How is Core Academy doing?
Every now and then at church, someone will pull me aside and ask, "How is Core Academy doing?" Those questions have become a little more urgent as the COVID pandemic drags on. Since I thought some of you readers might be interested in the answer, here are my thoughts on how we're doing:
Surprisingly well, and we thank God for it.
Obviously a lot of our ministry activities have been derailed. Normally this time of year we'd be gearing up for our annual banquet and making reservations for the spring retreat. We're probably not going to hold the banquet, but I think we'll try to move ahead with the retreat, at least provisionally. Otherwise, speaking engagements and meetings have been mostly canceled. I've done a couple of online conferences recently, and they're not too bad. But they're not the same as a live event.
With all our in-person work at a standstill, I'm focusing more on research and writing right now. Some of you might have noticed a recent uptick in blog posting. I'm also working on several projects related to created kinds and one project in the world of molecular biology. I'll have more information on those when we start generating results.
On the writing side, I have a huge research project that I need to finish writing. It's been so large, it's become overwhelming. The appendix to the paper has about 1,000 figures (yes, a thousand), but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not a train. I'm actually very excited about this work, and I'll be glad to see it published.
I also have several book projects that I have in various stages of development. Some are still concepts, and others I've actually started writing. I'd hoped to get one book finished before the end of the year, but that doesn't look possible right now.
We're also putting a significant effort into the library and archives. Part of our mission of raising up the next generation of creation researchers involves preserving the past and giving young people shoulders to stand on (and cautionary examples to avoid). Our research library contains thousands of obscure books, periodicals, and papers that can't be found easily (and some that can't be found anywhere else). As we continue to catalog and organize the library, we're also working on new ways to make our collection more accessible and usable to creation scholars everywhere. Hopefully we'll have some announcements before the end of the year.
We've also begun talking with the Creation Biology Society, the Creation Geology Society, and the Creation Theology Society about ways we can better serve those organizations and their members. We know that one of the most important ingredients for the future of creationism is the communities that we form, and we want that next generation to have a place to belong. So we're exploring ways to partner and help these professional societies build up their membership, organize their annual conference, and promote their work to the world. We haven't settled on anything specific yet, but we're talking about it.
We're also accepting applications for the 2021 Sanders Scholarship! This is our second round of awards, and we're hoping to provide at least one more scholarship worth $4,000 to a student and mentor working together on a research project related to creation. We'll fund projects in just about any discipline, so check out our website for more information. Applications are due October 9.
On the financial side of things, we're holding on. With so many events and plans cancelled, we've slashed about 20% of the expenses out of our 2020 budget. Donations are a little behind last year's donations at this time of year, but our overall revenue is actually up by about 13%. Still, we have a long way to go this year, and we'll need continued support. We need to double our income by December 31 to meet our reduced budget. If you would pray for our finances, we would appreciate it. If you'd like to support us with a donation, that would be very much appreciated. Visit https://coresci.org/donate for more information.
Speaking of prayer requests, you can pray for these items:
- The mercy of God and the end of the pandemic. Pray that the death and illness would stop, people can go back to work, and we can get back to the business of creation scholarship.
- Ministry opportunities. We're always looking for creative ways to extend our online work while the pandemic continues.
- Clarity and focus as I work on new (and old) writing projects.
- Finances - We still need to double our income this year to meet even our reduced budget.
- Wisdom for planning future ministry work.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for your prayers!
Have you read my book? You should check that out too!
