What does it mean to see biology as a display of God’s truth? To study history as the stage where redemption unfolds? To approach economics as an act of stewardship?
At John Brown University, these aren’t abstract questions — they’re the foundation of classroom conversations.
This is faith integration at JBU: not a separate component of education, but the framework that shapes how students think, learn and ultimately live. It’s the biblical lens through which faculty and students explore every discipline, asking how Christian perspectives shape the animating questions of their fields.
The Christian faith is not a label or a rule book to follow. It is a way of life — inseparable from the air we breathe, embedded in everything we do. At JBU, that truth is not only held but passed on through generations of students.
Woven into the institution’s mission and policies, faith integration plays a central role in JBU’s culture.
“It’s much more than praying before class. Faith integration asks Christian scholars to consider the animating questions of their disciplines and to wonder how Christian perspectives might shape or answer those questions,” said Trisha Posey, Ph.D., dean of undergraduate studies.
Rob Norwood, Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs, defines “faith integration” as “the lens through which we teach, learn and practice every discipline.”
Faith integration covers the intellectual, the ethical and the formational, he explained. It helps shape students’ professional judgment, convictions within their field, and habits.
By intentionally hiring skilled faculty members whose values align with the university’s, JBU sets a firm foundation for fostering academic excellence.
Norwood said the faculty application process addresses the candidate’s Christian commitment regarding their relationship with Jesus Christ and their commitment to the integration of faith and learning in their teaching, scholarship and service.
Not stopping at the onboarding process, JBU offers continual opportunities for faculty to sharpen their approach to faith integration throughout their career. Opportunities include a yearlong new faculty orientation covering mission, pedagogy and student formation; workshops and learning communities on integration; peer observation and mentoring for course design and integration; and grant opportunities for curricular design.
“I have been teaching at JBU in varying roles since 1998, and the faculty support for faith-learning integration that JBU has provided to me over the years has been incredible in developing my intellect, my faith and my profession,” said Jane Beers, associate professor of biology. “This has included fall workshops, guest speakers, conference travel funds, incredible chapel speakers and even a sabbatical, which focused on integrative course development. I can attest that JBU’s faculty development is truly designed to cultivate the holistic growth of faculty in line with its ‘Christ Over All’ mission.”
Engaging with Course Material
Like her peers, Beers provides resources and learning opportunities to develop her students holistically.
“My heart’s desire every semester is for my students to develop a robust appreciation for biology as a source of God’s truth and a magnificent display of these doctrines of creation,” she said.
As part of JBU’s core curriculum, biology is a testament to foundational biblical principles through its theme of creation. Doctrines such as Imago Dei (humans created in God’s image), the cultural mandate to exercise dominion over the earth, and common grace are all embedded in discussions on the course material.
Regardless of the subject, questions related to Christian themes naturally arise from any discipline offered at JBU.
For example, Posey identified a series of questions related to her area of expertise — history.
“What is the human condition? How have individuals and systems been impacted by the fall? How have humans acted as redemptive agents in a fallen world? What is God’s role in history, and how confident can we be in identifying specific ways in which God has moved in and through history?” Posey said. “And, of course, our faith is deeply rooted in history. Jesus lived at a particular time, in a particular place and in a particular culture.”
Fellow history professor Robert Moore, Ph.D., department chair of humanities, added that by focusing on some of the world’s greatest works, students can see the threads of faith that have run throughout time.
“This approach allows us to enter into spiritual discussions as students explore how authors understand questions such as the nature of the human condition, the meaning of the good life and how to build a just society,” he said. “As students consider great literature in its historical context, they can form biblically informed positions as they begin to answer these questions for themselves.”
In the business department, Randall Waldron, Ph.D., professor of economics and international business, offered a practical approach to faith integration. Under his guidance, students experience the tangible reality of faith. They learn to think wisely about the resources they have been given and to carry that mindset into their future vocations.
“I think of economics as the stewardship of the resources that God has given us,” he said.
Waldron emphasized accountability when it comes to managing resources, citing the parable of the talents as evidence of God’s desire for us to be good stewards of what he has given us.
“I think it’s a little challenging because no generation, no people, have been given more to work with than we have,” he said.
Rising Against the Challenge
While the Christian faith is full of hope, it does not shy away from the harsh realities of the world, as JBU faculty members know well.
Meaghan Ellenburg ’16, instructor of family and human services, has faced the depravity of the world firsthand. In her time spent as a forensic interviewer at a child advocacy center, Ellenburg listened to children and teens share their stories of abuse on a daily basis.
Coming into the role with a faith-centric approach, Ellenburg, having earned both her bachelor’s in family and human services and her MBA at JBU, noticed the variety of ways in which those in the field confronted the suffering they regularly witnessed.
“Being in that role required me to develop a robust theology of suffering,” she said. “I saw how differently people — even Christians — cope when faced day after day with the realities of trauma. For me, the challenge became learning how to hold both the deep brokenness of the world and the goodness and sovereignty of God at the same time. That experience now shapes the way I prepare my students for trauma-exposed work, including how to care for their faith in the midst of it.”
After leaving her role as a forensic interviewer and joining the JBU faculty, Ellenburg looked for ways to prepare students for the challenges that lie ahead in trauma-exposed fields.
“Our program is designed really intentionally to begin to help students navigate that on the front end, from their first day in class with us,” she said.
One unique way the program carries out this initiative is through its self-care in the helping professions course.
“We’re the only school that I know of that has an entire course dedicated to self-care,” Ellenburg said. “It’s required for our major. And we’re not talking like bubble baths. We’re talking deep introspection and deep, deep work that includes, ‘what do we do when our faith and the brokenness of the world collide?’”
This head-on approach to life’s difficult questions is not unique to the family and human services department. Beers also encourages students to wrestle with challenging questions as they relate to science.
“I intentionally expose my students to some of the challenging cultural concerns for Christian believers within the context of science and faith,” Beers said. “These relevant issues provide them with rich opportunities to examine, evaluate and reflect on faithful Christian perspectives that may differ from their own. As we engage in these issues as fellow believers in Christ, I remind them of the importance of recognizing that since ‘Christ holds all things together’ (Colossians 1:16-17), there is ultimately nothing to fear in searching for truth wherever it may be found.”
Posey, too, walks with students grappling with life’s tough questions. One way she helps students lean into trials is by guiding them in the practice of lament, using the model set in the Psalms.
“As our students and faculty study our academic disciplines, we are also being shaped as disciples of Christ, no matter what we are studying,” Posey said. “This is part of our call as Christians to live an integrative life — one that doesn’t separate our roles as scholars, students, family and community members, church leaders or professionals. It has been a privilege for me to see our JBU graduates live and model this integrated life over the many years I have been at JBU.”
