We are assembling multiple cohorts of faculty mentors and student leaders who want to gather once a month for lunch (or dinner) and to discuss “Things That Really Matter.”

And you – the students – get to choose the topics. What matters to you? So far students have expressed interest in time management, work/life balance, living an unhurried life in a digital age, developing empathy, becoming better listeners, and how to have healthy conversations around difficult or divisive topics.

Each time you attend, you’ll get chapel credit, and we’ll even have a retreat this fall where we explore spiritual disciplines like slowing down, meditation on Scripture, unplugging from technology, and contemplative prayer.

If you want to know more, please email Dr. Frederick at claire.frederick@acu.edu.

Dr. Beck is offering a 3-hour summer course for undergraduates based on his most recent book, The Shape of Joy: The Transformative Power of Moving Beyond Yourself. Talk to your advisor if you are interested in registering. He is also creating a video-based curriculum on The Shape of Joy for small groups and churches to utilize. The Introductory video and Chapter 5 of this series may be viewed on Vimeo.

From May 15 – 29, 2025, Dr. Richard Beck and Dr. Claire Davidson Frederick will co-teach a course in Ireland exploring the Celtic Christianity, Contemplative Spiritual Practices, and the Good Life. Taking a cue from Beck’s book, Hunting Magic Eels, they will explore how the Celtic Christian tradition, with its deep reverence for nature, mysticism, and the sacralization of the everyday, can help modern Christians reconnect with a sense of awe, wonder, and reverence for the divine in the world around them. In this unique Saunders Center offering, students will follow Beck and Frederick on a journey that takes them into the heart of ancient spiritual traditions that will reinvigorate their current Christian practices with a sense of mystery and attention to the sacred.

Thirteen students have signed up for this unique course offering.

During the Fall 2025 semester, Dr. Claire Davidson Frederick will teach a ministry workshop in Theological Songwriting for the College of Biblical Studies. Students will co-create songs for worship and devotion that are musically compelling and spiritually formative for the church.

This course is open to both music and ministry majors.

During the Spring 2026 semester, the Saunders Center will partner with the Carl Spain Center to offer an honors colloquium on Racial Justice and Human Flourishing. This interactive travel course will explore the history of the U.S. Civil Rights movement, racial justice and healing as they relate to human flourishing and the building of a multicultural, beloved community. 

This course will be open to students in the Honors College.