When I began here at ACU, I hoped to model a Christian life for my students while teaching the discipline and practices of computer science. I did not then see myself as an active teacher in disciplines and practices for a Christ-centered life. Over time, however, I have embraced more of a leadership role, building opportunities for interested students to engage with a community to study and discuss teachings from the Bible and church leaders.
I have started two small groups that meet weekly through the school year, each described below. I think that this initiative is important because it builds a sense of community among faculty and students, blurring our typical classroom roles and bringing us all together as disciples of Christ. I have grown personally through these studies, blessed by my interactions with students in this community, and have rejoiced to see spiritual growth in students as well.
3:16
In fall 2013, I began a weekly small group chapel that focuses on all of the 3:16 verses in the Bible, beginning in Genesis and proceeding through Revelation. This study was inspired by Donald Knuth, a famous computer scientist, who taught a similar class in his church and then wrote a book (3:16 Illuminated) based on his study.
Each week we discuss the context and history of a book in the Bible and focus on the passage containing verse 3:16. Through this study we perform a stochastical sampling of the Bible, seeking to gain a greater understanding of who God is and who we are called to be in relation to Him.
This study brings together a fairly consistent group of 30-40 students. The teaching has been shared among a few CS faculty members; typically I lead roughly every third meeting. We finished our first run through all of the Bible in six semesters, finishing in spring 2016, and then restarted again at Genesis 3:16 in fall 2016 and are now about partway through our second run.
Here are slides I built to teach from Acts 3:16 in spring 2018
This video shows a promotion for this study, featuring Rachael Shudde and Bethany Witemeyer.
Litany of Humility
In spring 2016, I began a weekly small group chapel that meets together to pray through the Litany of Humility. I was introduced to it by Dan McGregor and felt immediately that this is a practice that I need in my life. I began the group in hopes that some of my students would also recognize the value in pursuing humility.
The group has meet regularly since that beginning, with a fairly stable group of students. At each meeting we discuss some aspect of living in humility, typically focused on a reading distributed beforehand for everyone to consider. Inspired by the thoughts of people like G.K. Chesterton, A.W. Tozer, C.S. Lewis, Mother Teresa, Pope Gregory I and others, we challenge one another to live a life focused on God and not on ourselves. Anyone is welcome to join at the beginning of a semester and current participants can invite people during the semester, but otherwise the group is closed. With a consistent and invested group of participants, we have built a strong community to challenge and encourage one another. The group has never been large (typically 10-15 students in a semester), but most students who begin meeting regularly with us will persist through following semesters until graduation.
In the semesters since I began praying through this litany daily on my own and weekly in a small group practice, I have seen my own perspective change and felt joy in this pursuit. I have also watched a number of students grow and mature in their faith, freed from cultural messages about individual success and learning to celebrate the achievements of others.
This video shows a promotion for this study, featuring Michael Isome.