Cross-Pollinating

That's what my friend Ed calls it when a person raised in the Churches of Christ works for a university affiliated with another denomination. Well, I've been "cross-pollinating" all year - teaching a class or two in the Religion and Philosophy Department of a local Methodist university.

I found out today that I'll get to continue my little adventure in "academic horticulture" next year - as full-time faculty member for one year. (They need another year to find a good candidate for the open permanent position, which works out perfectly because I have an awkward interim year before I hopefully start a PhD.)

There are lots of things about this that excite me. For instance, I'm excited about having an office that isn't a little closet in the back of the library or a disheveled desk in my living room (which sometimes contaminates every flat surface in the house!). Now it'll be a disheveled desk somewhere else! Woohoo! I've been pointlessly brainstorming about how to make my Intro to Christianity course better, and now I get to purposely brainstorm about it! But the most exciting thing is having the opportunity to actually be a part of the community of this university - working alongside experienced faculty members and being able to connect more readily with my students outside of class. My only misgiving about this year as an adjunct professor has been my extremely loose connection to the daily rhythms of campus life. I want to be a professor because I love the unique opportunity it offers for synthesizing academic study and pastoral ministry, and being an adjunct professor has made opportunities for the latter difficult to come by. Plus, I think it'll be GREAT FUN!