even though we haven’t worked together for many years now, I still count him a mentor and dear friend.

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My guest for this episode is Dr. Tim Muehlhoff, professor of Communication at Biola University. His research, writing, speaking, and consulting focuses on how to have healthy and productive conversations with others, from the home to the church to the university to the public square.  

Due to his understanding of communication theory, as well as spending many years earning three degrees in public universities, I can think of no one better to help us understand our topic today!

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Welcome to another edition of the College Faith podcast, sponsored by Global Scholars This is the first in a series I’m doing on campus ministries. Over the next six months or so I will be interviewing a leader from each of the major campus ministries, asking them the same questions so that you can have an “apples to apples” comparison of the different ministries’ Missions, emphases, distinctives, approaches, and cultures.

I’m beginning this series by interviewing a leader with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. My guest is Mr. Greg Jao, Executive Vice President–Communications & Mobilization. Greg has over two decades of experience with InterVarsity. He is a former colleague of mine, and I count him as a good friend.

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Welcome to another edition of the College Faith Podcast, sponsored by Global Scholars. My guest today is Roger Hershey, a national traveling speaker and campus ministry consultant with Cru. Roger has ministered to university students for 50 years now, sharing truths and wisdom that has changed the lives of thousands of students. I know this firsthand, because I was one who, now four decades ago, had the privilege of being discipled by Roger while a student at Miami University.  I am thrilled to have Roger on the show and have him share some of his wisdom on this podcast.

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Welcome to another edition of the College Faith podcast, sponsored by Global Scholars. My guest today is Dr. Perry Glanzer, Professor of Education at Baylor University. In this episode we discuss the ins and outs of being an excellent student, which goes far beyond just earning good grades.  

Perry earned his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, and is Baylor’s Professor of Educational Foundations, as well as a Resident Scholar with Baylor’s Institute for Studies in Religion. He has authored, co-authored, or edited a number of important books on the integration of biblical truth and academic studies, including Christianity and Scholarship in Higher Education. In addition, he has published over 75 journal articles and book chapters on topics related to moral education, faith-based higher education, and the relationship between faith and scholarship. Perry is also the current Editor-in-Chief of Christian Scholar’s Review.

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Welcome to another edition of the College Faith podcast, sponsored by Global Scholars. My guest today is Dr. Michael Kruger, President of Reformed Seminary-Charlotte and author of Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College. Dr. Kruger wrote this book for his daughter, who is now a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, sharing what he wished he understood as a young believer and a student there thirty years ago, as his faith was challenged by his religion professor. Now an accomplished scholar, he is able to offer much wisdom to his daughter Emma, and so many like her, who face challenges to their faith each day on campus. 

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In this episode I talk with Dr. Randy Newman about the importance of asking good questions. Whether it be in class, in relationships, or in conversations about our faith, the ability to ask the right questions is often the key to great conversations, learning, and growth. 

Randy is one of the best “question-askers” I know. He has shared some of his wisdom on this topic as it relates to sharing the good news of the gospel with others in his popular book Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People’s Hearts The Way Jesus Did. We begin with the principles he shares in this book and broaden the conversation to the many other types of conversations we often have.

Randy and I have been friends for over 30 years. Though we no longer serve together in the same ministry, we remain close friends. I am always a better person after our conversations, due largely to Randy’s ability to ask me good questions!

Randy currently serves the Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism at the C.S. Lewis Institute.  

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My guest on this episode is Dr. Phil Bishop, emeritus professor of Kinesiology at the University of Alabama, where he taught for 34 years. In 2006 he was appointed the first professorship at Alabama named after Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. (For more see his “Meet The Prof” page, and his personal page.)

As a Christian professor, Phil most enjoys the opportunity he has to love and care for his students. One of the ways he shows this love is speaking often on how to succeed at college, and at life! His talk, “How To Get Better Grades and Have More Fun,” is full of extremely practical and useful tips, gleaned from over four decades as a student and a professor. 

Not only does Phil provide helpful tips to get better grades, he also weaves in lessons important to succeeding in life and sustaining a vibrant relationship with Christ. 

In our conversation, based on his “Better Grades” seminar, we discuss:

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Dr. Ken Elzinga is the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics at University of Virginia. As a professor at UVA for over 50 years now, he has nurtured several generations of students. Christian and non-Christian students alike have benefitted from his gentle, Christlike spirit, his winsome manner, and his extraordinary wisdom. He is the type of professor we all hope and pray our children will have–someone who cares deeply about both their minds and hearts.

Dr. Elzinga has been able to have such an influence on so many students due to his commitment to excellence in his calling as a professor, doing his work as unto the Lord. His honors are too many to mention, but include being the first recipient of the Cavaliers’ Distinguished Professorship at UVA, receiving the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Professor Award, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award, and the Thomas Jefferson Award, which is the highest honor UVA awards to a professor.

As an outstanding scholar and teacher, his introductory economics course is the largest class on campus, with over one thousand students taking the class each year. His upper-level Antitrust Policy seminar continually has a waiting list of two years.

Beyond the university, Dr. Elzinga is often asked for his expert opinion on issues of antitrust economics, including testifying before the Supreme Court as an economic expert in three cases. 

In addition to publishing over one hundred academic articles, he has also co-authored four mystery novels (under the pen name Marshall Jevons). These intriguing novels revolve around an economist who solves crimes by using concepts of economics. They are now available in seven languages, and are often used by others teaching economics to illustrate economic theory. 

In this podcast Dr. Elzinga shares his insights, wisdom, warnings, and encouragements to help Christian students flourish during their university years.

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During his many years in ministry to students Steve noticed some thrived spiritually, while others did not. He began studying what the common factors were that caused students to thrive, eventually earning a PhD in the philosophy of learning at Penn State University. 

His research led to his first book, The Fabric of Faithfulness: Weaving Together Belief & Behavior During the University Years, where he discusses the three critical success factors he identified. Now almost three decades later, The Fabric of Faithfulness continues to be widely read and these three principles continue to help countless students flourish as Christians during their university years, and beyond (and for this reason the subtitle was changed in the second edition, which we discuss). 

In our conversation Steve describes how college students (and the rest of us) can apply these principles, and the profound difference this will make in the lives of all who do so. 

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