The Fearless Christian University (John W. Hawthorne) - A Review

THE FEARLESS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY. By John W. Hawthorne. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2025. Xii + 152 pages.

I am a graduate of a Christian college. My wife is a graduate of a Christian University as is our son. I have also taught theology at a Bible college. In other words, I know something about Christian colleges. I have watched as Christian universities and colleges have struggled to survive in recent decades. While some are flourishing, many are struggling to stay afloat, and increasing numbers have closed. These schools have often tried to innovate with programming that might attract students—business, education, degree completion, etc. —even as they cut other programming, especially the liberal arts and even Bible and Theology. They may keep a bit of Bible in their general education requirements, but they drop majors in Bible and Theology. Thus, these colleges face numerous challenges, which in turn cause many of them to live in fear. The causes of this fear vary from school to school. They might include fear of sponsoring denominations or their trustees and other constituencies they depend upon to survive. The winds of social and political change stand at the root of these challenges.

Stepping into these challenging times, seeking to offer some words of wisdom, is John W. Hawthorne, a sociologist, professor, and former academic administrator at Christian universities. He offers his analysis and guidance in his book The Fearless Christian University.  Because of my own background, I want to recommend Hawthorne’s book to everyone connected in some way to Christian universities and colleges, whether they are faculty, staff, administrators, trustees, and even alumni. Hawthorne explores the challenges facing these schools head-on and offers insight into how these schools can move from fear to fearlessness. He offers this book as "an exercise in reimagining,” asking  “What if Christian universities embraced their identity as academic institutions, with all the riskiness that implies? What could those institutions accomplish if they weren't so afraid?" (p. xi). Note those two words in this statement— “academic institutions.” In other words, Christian universities are not churches or church camps. Unless they understand this distinction, they will fail to fulfill their purpose.

In his first chapter of The Fearless Christian University, Hawthorne speaks of "The Limits of Fear." He explores in this chapter the kinds of fear that the evangelical subculture—the subculture that sponsors most of these schools Hawthorne has in view—experience, whether it is the "fear of societal decline, fear of secular authorities, fear of apostasy, fear of not being 'real' schools. In short, they fear losing their way." (p. 1). He acknowledges that Christian universities are different from their secular counterparts, especially since they often include bible and theology requirements, chapel, and certain behavioral restrictions/expectations. They often speak of integrating faith and learning, but what does this involve? As these schools seek answers to that question, they do so in the context of dealing with the realities of social change. The question is can they do so without being paralyzed by fear?

Hawthorne titled Chapter Two "Reimagining the Christian University Mission." Hawthorne emphasizes the need for schools to have strong mission statements that can guide the school’s life, including the way they understand themselves as academic institutions. Unfortunately, too often schools create mission statements, publish them, and then forget them. With that in mind, Hawthorne, who is a sociologist, examines the mission statements of several schools related to the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities. What he discovered is that these statements do not place the academic part of the school’s life at the center of its mission. With that in mind, he reminds Christian colleges and universities that they are academic institutions and not the church. Having made that point, he distinguishes between the fearless and fearful schools, suggesting that fearful universities focus on the "abstract notion of 'the institution' or the 'the brand' above all else." Therefore, they may find themselves threatened by many sources, which leads to always being on guard for the other shoe to drop. On the other hand, a fearless school "is focused on what is happening with the students. Because the university is serving them on their journey to become what they feel called to be, there is no need for apology, regardless of who might complain." (p. 29).

The third chapter speaks to the academic mission of "Preparing Students for the Future." One of the things Hawthorne focuses on in this chapter is the claim many schools make, which involves offering students a "biblical worldview." He believes (rightly so), that the entire idea of a “biblical worldview” is a mistake. It is, he suggests, the "Achilles heel" of Christian Universities. In a nutshell, the problem here is that the idea of a “biblical worldview” bifurcates a Christian worldview from the real world that students are preparing to enter. Schools "attempt to persuade students of the right answers without considering the questions arising from their experiences." (p. 35). He seeks to offer a better way that allows for the integration of faith and learning but doesn't bifurcate between a “biblical worldview” and a secular one.

The next chapter builds on the previous one by speaking of "On Not Fighting Culture Wars." (Chapter 4). In this chapter, Hawthorne calls on schools to lay aside the culture war fights that have dominated evangelical culture in recent decades and focus instead on the task of culture-making. With this in mind, he addresses the major issues that embroil schools and their subcultures, including race and sexuality (especially LGBTQ concerns). To do this one must draw upon what Walter Brueggemann calls the “Prophetic Imagination.” Unfortunately, in Hawthorne’s view, fear of losing their way often pushes schools into the clutches of culture war mentality rather than culture-making. His efforts here are important and they will be controversial, especially in this era of pushback against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts as well as calls for LGBTQ inclusion. In the long run, however, the pendulum will swing back. The question then is whether schools are ready to respond.

