The following press announcement is available for immediate release:

Nancy Pearcey & Richard Pearcey to Lead
Francis Schaeffer Center
for Worldview and Culture at HBU

Dec. 21, 2012, Houston, Texas -– Best-selling author Nancy Pearcey and writer-editor J. Richard Pearcey have teamed up to create the Francis Schaeffer Center for Worldview and Culture on the campus of Houston Baptist University.

The purpose of the Francis Schaeffer Center is to “promote foundational research and out-of-the-box creative thinking based on historic Christianity as a total way of life informed by verifiable truth concerning God, humanity, and the cosmos,” according to the FSC mission statement.

Nancy Pearcey serves as Director of the Francis Schaeffer Center. Formerly an agnostic, Nancy is Professor and Scholar in Residence at HBU. She is the author of seminal works such as Total Truth, The Soul of Science, and Saving Leonardo, and also serves as editor at large of The Pearcey Report.  Nancy was heralded in The Economist as "America's pre-eminent evangelical Protestant female intellectual." 

Courses created by FSC will give students a unique opportunity to work through Nancy's award-winning books and other foundational resources on worldview and cultural engagement.  "Our goal at FSC is to equip students in every major to be critical and creative thinkers," Pearcey said. "Under the visionary leadership of President Robert Sloan, Houston Baptist University is moving forward strategically to implement a Christian worldview approach more intentionally and comprehensively across all the disciplines."  

The Center is named for noted author Francis A. Schaeffer, whose work with wife Edith at L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland won international respect for giving an “honest answer to honest questions.” Time magazine hailed the Schaeffers' work as a “Mission to Intellectuals.” 

J. Richard Pearcey serves as Associate Director of the Center. Richard is Scholar for Worldview Studies at HBU, as well as editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report. He is formerly managing editor of the Capitol Hill newspaper Human Events and associate editor of the “Evans-Novak Political Report.”

“If the Christian worldview is true to reality, and we think a rational case can be made that it is, it can be the key to a renaissance of humanity, freedom, and creativity,” Richard said. “Nancy and I met at L’Abri in Switzerland, so we are grateful for the opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to the Schaeffers and their work by inspiring students and others -- teachers, activists, professionals -- to apply Christian thought forms across the whole of life, from art to science to business and politics."  

HBU Provost John Mark Reynolds said, "When I was a young adult, the writings and films of Francis Schaeffer modeled a way of doing Christian apologetics that had an important impact on my life. It is my honor to see HBU set up a study center dedicated to the Schaeffer approach to worldview studies. There is no better time for Christians to impact the culture, few better models than Schaeffer for evangelicals, and no better team than Nancy and Richard Pearcey to set up the Center."

According to the FSC mission statement, "Since its founding, Houston Baptist University has built a rich heritage of Christian higher education.
. . . The Francis Schaeffer Center for Worldview and Culture will give focus to HBU's goal of equipping students and faculty with a Biblical worldview for application to their thinking and their lives.  

“FSC will equip HBU students, faculty, staff, campus organizations, stakeholders, and outside partners to apply the liberating principles of a Biblical worldview in the classroom, across the campus, and around the world.”

To arrange an interview with the Pearceys, please email Nancy at npearcey@hbu.edu or Richard at Pearcey@thepearceyreport.com. 

If you are interested in learning how to direct support to the Francis Schaeffer Center for Worldview and Culture, please contact the Pearceys or Charles Bacarisse (Vice President for Advancement at Houston Baptist University at 281-649-3428; email cbacarisse@hbu.edu), or visit this HBU website.  

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