Christian Business Faculty Association

Christian Business Faculty Association (CBFA)

Country	United States
Key people	Dr. Keith Starcher, board chair
Website	CBFA Website

The Christian Business Faculty Association (CBFA) is an organization created in the United States in the 1990s to further Christian education in colleges and universities. As of 2009 the organization had a total of 400 Christian business faculty members currently employed at colleges and universities.^[1] The CBFA holds an annual conference that brings Christian business faculty together from the USA and around the globe. The CBFA provides oportunties for college students and faculty to be able to travel overseas and study abroad.^[2]

The CBFA is led by an eleven-member board. Seven of the board positions are elected by the membership. Each year two new members of the board are elected at the annual conference for a three-year term. After his or her first year on the board, one of those individuals is chosen to become the vice-chair/ chair-elect of the board; that person then becomes the chair of the board, and then serves an additional year as the immediate past chair. The year in which each board member’s term ends is given in parentheses.

Four board positions are appointed by the elected members of the board: the secretary, the treasurer, the senior editor, and the program chair

History

The association began in April, 1980 when the leaders of the American Studies Program and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (then known as the Christian College Coalition) organized a meeting of 12-15 business professors from member schools in Washington, D.C. The group kept growing every year. Over 40 professors attended the year after in Washington, D.C. Also Regional conferences started at several member schools in 1982 and 1983. In 1984 over 70 faculty attended a convention at Seattle Pacific University on business ethics sponsored by the CCCU with a grant from the Murdock Foundation. The convention created friendships and interest that pushed the professors to have more meetings. In 1987, the association appointed a steering committee with regional representatives that decided to increments services to the membership, and the creation of a regular newsletter.

Mission

The stated mission of the Christian Business Faculty Association is "to assist and encourage Christian business faculty in the study, integration, teaching, and application of Biblical truths in service to the academy, students, and the business community."^[3]

The CBFA's vision consists of four principles: "The Christian Business Faculty Association will be an organization recognized:

• For its commitment to Christ as the focus of all its activities,
• For its leadership in faith-business integration,
• As the leading voice in faith-business integration scholarship, and
• As a community of support for Christians teaching business."

Additionally, the CBFA has a list of values they adhere to: "The Christian Business Faculty Association will seek to consistently operate within the following guiding values:

• Celebrating unity in Christ while embracing diversity of His people,
• Celebrating intimate community while embracing organizational growth,
• Celebrating intellectual growth while embracing spiritual development,
• Celebrating informality while embracing professionalism,
• Celebrating service while embracing significance,
• Celebrating structure while embracing agility, and
• Celebrating trust while embracing accountability."
• Celebrating a new beginning."

Awards

The CBFA awards three honored recipients each year:

• The Chewning Award was established to perpetuate the passion and commitment toward integration of personal faith and business as modeled by its first recipient, Dr. Richard C. Chewning.

Past recipients also include:

2009	Dr. Doyle Lucas	Anderson University
2008	Dr. Steven L. Bovee	Roberts Wesleyan College
2007	Dr. Jow Walenciak	John Brown University
2006	C. William Pollard	ServiceMaster Corporation
2005	Dr. Yvonne S. Smith	University of LaVerne
2004	Dr. Robert H. Roller	LeTourneau University
2003	Dr. Linwood T. Geiger	Eastern University
2002	Dr. Ken Armstrong	Anderson University
2001	Dr. Sharon G. Johnson	Cedarville University
2000	Dr. John A. Bernbaum	Russian American Christian University
1999	Dr. Lisa Klein Surdyk	Seattle Pacific University

• The Johnson Award recognizes God-honoring intellectual contributions by individuals who incorporate learning, business and faith into a dynamic process to promote Christian faith integration in business championed by its first recipient, Sharon Johnson.

Past recipients also include:

2008	Dr. Brian E. Porter	Hope College
2007	Dr. Richard C. Chewning	John Brown University

• The Barnabas Award is named after Barnabas, a disciple of Jesus Christ in the first century, who exhibited many qualities necessary for keeping Christian organizations strong and vibrant. This award recognizes individuals who have served CBFA by serving and participating joyfully and enthusiastically and contributing to CBFA’s effectiveness and esprit de corps.

Past recipients include:

2008	Dr. Larry Rottmeyer	Taylor University
2007	Ronald Walker	Cedarville University
2006	Richard A. Halberg	Houghton College

Membership

Membership is open to college and university faculty members, current or retired, who agree with the following:

• That Jesus Christ is the Son of God and through His atonement is the mediator between God and man.
• That the word of God expressed in the Bible is inspired by God and is authoritative in the development of Christian faith and practice.
• That the Christian faith has significant implications for the structure and practice of business.
• That developing Christian education for business practice should be undertaken as a cooperative venture of this organization.

Associate membership (non-voting) is available for other individuals who support the mission of the CBFA and affirm these tenets.

The 2010 annual conference was held on the campus of Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida.

Journals

The CBFA also publishes a journal known as The Journal of Biblical Integration in Business (JBIB). This journal has a yearly publication and is sent out to members of the association who have subscribed through the membership dues of the CBFA.

The Journal states that its proposition is "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (II Timothy 3:16-17)."

The CBFA states that purpose of the journal is for faculty and business professionals to share ideas and perspectives on how to best prepare students to be able to live their Christian faith in the professional workplace.

Dr. Yvonne Smith, University of LaVerne, is the editor of JBIB, working under the CBFA senior editor, Dr. Sharon Johnson, Charleston Southern University. Charleston Southern University gives the administration support to allow the JBIB publication.

CBFA also publishes the "Christian Business Academy Review (CBAR) with the purpose of promoting Christian business education that focus on 1) creative instruction, 2) curriculum development, 3) professional issues and 4) research in business education. It is also published yearly and sent out to members of the association. Dr. Kent Saunders of Anderson University serves as the editor.

References

1. ^ Christian Business Faculty Association (2009). CBFA History (CBFA). http://www.cbfa.org/html/cbfa_history.html. Retrieved 2009-10-25. 
2. ^ Christian Business Faculty Association. http://cbfa.org/html/international_opportunities.html. Retrieved 2009-10-30. 
3. ^ Christian Business Faculty Association (2009). CBFA Mission, Vision, and Values. CBFA. http://cbfa.org/html/mission__vision__and_values.html. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 

http://www.cbfa.org/