Just Jay Blog http://www.bethel.edu/president/blog/index/rss 2009-06-10T18:22:23Z Education vs. Indoctrination http://www.bethel.edu/president/blog/posts/education-vs-indoctrination President Emeritus Brushaber used to say, “Almost every day at Bethel someone is saying something that makes me uncomfortable.” I was always glad when I wasn’t the one he had in mind! His point, however, was a very important one. As a Christ-centered university, our job is to educate, not indoctrinate. How do we do that? Jay Barnes 2009-11-12T01:22:20Z Kudos to the Education Department! http://www.bethel.edu/president/blog/posts/education-department It’s always a good day when a group from the outside says, “Great job!” Jay Barnes 2009-10-29T14:39:30Z They Ask the Right Questions http://www.bethel.edu/president/blog/posts/right-questions Two weeks ago, we gave a sigh of relief and a word of thanks as our trustees left campus. It was a great meeting, and the preparation for it was thorough. Our leadership team worked long and hard to put the right information on the table, and Dan Lindh, our chair, sharpened our focus. This exceptionally able group of women and men are committed to the well-being of Bethel University. Most of them have Bethel connection as alumni or parents, and all are donors of their time, wisdom, and resources. As trustees, they hold a “trust”—the mission of the university . They focus on the big questions: What should we be doing? What matters to our future? What helps or hinders the accomplishment of our mission? What core commitments and skills should those who teach and lead at Bethel have? Jay Barnes 2009-10-26T14:00:00Z Bethel Seminary: Why Does It Matter? http://www.bethel.edu/president/blog/posts/why-seminary It was an interesting question posed at our recent trustee meeting. The subject was Bethel Seminary . “Why does Bethel Seminary matter?” he asked. “Who needs Bethel Seminary to do its work well?” As I thought through my own experiences with the seminary prior to becoming president, I realized that I had an answer to his questions. Jay Barnes 2009-10-21T16:11:52Z Why Reconciliation? http://www.bethel.edu/president/blog/posts/reconciliation When I try to define Bethel to a prospective student, donor, parent, or any other person unfamiliar with us, I often start with our seven core values . At Bethel, we seek to be: Christ-followers, character-builders, truth-seekers, learners, reconcilers, salt and light, and world-changers. None of these values alone can describe who we are as a community. Just like with any good recipe, each ingredient is necessary. Each of these values is important to defining Bethel University. This fall, I'll try and share a little bit about each of these values—what they mean to Bethel University and what they mean to me. Jay Barnes 2009-10-14T21:24:18Z