Leadership and the Liberal Arts: An Education to Last a Lifetime, Edited by Gayle D. Beebe

Leadership and the Liberal Arts

An Education to Last a Lifetime

Edited by Gayle D. Beebe

Leadership and the Liberal Arts
Paperback
$29.99
  • Length: 272 pages
  • Dimensions: 6 × 9 in
  • Published: October 13, 2026
  • Imprint: IVP Academic
  • ISBN: 9781514008140
Other Formats:

How Christian Liberal Arts Education Shapes Effective Leaders

A flourishing society depends on effective leadership, and a quality education is the key to forming leaders. Yet our modern understanding of what it means to beeducated often lacks unifying values and purpose. This is where the rich, centuries-old tradition of Christian liberal arts education remains more crucial than ever.

In Leadership and the Liberal Arts, Gayle Beebe, president of Westmont College, brings together a diverse group of experienced educators from disciplines including theology, history, biblical studies, and philosophy to mathematics, chemistry, politics, economics, and more.

These experts explore the essentialrole of Christian liberal arts today and show that in this centuries-old tradition study is never just for knowledge itself, but always a means to something more: moral education, vocational aptitude, and knowledge of God.

Leadership and the Liberal Arts offers:

  • a powerful vision for how a Christian liberal arts education is the ideal preparation for lifelong leadership and flourishing;
  • insights and examples from a diverse group of professorsand administrators;
  • chapters on disciplines such as theology, natural sciences, creative arts, business, and technology; and
  • thoughtful engagement with current challenges facing Christian higher education and a hopeful vision for its future.

This insightful volume demonstrates how a liberal arts education in the Christian intellectual tradition invites us to see the interrelationship of all knowledge and discover how to reach into every area of human learning to find new solutions to vexing problems. Leadership and the Liberal Arts offers inspiring wisdom for educators, students, and everyone invested in higher education.

About the Contributors

This volume features chapters written by Tremper Longman, Telford Work, Helen Rhee, Jim Taylor, Russell Howell, Jeff Schloss, Jesse Covington, Daniel Gee, Rick Ifland, Reed Sheard, Kimberly Denu, Edee Schulze, and Steve Porter.

"Here's a vision of Christian liberal arts education so compelling it will make you want to go through college all over again. Such an education has rarely been more challenging and never been more needed. These voices are our teachers. What they describe is what the next generation requires if it is to truly flourish."John Ortberg, founder of Become New and author of Steps
“Leadership and the Liberal Arts, thoughtfully edited by Gayle Beebe, offers a compelling and timely vision for Christian higher education. Bringing together wise voices across the disciplines, this volume reminds us that the liberal arts, rooted in faith, form leaders of character, wisdom, and courage. At a moment when higher education is seeking meaning and coherence, this book affirms why a Christian liberal arts education remains essential to the flourishing of both students and society.”David A. Hoag, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
“The Christian liberal arts are more important now than ever. Artificial intelligence, political polarization, and theological deconstruction demand sound reasoning and wise discernment—precisely the habits of mind that the liberal arts provide. Thankfully, Westmont College has an enduring commitment to the liberal arts. In this wide-ranging book, Gayle Beebe and other faithful Westmont scholars across a wide range of academic disciplines help us see the world in a fuller perspective and become more wholly the people God is calling us to become in Jesus Christ.”Philip Ryken, president of Wheaton College
“Westmont College continues to lead the way in illuminating the enduring value as well as the ongoing relevance of the liberal arts. The distinguished scholars who contributed to this volume demand the attention of anyone committed to welcoming the next generation into the great conversation about pursuing the true, the beautiful, and the good. Every community of educators seeking to clarify what is distinctively Christian about their mission and committed to pursuing it should read this book.”Todd C. Ream, university professor and executive director of faculty scholarship at Indiana Wesleyan University and publisher for Christian Scholar’s Review
“Gayle Beebe and his Westmont faculty argue for shifting liberal arts education from a technique-driven focus to intellectual development infused with moral and spiritual purposes. As the authors show, a Christian liberal arts education is grounded in an encounter with the reality of God, calling students to understand their vocation within his redemptive purposes. Through a range of disciplinary perspectives, they illustrate how God uses all knowledge, the special revelation of Scripture, and general revelation of creation to form us into his image and orient us toward his glory.”Margaret Diddams, editor of Christian Scholar’s Review and coauthor, with Shirley A. Mullens, of Tried and True
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CONTENTS

Introduction: The Purpose of a Christian Liberal Arts Education
Gayle D. Beebe

1. The Liberal Arts and Scripture
Tremper Longman III
2. Knowing God Structures Meaning: Theology in the Liberal Arts
Telford Work
3. Jesus Through the Centuries: A View of History to Knowing God
Helen Rhee
4. Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric, and Ethics: The Verbal Arts and the Greater Good
James E. Taylor
5. Mathematics: The Abstract Arts and Our Lifewith God
Russell W. Howell
6. Rejoicing in the World, His Earth: The Liberal Arts, the Pleasures of Science, and God's Good Creation
Jeff Schloss
7. The Social Sciences and Our Hope for Human Flourishing
Jesse Covington
8. The Creative Arts as Formative Arts
Daniel Gee
9. The Liberal Arts and Modern Capitalism: The Case for Economic Well-Being and Human Flourishing
Rick Ifland
10. The Technological Arts and the Frontiers of New Knowledge: AI, Machine Learning, Data Analytics, and Decision Science
Reed Sheard and Valentina Costarelli
11. Bringing Learning to Life: The Art of the Curricular and Cocurricular Partnership
Kim Battle-Walters Denu and Edee Schulze
12. The Liberal Arts and Life with Christ
Steve L. Porter

Conclusion: The Westmont Way
Gayle D. Beebe
Postlude: The Future of Faith-Based Higher Education
Gayle D. Beebe
List of Contributors
Further Reading
Name and Subject Index
Scripture Index

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Gayle D. Beebe

Gayle D. Beebe (MBA and PhD, Claremont Graduate University) is president of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He is also the author of The Shaping of an Effective Leader and is the coauthor of Longing for God with Richard J. Foster.