As “back to school” week hits for me and countless others, it’s worth stepping back and reminding ourselves why we’re engaged in the academic pursuit and what it could mean for our lives and our faith. The following two posts have some really great insights that I recommend to everyone headed back to campus this fall:

First, Duke’s Stanley Hauerwas has written “an open letter to young Christians on their way to college” here. As you’d expect, Hauerwas has some profound insights even for those on their way into PhD programs! Plus, he starts his “letter” by quoting UVA’s own Robert Louis Wilken, so how could it not be a great read?

Second, the InterVarsity Emerging Scholars Blog’s David Williams has written a three-part series on “Why You Must Be Dying to be a Christian Scholar,” which concludes here. A title like that speaks for itself, but I’d especially recommend this piece to those who are starting or going back to seminary this fall. Be sure to read the first two parts, accessible through the link above.

Happy new academic year!