Why Christian Faculty Matter

Why the Rice Christian Study Center Exists

On April 16, we had the joy of welcoming Dr. Ben Witherington III to Rice’s campus for a day of teaching and conversation around vocation, work, money, and biblical ethics. It was a wonderful day, and we were grateful for the turnout at both lectures. But beyond the crowd and the excellent teaching, I was reminded again of something deeper: this is exactly why the Rice Christian Study Center exists.

The Study Center provides a place where students, faculty, and friends of the university can think seriously about Jesus Christ, the Christian life, and the meaning of vocation. We want to create a space where faith and learning belong together, and where students can ask the biggest questions about calling, character, and purpose in the presence of wise and faithful mentors.

That vision felt especially meaningful with Dr. Witherington on campus, because he is not only a gifted New Testament scholar and teacher, but also someone who has had a profound influence on my own life. As one of my seminary professors, it was a privilege to host him for our first lecture at the RCSC. Seeing him speak into the lives of students reflected so much of what we hope the Study Center can become.

The influence of a Christian faculty member

I asked Dr. Witherington about the group photo (above) he posted from his undergraduate years at the University of North Carolina. He talked about being a part of Intervarsity, starting out as an English major, all things basketball, and how taking Dr. Bernard Boyd’s classes changed his life. He credits “Dr. Bernie” as the faculty who helped shape his imagination for Christian scholarship and seminary. Dr. Boyd was not simply a teacher; he was someone whose life, teaching, and presence opened a future for students - including over 5,000 who entered some form of Christian ministry over his 40+ years of teaching.

That is what faithful Christian faculty can do. They help students see that Christianity speaks to the whole of life — our studies, our work, our relationships, and our hopes for the future. They model what it means to love God with the mind and to live faithfully in the academic world.

That is one of the great purposes of the Rice Christian Study Center. We want to cultivate a community where students encounter mentors who help them connect faith and vocation, truth and character, learning and discipleship. We want to create space for the kind of influence Dr. Boyd had on Dr. Witherington — the kind that can quietly but powerfully shape an entire life.

What we hope to build at Rice

The vision of the Study Center is to form a Christian intellectual and spiritual community at Rice that endures beyond any one event. We want students to know they are not alone in wanting to follow Christ in a demanding academic environment.

Dr. Witherington’s lectures reminded us that Christian faith is not just about believing the right things; it is about learning to live under the lordship of Jesus in the ordinary details of life. That is the kind of formation the Rice Christian Study Center exists to support.

We believe students need more than events. They need relationships, mentors, and a community that helps them imagine a life of faithfulness, wisdom, and service. That is why we are here — to help students encounter Christ, be shaped by Christian teaching, and begin to see their lives as part of God’s larger story.

A word of gratitude

After flying home from Houston, Dr. Witherington texted me: “just a note to say thanks for looking after me. And I am very proud of you and what you are doing.”

That note meant the world to me personally, and it felt like encouragement for the whole mission of the Rice Christian Study Center. We are trying to build something worthwhile — something that helps students think deeply, live faithfully, and connect their faith to their calling in the world.

At Rice, we are grateful for the amazing Christian faculty members who are doing the kind of work Dr. Boyd did for Dr. Ben Witherington: teaching faithfully, mentoring thoughtfully, and helping students see that Christian faith belongs at the center of a serious academic life. The Rice Christian Study Center seeks to come alongside these faculty members by building community, hosting events, creating opportunities for fellowship, and deepening the mentoring already happening through their lives and work.

That is the vision we are pursuing at the Rice Christian Study Center, and by God’s grace, it is a vision worth building together through prayer, encouragement, and financial partnership.