Academic Ministry & Educators Network (AMEN)

The Church needs a stake among scholars. Christians must actively engage in the work of nurturing professors, authors, administrators and students to contend for and apply biblical truth in the marketplace of culture-shaping ideas—today’s equivalent of the Athens Areopagus (Acts 17:19-34). In the words of the Lausanne Cape Town Commitment, because of the rise of

‘postmodern, relativist pluralism [which] allows for no absolute or universal truth, . . . we need to identify, equip and pray for those who can engage at the highest intellectual and public level in arguing for and defending biblical truth,’ and we must ‘equip all believers with the courage and the tools to relate the truth . . . to everyday public conversation, and so to engage every aspect of the culture we live in.’ The Cape Town Commitment II-A

Christian academics are called to promote the good, true, and beautiful through their research and teaching. This in turn helps those in the university and beyond understand the gospel is plausible and truly good news, accelerating the proclamation of the gospel to every person. Christian professors also shape Christian students who will in turn have great influence in their professions and nations. In this way they play a vital role in helping provide Christlike leaders for every church and sector of society, leading to disciple-making churches for every people and place and kingdom impact in every sphere of society. Therefore, we dare not neglect the Academy as we are engaged in God’s Missio Dei.

However, only a small handful of universities have ministries geared toward equipping Christian faculty, administrators, graduate or postgraduate students to share and defend biblical truth in such a milieu, or to engage in culture-making in God-honoring ways. Often staff in these academic ministries have little contact with peers who share their calling to ministry among scholars. Furthermore, Christian scholars often feel isolated as well, especially if not connected with an academic ministry.

To respond to these needs, a network of those ministering to scholars and to connect scholars with one another and with academic ministries is imperative. In forming this network, we seek to advance the vision of the Cape Town Commitment: ‘Bearing witness to the truth of Christ in a pluralistic, globalized world’ within the academic sphere.

To this end, the aims of the Academic Ministry & Educators Network are to:

1. Connect Academic Ministry Staff ministering among scholars in order to collaborate on joint projects that are mutually beneficial, and share ideas, materials, and strategies to help one another be more effective in academic ministry.

2. Connect those called to higher education as scholars (including graduate students, post-docs, instructors, professors, and administrators) with one another and helpful academic ministries.

AMEN Co-Catalysts

Professor Osam Temple, PhD (Nigeria)

Professor Temple has had a rich professional life as an academic, a missionary, and a public servant. He has been a Professor of Philosophy at the American University of Nigeria, a visiting Professor at Sogang University in Seoul, Korea, a Visiting Professor at The University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and an Adjunct Professor at Bakke Graduate University, USA. He has also served as Strategist to different governments in Nigeria both at the state and federal levels. He has been a Technical Adviser on Policy Development to Nigeria’s Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.

He was also a Special Adviser on Strategic Planning to the Governor of Cross River State and a Special Adviser on Ethics and Orientation in the same period. In the last seven years, Professor Temple has been devoted to ministry in universities, developing networks among Christian academics in different regions of the world. He is the Society of Christian Scholars’ Anglophone Africa Regional Representative and past Chair of the Society’s Executive Committee. He has recently relocated to the Middle East where he is working towards developing a network of Christian academics.

Denise-Margaret Thompson, PhD (Trinidad & Tobago)

Dr Thompson previously served as Vice Chair of the Board of the Inter-School and Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Trinidad and Tobago. She also served as Professor of Design and Manufacturing Engineering and Director (President) of the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-Operative Studies, where she leveraged teaching, research and administration with a vision of supporting faculty and students to: become witnessing communities of life-long disciples with redeeming influence in the academy, workplace and society; respond to contemporary challenges from a Christian perspective; and demonstrate the integration of faith, life and academic and professional disciplines as effective and relevant witnesses for Jesus Christ in the academic and other workplaces.

Dr Thompson currently serves as InterVarsity Christian Fellowship-USA’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries’ National Director of ministry to Black Scholars and Professionals. She also serves as a volunteer campus minister for the Stanford University InterVarsity Graduate Student and Faculty fellowships and as the volunteer Coordinator of the Caribbean Fellowship of Evangelical Students Graduates and Faculty Ministry. Dr Thompson continues to advise government, private sector, and not-for-profit national, regional, and international organizations to influence policies for innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainable job creation, and decent work.