Faculty at Dordt University participated in a New York City pilgrimage to learn from Andy Crouch, deepening interdisciplinary conversation about faith, learning and flourishing.
In 2024, a group of Dordt University faculty members spent several months reading the work of Reformed theologian and philosopher Dr. Richard Mouw, preparing for a pilgrimage to Southern California where they could meet him and learn from him in person. What started as a thoughtful experiment in faculty development now continues as an ongoing opportunity for faculty to learn and grow together.
Over this year’s spring break, the group repeated the process—this time expanding their group and traveling to New York City to engage with author, public speaker, and cultural thinker Andy Crouch. The 12 faculty members represented a range of disciplines, including education, theology, mathematics, and theatre arts, reflecting Dordt’s commitment to interdisciplinary learning.
According to Rev. Dr. Justin Bailey, dean of chapel at Dordt, the group approached the experience with intentionality. “Since our group was composed of academics, we wrote learning targets,” he explains. Together, they set out to explore what it means to:
As Dordt continues its mission to equip students, alumni, and the broader community for Christ-centered renewal, these pilgrimages highlight the importance of faculty engagement beyond the classroom and create space for professors to step outside their daily responsibilities, invest in relationships, and think expansively and creatively.
Angela Kroeze Visser, director of the Kielstra Center for Research & Grants, sees this model as distinct from traditional faculty development. “More traditionally, faculty development focuses on teaching and scholarship, and increasingly on collaboration across disciplines,” she says. “What makes ‘academic pilgrimage’ unique is that it isn’t driven by a specific outcome. Instead, it offers an extended experience of engaging with an author, ideas, and colleagues. It creates space to step out of expectations and simply enjoy thinking and talking together.”
Having participated in both pilgrimages, Dr. Dave Mulder, professor and chair of education, sees them as part of a growing rhythm of shared inquiry and learning. In preparation for meeting Andy Crouch, the group spent months reading Culture Making, Playing God, Strong and Weak, and The Life We’re Looking For. “Those books framed our entire experience,” Mulder writes. “They gave us language and direction as we talked about how professors shape culture, how leadership functions in academic settings, and what true flourishing looks like. It was an incredibly meaningful time—once again a ‘heart, soul, mind, and strength’ experience, much like our earlier trip with Rich.”
"I hope that over time experiences like this...help us know and appreciate one another, which in turn supports a healthy academic culture."
For Erik Ringsby, instructor of special education, the New York pilgrimage was both stretching and deeply meaningful. “This trip expanded my perspective and challenged me to consider how we can join Christ in His work in imaginative, practical, and creative ways,” he says. “Andy shared that our imagination is often truncated by pragmatism. In some ways, this trip may not have seemed pragmatic in terms of time and resources—but it was absolutely worth it.”
Ringsby also describes the pilgrimage as “humanizing and life-giving,” offering space to think collectively, listen deeply, and share both ideas and life together. He also left with new questions from Crouch that continue to shape his work preparing the next generation of Christian teachers to serve their students and communities well: “How do we cultivate and keep what is good, good? What is the radical above and beyond that love calls me to today?”
Looking ahead, Kroeze Visser sees lasting value in these shared experiences. “I hope that over time experiences like this—along with reading groups and retreats—help us know and appreciate one another, which in turn supports a healthy academic culture,” she says.
About Dordt University
As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, Dordt is a comprehensive university named to the best college lists by U.S. News and World Report, the Wall Street Journal, Times Higher Education, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review.
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