Dear Prospective Faculty Member: Thank you for your interest in serving on the faculty of Louisiana Christian University. From humble beginnings more than 100 years ago, Louisiana Christian University has grown in academic reputation and size. Our commitment to academic excellence in a distinctively Christian context has enabled Louisiana Christian University to consistently garner national recognition as one of the best small colleges and “best buys” in the United States. This dual commitment has consistently helped Louisiana Christian University attract some of the best and brightest high school seniors. Upon completion of their studies, our graduates are respected and highly recruited because of our rich educational heritage and our ever -expanding reputation for excellence. Prospective employers know that our students and our graduates are highly motivated, highly disciplined and productive, and that they reflect Christian character and values in their respective fields of work. The accomplishments of our graduates, their achievements and their overall success in life can be traced to the educational influence of Louisiana Christian University. One critical component in consistently attracting quality students is our ability to provide an outstanding faculty. Clearly, the faculty’s role is one of tremendous importance in fulfilling our mission and accomplishing the educational objectives of the University. To this end Louisiana Christian University has assembled an outstanding faculty who strive diligently to provide professional expertise and academic excellence within the context of a distinctly biblical worldview. Professors teach all truth as God's truth, integrate and teach all fields of learning in a way that respects the person and work of Jesus Christ and honors the authoritative nature of Scripture. Our goal is to learn as much as possible about you and provide information about Louisiana Christian University to you. One area that is foundational to serving as a faculty member at Louisiana Christian University is the person’s commitment to Jesus Christ, a basic belief system that is shaped by that commitment and the lifestyle that results from that relationship. We are a Christian liberal arts college deeply committed to academic excellence that places great emphasis on Christian truth and the expression of that truth in our educational program. It is essential that our Christian mission be evident in all aspects of our campus life, extracurricular experience, and academic disciplines. Fundamental to employment on any college staff is the ability to articulate and intelligibly communicate content within the academic discipline to students. At Louisiana Christian University, additional stress is placed on the integration by faculty of Christian truth into their discipline. Regardless of one’s specific area of academic study, the individual belief system of a faculty member affects the choice of material, the perspective presented, and serves to shape and direct particular issues and concepts in classroom lectures and research. Louisiana Christian University is owned and operated by cooperating Southern Baptist churches in Louisiana under the auspices of the Louisiana Baptist Convention (LBC). The LBC is a cooperating member of a larger national body known as the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Over the years our denomination has developed and adopted a biblically -based statement of faith called The Baptist Faith & Message (BF&M) that reflects our belief system. A copy of The Baptist Faith and Message can be found on the Southern Baptist Convention website for your review. We request that you read it carefully so that you will have a thorough understanding of the belief system of Louisiana Christian University. Not every person who teaches at Louisiana Christian University is required to be a Southern Baptist, but every teacher must teach within the doctrinal tenets of our convention and must reflect a Christian worldview in his or her academic discipline. To facilitate the search process, we ask that you respond to the attached Christian Worldview Questionnaire that will give you the opportunity to state your personal faith and convictions. Your responses may be concise so long as you respond reasonably to the question. Thank you for your interest and participation in this phase of our selection process and we look forward to your responses. Sincerely, Mark Johnson, Sr., Ph.D. President The Baptist Faith and Message may be viewed at the Southern Baptist Convention website. Christian Worldview Questionnaire Please answer each question in as brief or as great detail as you feel necessary to appropriately present your views. You may use a faith language or a vocabulary with which you are most comfortable as you articulate your responses. 1. Please describe your salvation experience or your personal acceptance of Christ as your Savior. How and when did it occur? What did you do? What did Christ do? 2. In what ways does your faith affect your personal and professional lives? 3. Please briefly describe your faith journey thus far and how you currently facilitate the growth of your faith, including where you worship, your pattern of church attendance and your involvement in your church. 4. How will you use your faith to benefit your students both in and out of class? 5. What is your personal understanding of or how would you describe a Christian world view? 6. Explain in detail your perspective on the following: (a) The sanctity of human life and (b) the inerrancy of the Bible. Y Y N Ye N Louisiana Christian University's Statement on Biblical Design for Human Sexuality We believe that all people should be treated with dignity, grace, and holy love, whatever their sexual beliefs. Sexuality is one of the ways by which the marriage covenant between a husband and a wife is sealed and expressed. Marriage is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage in the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. It is important to note that Christian teaching on marriage and sexuality is in the narrative of all Scripture – from Genesis to Revelation. Marriage, gender and sexuality are not just appendages tacked onto Scripture, but are icons of the Gospel and human flourishing (Matthew 19:4- 6; Ephesians 5:22- 33; Hebrews 13:4). Sex misses its purpose when treated as an end in itself or when cheapened by using another person to satisfy pornographic and sinful sexual interests. We view all forms of sexual intimacy that occur outside the covenant of heterosexual marriage, even when consensual, as distortions of the holiness and beauty God intended for it. Therefore, we support the sanctity of marriage (Ephesians 5, Hebrews 13:4). We define marriage as being a covenant between one man and one woman (Gen. 2:21- 24; Matt. 19:4 -5). We believe in honoring the holy sexual union within the context of that covenant (Hebrews 13:4). Believing that God redeems and restores through life in Christ, we walk alongside those that are seeking to overcome sexual sin (Romans 6- 8; Galatians 6:2). As followers of Christ, we turn from sexual immorality in its many forms including but not limited to: pornography, pre- marital sexual relations, adultery, and same sex romantic intimacy and/or sexual relations. We come alongside those experiencing same sex attractions who choose to honor Christ by not pursuing those attractions, just as we come alongside all individuals who seek to live in purity before the Lord (Col. 3:5; Gal. 5:19- 21; Rom. 1:21- 27; 1 Cor. 6:9- 10). We believe we are created by God in His image as two distinct sexes: male and female (Gen. 1:26- 28; Matt. 19:4 -5). We believe that each person glorifies God and affirms His infinite holiness and wisdom by living in alignment with his or her birth sex. While we acknowledge there may be confusion and brokenness for some individuals in this area, we do not affirm or support transgender identity or expression. Instead, we place our faith and trust in God's redemptive plan. Please read and answer the following. 1. I have read the full text of LCU’s Statement on Biblical Design for Human Sexuality. Yes No 2. Iagree with LCU's Statement on Biblical Design for Human Sexuality. 3. I agree to teach in harmony with and not contrary to LCU’s Statement on Biblical Design for Human Sexuality. Signed: Date: Please read and answer the following. Ye N Ye N Yes No 1.I have read the full text of The Baptist Faith and Message statement. 2.I agree to teach in harmony with and not contrary to this Baptist Faith and Message Statement. 3.I will meet with the Academic Affairs Committee for a question and answer session if requested by the President, Vice President of Academic Affairs, or the Academic Affairs Committee. Signed: Date: Please email the completed Christian Worldview Statement to academicaffairs@lcuniversity.edu
