Office of the President

This non-partisan talk explores the question of whether the president of the United States has historically provided moral leadership to the nation, and whether we should expect this of our presidents today. The conversation surrounding this question is hotly debated in our age of pluralism. The constitution is reviewed regarding what it says about the topic, including the topic of the separation of church and state. The case is made that separation of church and state is distinct from the idea of separating morality from politics. Presidents from George Washington through Bill Clinton are examined for their rhetoric on religion, morality, and moral leadership. In the end, we focus on two presidents in the modern era, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, to explore their religious and moral rhetoric, and whether it was connected to public policy. The results of the research may surprise you!

Suggested audience: Civic groups; men’s groups; any group interested in leadership or politics.

There are few topics more important for us to consider than the question of our worldview. Everyone has a worldview. It shapes the way we think and act. For those who profess Christianity and believe in the authority of the Bible, it is incumbent to understand a biblical worldview.

Suggested audience: Any group of leaders; high school students/chapel/commencements; parent groups or gatherings; homeschool conferences; Sunday morning service; men’s or women’s gatherings or retreats.

Our lives are filled with habits, good and bad. Habit formation is often unintentional, meaning we allow habits to be formed without proactively shaping them. Based on the book by New York Times’ writer Charles Duhigg, this talk explores the world of habit formation. Topics include the creation of new habits, changing habits, and identifying the “keystone habit,” which impacts many other aspects of life.

Suggested audience: Parents of teenagers; groups of pastors, youth pastors, or leaders in Christian high schools; educators; homeschool conventions; men’s and women’s groups; any group of leaders; civic groups.

It is commonly assumed that going to an elite college or large public university are the best options for high school students. However, there is compelling evidence that there may be a better option: being a big fish in a small pond. This option offers a range of life-impacting benefits not seen at elite or large university settings.

Suggested audience: Parents of teenagers; teenagers; groups of pastors, youth pastors, or leaders in Christian high schools; educators; homeschool conventions; men’s and women’s groups; any group of leaders; civic groups.

American higher education faces challenges on multiple fronts: cost; debt; doubts about the value of an education; declining state support; and the confusion caused by for-profit schools, to name a few. However, there is a crisis in American higher education that rises above all other problems: that American education no longer teaches the meaning of life. For most of the nearly 400 years of American higher education, its central purpose was to shape students’ souls. Doing so makes them better people and better contributors to civil society. Today, most colleges and universities go no further than helping students find a job. This is a fine outcome, but it represents a shallow version of what parents and students should expect given the significant investment of time and resources. This idea is explored in part by bringing highly regarded educators into the conversation. In the aggregate, these authors and intellectuals offer a common voice: American higher education has abandoned its core purpose and badly lost its way. But there is hope. There remains a group of colleges and universities that have maintained their focus on teaching the meaning of life. These gems offer a uniquely distinctive education, one desperately needed for the civil society of tomorrow.

Suggested audience: Parents of teenagers; groups of pastors, youth pastors, or leaders in Christian high schools; educators; homeschool conventions; men’s and women’s groups; any group of leaders; civic groups.

A Latin phrase translated “To be rather than to seem,” Esse Quam Videri is the motto of over 100 schools and colleges in the United States. But is it relevant today? Yes! A biblical understanding of authenticity is unpacked, and contrasted with the world’s version.

Suggested audience: Christian high school chapel; Christian high school commencement address; homeschool convention; any audience of Millennials.

Sometimes the greatest lessons of leadership are learned through difficulty, the wilderness experiences of life. In this talk, biblical examples of wilderness are explored in the context of the personal experience of the speaker having entered, endured, and emerged from a painful season in the wilderness. The wilderness, unwanted and unwelcome, can be transformed into a beautiful and life-giving journey.

Suggested audience: Civic groups; men’s groups; Sunday morning sermon.

The Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi famously began training camp for the World Champion Green Bay Packers by holding up a football and declaring “Gentlemen, this is a football.” His point was that greatness begins with mastering the fundamentals. Most of success and in life is rooted in a small number of fundamentals. This talk proposes those fundamentals and the need to master them. Suggested audience: Parents of teenagers; groups of pastors, youth pastors, or leaders in Christian high schools; educators; homeschool conventions; men’s and women’s groups; any group of leaders; civic groups.

We live in an era of unprecedented wealth in the history of the world, while we also continue to struggle with vast problems of poverty. The Bible has a lot to say about these topics. Paul Maurer offers an overview of the scope of both wealth and poverty on a global and national scale, followed by a biblical perspective on our call to stewardship of the resources entrusted to us.

Suggested audience: Any group of leaders; men’s or women’s gatherings or retreats; high school students/chapel; homeschool conferences; Sunday morning service; parents of teens.