Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Integration Night

The Behavioral Sciences Club hosted an "Integration of Faith and Discipline" night with Christine Saladino, Richard Brewer, and myself. It was a great night of presentation and dialogue about how each of us have grown in the manner by which we integrate psychology, sociology, and social work into our Christian worldview.
I think I can summarize a few things for those who were not there.
1. There is no one way that integration is or can be done. It is highly personalized. It is led by the Holy Spirit and built around our experiences. The Bible, of course, still guides our principles and precepts, but we still grapple with where does our field of study fit?
2. It requires patience and practice. It does not come overnight. It makes us struggle, not just intellectually, but also emotionally, because the beliefs we hold to are very core to each of us.
3. It is exciting as much as it is exasperating. We love what we learn in our respective fields. We love insight, we love striving with others in this endeavor, and we love our growth in our maturity. But, boy, does require work. It requires that we read, listen and learn from others, and it requires that keep on doing it. In all likelihood, no real closure in this lifetime.
So, next time we do something like this, we would like to see more of you there. But in the meantime, try some integration on your own. You'll be glad you did!

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