“One of the best-spent two weeks of my life was my time spent participating in the Rivendell Institute’s Summer Seminar in 2001. As a result, I grew in my understanding of the cultural and intellectual environment in which I sought to minister, and I became better able to discern both stumbling blocks to the Gospel and opportunities for common ground with those whom I sought to reach. I was also equipped with tools for engaging outsiders to the faith in fruitful, respectful dialogue. As a result of my time with Rivendell, I was able to have a significant impact on my college campus, both in the context of personal relationships, and in terms of campus-wide events and ministries. The things I learned from Rivendell have continued to serve me well in the contexts of church ministry and professional philosophical work.”
Michael
Associate Pastor of Holy Trinity Church, Costa Mesa, CA
Independent Philosopher
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“Spending two weeks with the Rivendell team was a truly rare opportunity – and one that left me heartily blessed. To be invited into their intellectual, moral, and spiritual community left a definite impression on my life as a college student. It sowed the seeds of a life of scholarship, and introduced me to new ideas I hadn’t considered before. Most impacting was the ‘feeling intellect’ that is clearly seen in the lives of the men and women that lead Rivendell. They exhibit a personal wholeness that is quite possibly the best and most effective form of academic and moral and spiritual education that I have ever witnessed.”
Evan
Graduate Student in Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology
Consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture
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“Participating in the Rivendell Summer Seminar gave me exactly the type of boost I needed before pursuing an advanced degree in sociology. The project introduced me to a network of Christian scholars, helped me establish a solid spiritual base, and provided an intellectual framework for pursuing my research on how religious groups are responding to social justice issues.
Brad
PhD Candidate, Duke University
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“My time with The Rivendell Institute was in many ways the most important two weeks of my professional and spiritual life. Each member of the team specializes in thinking strategically along academic, cultural, and (more broadly) missional trajectories — and they’ve spent a lifetime honing the process of training others to do the same. I wouldn’t have known how to strike the balance of serious academic work, deep biblical commitment, cultural engagement and relational sensitivity without them. Nor would I have known how to couple that balance with a vision for and commitment to ministry that is at once broad, deep and far-sighted. The team does more than teach – they are themselves models of what biblically faithful, strategic, long-term, committed life in our culture and the academy can look like.”
Luke
Ph.D. Candidate in Philosophy, University of Notre Dame
On Staff at the Center for the Philosophy of Religion, University of Notre Dame