McClure Center fuels conversation on faith and science both on- and off-campus

Collaborative grant with Yale brings insight to local ministers, while nationally known speakers discuss thought-provoking faith and science topics on campus.

By Janel Shoun-Smith | 615-966-7078  |  05/30/2025

Science doesn’t have to be scary. That’s the message Lipscomb’s McClure Center for Faith and Science works daily to communicate to Christian students and the community.

“God created this world and he created scientific methods to understand the world, so there shouldn’t be anything in science that is opposed to God,” said John Lewis (A, ’00), the McClure Endowed Professor in Faith and Science who coordinates the activities of the center.

The McClure Center was founded to intentionally lean into Lipscomb’s Christian identity, while helping students reconcile what they believe about God and what they can measure and know through scientific inquiry.

Launched in 2018, the McClure initiative was fueled by a lead gift from Brenda and Dr. Robert McClure (MDiv ’16), a gastroenterologist in Columbia, Tennessee. In 2021, a designated meeting and flex space in McFarland Science Center was named the McClure Center for Faith and Science in honor of the McClures who played an integral role in developing the initiative.

“It seems that often controversy emerges in these areas because those who tend to yell the loudest about it have the least understanding of either the theological aspects or the scientific aspects of an issue. We should strive for the best of biblical engagement and the best of scientific engagement,” said Robert McClure.

Seven years into its existence, the center has brought some of the nation’s top minds in the field of faith and science to students and the community and is actively engaged in helping Christian higher education navigate that fraught intersection through research and scholarship.

Most recently, the center hosted a May workshop for local ministers thanks to a collaboration grant from Yale University awarded to Dr. Josh Owens (BS, ’16), assistant professor of biology and undergraduate research coordinator.  Owens, Lewis, Dr. Mike Williams, Lipscomb professor in the College of Bible, and Sam Wilkinson, Yale University associate professor of psychiatry, collaborated to offer the workshop, designed to equip ministers to engage their congregations in conversations about faith and science, while also recognizing how our innate need for relationship finds its fullest expression in Christ.

The event explored biblical interpretations alongside scientific perspectives on Scripture, emphasizing the dialogue between faith and science. Additionally, the workshop featured a talk by Wilkinson who recently published the book Purpose and spoke on the biological hardwiring of humans for family and community.

Since its establishment, the McClure center has hosted various guest speakers for students and the community including:

• