The Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies (WCECS)

Director: Dr. George Kalantzis, professor of theology

The Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies (WCECS) celebrated the appointment of Dr. Amy Brown Hughes M.A. ’08, Ph.D. ’13, Wheaton’s first female theology Ph.D. graduate, as assistant professor of theology at Gordon College, as well as Dr. George Kalantzis’ election as Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Dr. Susan Holman delivered the 2015 Papatheofanis Lecture on Early Christianity, while generous gifts allowed WCECS to purchase the 518-volume set of Sources Chrétiennes, a bilingual collection of patristic texts. In March, the center hosted the Chicago Theological Initiative colloquium on “The Death Which Leads to Life: Augustine on Christian Dying.” Wheaton professors, alumni, and doctoral students will present papers at the annual conference of the North American Patristics Society (NAPS) this May. This spring, Dr. Kalantzis will travel to Kakuma, Kenya, with Wheaton’s Humanitarian Disaster Institute (HDI) to continue work at the Kakuma Refugee Camp. He and Dr. David Lauber ’89, associate professor of theology, will colead the Wheaton in the Holy Lands program this summer.

Learn more on WCECS' website.

Center for Applied Christian Ethics (CACE)

Director: Dr. Vincent Bacote, associate professor of theology

The Center for Applied Christian Ethics (CACE) co-hosted a panel discussion featuring three members of the Ferguson Commission and Dr. Theon Hill, assistant professor of communication, titled “Change, Healing and Reconciliation: A Conversation with The Ferguson Commission” this January. CACE also hosted Ken Wytsma, author of Pursuing Justice: The Call to Live and Die for Bigger Things (Thomas Nelson, 2013) for a lecture titled “What Does Moral Formation Have to Do with Justice?” In March, consultant and former White House staff member Michael Wear addressed “Political Participation and Moral Discernment” and Michael Gerson ’86, The Washington Post columnist and senior advisor at ONE, spoke on “Juvenile Justice: Restoring Youth Offenders to Full Community.” Dr. James K. A. Smith, professor of philosophy at Calvin College, will give a lecture this August, and in September, CACE will co-host Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (Spiegel & Grau, 2015).

Learn more on CACE' s website.

Opus: The Art of Work

Director: Dr. Chris Armstrong

Assistant Director: Ben Norquist

Opus gathered Theology of Vocation Project (TOVP) faculty members this past fall to discuss calling and vocation for a series of white papers distributed internally this spring. Meanwhile, Opus’ undergraduate fellows completed the first phase of their research on the anxieties students bring into their vocational decision-making process,and distributed written results this spring. In November, Opus took 11 faculty fellows to New York City for the Redeemer Center for Faith and Work annual conference, where they heard from speakers including Dr. Tim Keller and Dr. Peter Heslam. Dr. Chris Armstrong and Ben Norquist attended the annual meeting of the Oikonomia Network, a learning community of theological educators, this January. Lastly, Opus is producing adaptable curricular resources for faculty preparing to teach the new Christ at the Core freshman seminar this fall, which is designed to put students on an early path to personal and vocational development.

Learn more on Opus' website.

HoneyRock—Outdoor Center for Leadership Development of Wheaton College

HoneyRock, Wheaton’s Outdoor Center for Leadership Development, established a new 24-credit Leadership Certificate program to equip students for leadership in the church and society worldwide. In conjunction with the Christian Formation and Ministry and Evangelism and Leadership departments, HoneyRock’s two-year residential graduate program welcomed 15 full-time students this year. HoneyRock continues to expand with the launch of the Vanguard Gap Year program, which began in September 2015 with 12 students. In December 2015, Dr. Rob Ribbe, HoneyRock Graduate Programs Manager Dr. Muhia Karianjahi, HoneyRock Program Director Dr. Greg Robinson, and Dr. Rich Butman, professor of psychology, spoke at the Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA) National Conference in Phoenix, AZ. In January 2016, HoneyRock celebrated the end of an era with the departure of Don Kerns, HoneyRock’s Site and Facilities Manager, who served both Wheaton College and HoneyRock for 32 years. His leadership and service will be missed.

Humanitarian Disaster Institute (HDI)

Co-directors: Dr. Jamie Aten, Dr. Arthur P. Rech and Mrs. Jean May Rech Associate Professor of Psychology, and Dr. David Boan, associate professor of psychology

As part of the $1.9 million John Templeton Foundation grant, the Humanitarian Disaster Institute (HDI) conducted a national survey about the Syrian refugee crisis. The institute is also studying the connection between faith and resilience after the 2015 South Carolina flood and the Umpqua Community College mass shooting. Current global projects include chaplain training in Ukraine, a faith-based program to help trauma survivors in Rwanda, and a church disaster risk-reduction initiative in the Philippines. Drs. Aten and Boan published Disaster Ministry Handbook (February 2016, InterVarsity Press), and in preparation for the World Humanitarian Summit, HDI hosted a regional meeting that led to a position paper about the contributions of faith-based academic institutions to humanitarian development. HDI will host its 4th annual Disaster Ministry Conference at Wheaton College from June 7 to 10 (register at this link). In keeping with this year’s “Caring for the Vulnerable” theme, there will be a special focus on the current refugee crisis. In January, influential evangelical leaders issued a signed statement on the Christian response to this crisis at the GC2 Summit, led by LifeWay Research and co-hosted by the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism (BGCE) and HDI. 