Having been a faculty member at a small Christian college and experiencing how faculty members deal with administration, I found Chapter 5 rather poignant. Titled "Faculty and Administration in Partnership," Hawthorne, who has experienced both sides of the equation, notes that too often administration (and trustees) see faculty as adversaries who need to be controlled. Faculty on the other hand feel the same about school administration leadership, which does not seem to understand their academic callings. Then there are the students, who get caught in the middle of all of this. In Hawthorne’s view (again I agree), if a school is to become fearless there must be a partnership between the administration and the faculty, as well as between faculty and trustees. This will, he notes, require a lot from faculty, who will need to shift from a disciplinary approach to their positions to understanding that their success as faculty is connected to the ability of the institution as a whole to thrive.

As we move on in this discussion of the need to envision a “Fearless Christian University,” we come to Chapter 6, where Hawthorne speaks about "Expanding the Christian University Market." He's not talking here about expanding programs like degree completion programs or graduate programs in education and business, which work as long as the market isn't saturated. He is thinking here of students who are not traditionally recruited by Christian colleges and universities. This would include students who might not be Christians but who are open to experiencing an academic setting that emphasizes Christian values. Such prospective students might also be open to teachers bringing their faith into the conversation. He points here to changing demographics, such that the pot that Christian colleges and universities are recruiting from is shrinking. This is true for a number of reasons, so he encourages schools to embrace what he calls "the Zoomers." By that, he has in mind a Gen Z population that is a more diverse population than many of these colleges have attempted to reach. However, schools rooted in narrow theologies will struggle to reach these prospective students. He points out that the liberal arts, something that many schools are dropping, will be important players in this effort. That is, the liberal arts should be a central component in the core mission of these schools. With all of this in mind, Hawthorne writes that schools need to begin "Listening to the New Generation," (chapter 7). This includes recognizing the complexity of the student population and accepting students as they are and not as people reflecting some kind of ideal student (that is, the kind of student we usually see in school marketing materials or who are leaders in student government). To get there, administration and trustees need to communicate better with students (and not just the usual suspects that often adorn the pictures on school websites). Once again, the mission statements of these schools should guide the conversation, even as leadership recognizes that fearless schools keep their eye on the future and not live in the past.

One of the challenges faced by many Christian universities is that too often the school is envisioned as an extension of the church. Many students come expecting a summer camp experience and then struggle with academics. So, in Chapter 8, titled "The Christian University as a Mission Outpost," Hawthorne addresses this concern. If the Christian college/university should be a mission outpost, what would that involve? Hawthorne suggests that the kind of mission outpost he has in mind is one that "is concerned with the common good and not simply boundary maintenance," as such this is an expression of obedience to God and loving one’s neighbor (p. 123). With this in mind, he suggests replacing the fear that paralyzes schools with hope. Therefore, "the hope-inspired focus of the Christian university is set squarely on the transformation of its current and future students for the benefit of society. It is directly related to the mission of preparing future leaders who combine academic, ethical, and spiritual maturity in an authentic whole." (pp. 125-126). I believe this is a worthy calling for schools that claim to be Christian in orientation. It is the kind of education I believe I received (though I’m not sure I knew this to be true at the time). It is also the kind of education my spouse and son received as well. However, I am afraid that this goal might be threatened by institutional changes that reflect survival mentalities. The truth is that the schools I have in mind do face challenges and our current context seems to instill fear rather than hope, but that does not mean fear must rule the day.  Although all of these schools are facing challenges our current context instills fear rather than hope. Once again, the mission of the school is key!

So, what might a fearless Christian university look like? That is the question Hawthorne takes up in his final chapter, which is titled "Envisioning the Fearless Christian University." Having explored the challenges Christian universities face, as well as the possibilities of leaving behind the fear that leads to schools focusing on maintaining boundaries, Hawthorne offers his vision for two "fictional" fearless Christian universities. He has created two models that reflect what he believes a truly fearless Christian university might look like. Then, after offering the reader these two brief pictures of what might be, he concludes by noting that "If Christian universities are to thrive in the coming decades, it will happen because they are forward thinking and not reactionary" (p. 133). While I wholeheartedly agree with this statement, I’m afraid that most Christian universities and colleges have become so caught up in their fear of the outside world they will not heed this advice. That means they will continue to struggle to survive, even as they continue to entrench themselves in an earlier world that no longer exists. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that at least some Christian universities will follow the lead laid out here.

As I pondered what John Hawthorne has written in The Fearless Christian University, as someone who has experienced life as a student and a faculty member within Christian colleges, I must confess that I would much rather attend a hope-inspired school that would prepare me for life in the real world, where I might make a difference, than attend a fear-inspired school that would try to insulate me from the world by offering me some kind of “biblical worldview” that has no basis in reality. That doesn’t mean the Bible, theology, or Christian faith does not play an important role in our education. But it does mean that we need to be prepared to thrive in the world that exists, even as we bring our faith into the conversation in a way that makes sense of this world. That other world might seem safe, but I’m not sure it is authentic, especially when it leads to exclusion rather than inclusion. With that in mind, I want to commend John Hawthorne for addressing the challenges and possibilities facing Christian universities, so that they might be truly “Fearless Christian Universities.”