$2,000 if you can change culture

What would Jesus do — no, no, keep reading — if he were a chemist or a dancer or a lawyer? Or, for that matter, a carpenter building chairs and tables?

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R87kcwg_1s8]

I found the following letter (which led me to the video above) on Facebook posted by Andy Crouch, and thought it an appropriate challenge for TAE readers.

In December I will have the great delight of helping give away $6,000 to three individuals or teams who have innovative ideas for integrating their Christian faith with their vocation. The Bosscher-Hammond Prizes, sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries, are a juried competition that will culminate during IVCF’s Following Christ 2008 Conference, 27–31 December 2008.

http://www.intervarsity.org/gfm/resource/bhp

But for the jury I’m chairing to have the maximum delight, we need some really good submissions—and the deadline for initial entries is Wednesday, 15 October.

So, are you, or someone you know, thinking about a project that demonstrates the integration of faith, learning, and practice and that in some way shows “how the academic disciplines and professions can contribute to human flourishing”? And are you, or someone involved with the project, actively affiliated with an institution of higher education or a 2008 graduate of one? Then get yourself on over to the Web site for the prize and send off an executive summary by the deadline, followed by the full submission no more than a month later. (By the way, in additional to the cash prizes for the winners, 26 semifinalists will receive free registration for the Following Christ conference.) I’d love to help recognize your work and vision for cultural creativity, so do apply and—unless your innate competitiveness hasn’t been properly sanctified!—spread the word to others as well.

It’s also posted here on Andy’s blog. Andy is part of the Christian Vision Project which is part of Christianity Today.

Any ideas on how to answer the challenge? Entry suggestions from the conference website follow:

* A proposal for a research project
* A thesis or dissertation
* Works of art or media
* A narrative, fiction or non-fiction
* A business or social-development plan
* Any creative approach to addressing issues related to the chosen discipline(s) and the integration of faith, learning, and practice