A Talk from Prof Martin Herdegen
Chasing Success
People chase success for a multitude of reasons. Whether it be the sense of achievement, the potential for increased abundance or simply for validation. We all may disagree on what those metrics of success should be, but in an academic world this typically manifests in the number of papers you publish, the ranking of your institution or department, or having many of your grant proposals accepted.
Yet success is something of an endpoint, having a very specific goal to strive after and achieve. How does this help us when things are tough? When grant proposals are rejected or our papers aren’t as high impact as we’d hoped? Last Term, Dr Martin Herdegen from Warwick (now Prof in Stuttgart) unpacked the idea of “flourishing” in academia, and what a Christian perspective of this would look like. This talk was open to everyone, it was great to see many people from different backgrounds and with different beliefs come along!
Flourishing in Academia
Distinct from the goal-oriented idea of succeeding, flourishing encompasses more of a long term state-of-being, which Martin argued is a better aim for the academic life. Martin gave five different aspects of flourishing in academia from a Christian perspective:
- Be excellent in what you are doing
- Accept your physical limitations
- Accept your intellectual limitations
- Live in community
- Live out of grace
All of these points were expanded upon and backed up with scripture. As Christians we work ultimately for our master in heaven, and so we are to do it “with all your heart” (Col 3:23-24). Whilst others may only see our outward successes, the Lord sees our intentions (1 Sam 16:7b), even if the earthly outcomes don’t always match that effort. This should redefine our idea of success and excellence in our work, and orient our hearts more towards the Lord.
The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7b (NIV)
A Perspective on Community
Of all the points, the one that drew the most attention was the fourth, Living in a Community. It is well known that the first aspect of creation that was not good was “that the man should be alone” (Gen 2:18). We are inherently relational beings, and should invest into our relationships both inside and outside academia. Two types of relationships were discussed, utility relationships (What utility does the other have for me?) and covenant relationships (How can I encourage/serve the other person?). Martin’s greatest challenge was that we are made for covenant relationships, and that followers of Christ enjoy a covenant relationship with God in being his children (John 1:12). So Christians should also foster these relationships in academia, moreover, Christians should only be seeking covenant relationships!
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
John 1:12 (NIV)
As a PhD student, this was a great challenge to me. When I reflect upon the networking that I’ve done, I mainly think of all the big names I’ve met, the professors who I’ve sought advice from or wanted to advertise my work to. But little do I reflect on the other PhD student’s I’ve met at conferences. Those like me who are excited to talk about their work and want people to engage with that. That is something I think we can offer people, our attention and feedback on their work (I try to remember this when sitting through a slightly more boring seminar!). Am I actively showing Christ’s love to others in this way? This point certainly got me thinking about how much time I really invest in others in the workplace, rather than only discussing with people from whom I can benefit. And it seems like I wasn’t alone, as discussion of this point lasted long into the pub afterwards! It was great to see many attendees engaging with Christian thought in this way.
We are very thankful to Martin for preparing this talk for us! Whilst we miss him here at Warwick, we wish him all the best in his new Professorship in Stuttgart!
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