Charting the Future: Cherri Seese
People who understand the mission of a Christian university know that we work to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV). In missional terms, we fulfill that part of the Great Commission that involves making disciples and “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20 ESV). Our service to the Kingdom of God involves the ministry of bringing into Christian/biblical critique the ideas of the academy and of our society and helping our students navigate their way through the intellectual dangers, toils, and snares of this age. If that sounds like a hard job, welcome to our world!
I always say that boards govern universities, but faculty are the university. What they think, our students will usually come to think. Students and their parents choose a Christian university specifically for intellectual and spiritual formation. I always tell visiting students, “When you choose a university, you are choosing how you want to change. You will change over the next four years, and you will become like the professors and students you spend your time with.” Accordingly, I invite them to look carefully at the faculty and staff, at our current students, and those prospective students who are visiting along with them (90% of whom will choose to come to NU). I tell them, “If at the end of your visit, you want to be like the people you met on our campus, then Northwest University will probably offer you a good fit.”
Today’s Charting the Future video comes from our “Why I Teach” series, and it features Dr. Cherri Seese, a psychology professor at NU. Of all the fields of study in today’s academy, psychology ranks high in its influence on the thinking of students, and it offers valuable insights into the human mind, emotions, and behavior. Nevertheless, as the interesting mixture of science and art that it is, it can often get highjacked by ideologues (especially when applied to the profession of counseling). Christian professors cannot teach psychology and counseling straight out of the academic and professional literature. It has to be brought under the critique of Scripture (as much as, if not sometimes more than, other fields of study).
I love the way Dr. Seese talks about her work in her “Why I Teach” video. She has brought her discipline fully under the Lordship of Christ, and she reflects a biblical worldview when she says, “We are made in His image. He designed our brain for a very specific … purpose, and He gave us feelings for a special design and purpose. And so, I find that humans coupled with the presence of the Holy Spirit … can mold and shape our feelings, our behaviors, our thoughts to glorify God and serve those around us.” She says a lot more, so I hope you’ll watch the video. Her care for our students inspires me, and it represents the views and motivations of her faculty colleagues well.
I never stop thanking God for the privilege of working alongside our godly, brilliant, and caring professors.