National Security Studies at a Christian University

This essay approaches two interrelated topics. First, what does it mean to be part of the security studies field? Second, are there unique considerations for how faith-based institutions approach the field? Addressing these topics will help articulate some of the reasoning behind the coming expansion of our university’s curriculum with a new national security program.

Voting for Nehemiah

I was fortunate enough to be asked to help my church put together a series on faith and politics this year ahead of the election. My pastor framed the lessons around the book of Nehemiah and the essential leadership lessons that he provides.

I can sum these lessons up with two concepts: credibility and competence.

With respect to credibility, Nehemiah was a stranger in a strange land, but had earned the trust of the empire. As the cup-bearer he had already lived his life in a way where he was trusted by others. Right along with this, when he heard from his own people about the sorry state of a homeland he had never known, they were willing to follow him as a leader to rebuild the city walls.

Nehemiah was trusted by both sides. Can you think of a leader today who lives their life in a way that both the Republicans and Democrats place the highest degree of trust in their word?

Who would want this job?

I’m struggling to remember a recent stretch of time with so many significant challenges facing America’s foreign policy establishment. Put yourself in the shoes of the Obama administration and think about what you see when you look at the world…

Protests across Asia and North Africa related to an offensive, low-quality movie, with many of the protests turning violent;

The murder of our ambassador by a group taking advantage of instability in post-revolution Libya;

We don’t really know if one of the largest recipients of foreign aid, and the largest country in the Arab world, is an ally that can be trusted;

A dispute between the second and third largest economies in the world (China and Japan) regarding uninhabited islands that is exacerbated by nationalist pride and leading to closing of factories and more protests;

The collapse of our strategy in Afghanistan following a series of attacks, one of which being a brilliantly executed attack on an important aviation unit;

A rise in oil prices related to moves to stabilize employment markets domestically and the currency and banks in Europe;

Complaints by one of our closest allies, Israel, about how we plan to back up our statements about Iran’s nuclear weapons program; and,

Oh, by the way, there’s this election coming up in less than two months.