Learn more on HDI's website.

The Center for Urban Engagement (CUE)

Director: Dr. Noah Toly ’99, M.A. ’12, associate professor of urban studies and politics & international relations; director of Urban Studies program

The Center for Urban Engagement (CUE) launched its community engagement council last November. Board members include Rev. James L. Brooks, David Doig ’87, Michelle Francis Munroe ’99, Christy Barton Joyce ’10, M.A. ’14, Jacob Lesniewski ’99, David Wu ’86, Rebekah King '12, Randy Heinig '93, Freddy Flores, and Charlie Moffett '68. CUE also selected four Urban Studies Endowed Scholarship recipients for 2015: Hunter Hambrick ’17, Sammy Mallow ’16, Ana Melendez ’16, and Bethany Thomas ’17. Hunter Hambrick ’17 also received the Chung Scholarship. In January, Dr. Noah Toly ’99, M.A. ’12, was appointed Senior Fellow for Global Cities at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. In February, he traveled to Berlin, Germany to teach on Global Cities at the Free University of Berlin. Also this year, Dr. Toly spoke with representatives from the cities of Shanghai and Osaka at the Urban Partnership Forum. On campus in March, guest speaker Heath Carter discussed “Economic Inequality: A Pressing Moral Issue.” Also in March, Dr. Christa Tooley, assistant professor of anthropology and urban studies, addressed “Edinburgh’s Opportunity in Crisis: Community Activism in the Cracks of Neoliberal Development” at the Urban Affairs Association Conference in San Diego, CA. The second annual cohort of Urban Leadership Studio students will begin their experience portion of the program early this summer.

Learn more on CUE's website.

The Marion E. Wade Center

Interim Director: Marjorie Lamp Mead ’74, executive editor of SEVEN: An Anglo- American Literary Review

In March 2015, issue #113 of Christian History magazine was published, dedicated to the seven Wade Center authors, titled: Seven Literary Sages: Why We Still Need their Wisdom Today. Every year, a number of books are published that have benefitted from Wade Center resources. Two recent volumes that made extensive use of Wade materials were Joy: Poet, Seeker, and the Woman who Captivated C.S. Lewis by Abigail Santamaria, published last August; and in December, scholar and researcher Grevel Lindop published Charles Williams: The Third Inkling (Oxford University Press, December 2015). The first year of the Ken and Jean Hansen Lectureship concluded following three presentations given during the 2015-16 academic year by President Philip G. Ryken ’88 in the Bakke Auditorium. Each lecture in his three-part series titled The Messiah Comes to Middle-earth: Images of Christ’s Threefold Office in The Lord of the Rings was accompanied by a response from a Wheaton College faculty member. The Wade Center also launched an official YouTube channel, allowing public access to recorded events including the Wade Center’s 50th Anniversary Program, at this link. This June, The Wade Center will co-sponsor a Lewis conference with the C.S. Lewis Institute of Chicago featuring speakers Dr. Lyle Dorsett HON and Dr. Jerry Root, associate professor of evangelism.

Learn more on the Wade Center's website.

Billy Graham Center for Evangelism (BGCE)

Interim Director: Paul Ericksen 

The Billy Graham Center for Evangelism (BGCE) recently announced the appointment of well-known missiologist, church planter, author, and speaker Dr. Ed Stetzer as its new executive director. Stetzer takes on this role as the new Billy Graham Distinguished Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College. This past January, the BGCE co-hosted the GC2 Refugee Summit, the largest-of-its-kind event focused on helping Christians and churches engage refugees both locally and around the world. The BGCE is also preparing to release the data from a major evangelism research study done in partnership with LifeWay Research on the unchurched and how churches are reaching them. This research was done with the intention that it would help churches to better reach non-Christians and create strategies that would engage those in all layers of our churches. The full results will be released at the Amplify conference this summer—the first national conference designed to equip and network those in church leaders around creative ways to raise the evangelism temperature in their churches. Register online to join hundreds of church leaders reimagining evangelism in local church settings. 

Learn more on the BGCE's website. 

Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics & Economics (FPE) 

Director: Capt. David Iglesias ’80, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, United States Navy (Ret.), The Jean and E. Floyd Kvamme Associate Professor of Politics and Law 

The Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics & Economics (FPE) hosted several speakers on campus last spring both as guests to Professor Iglesias’ U.S. National Security course and for special events. Special speakers included The Honorable Roey Gilad, Israeli Consul General to the Midwest and Lou Price, retired FBI Agent and former U.S. Army Green Beret in February; John McKay, former U.S. Attorney in April; David Voth ’81, former Fannie Mae Executive and cyber security expert in March; and more. Also in February, a video screening and panel discussion was held about Poverty, Inc. with Dr. Winnie Fung M.A. ’14 and Dr. James Huff, visiting assistant professor of anthropology and of Human Needs and Global Resources. The Wolf/Hall forum, titled “Friendship Across the Aisle: In Pursuit of Justice, Human Rights and Global Religious Freedom,” tackled issues on human trafficking, religious persecution, political imprisonment, and global hunger in March, and a lecture titled “How the Immigration Debate Affects U.S. Presidential Elections,” featuring Ruben Navarrette, Jr. and Ana Navarro, occurred in April. 

Learn more on FPE's website.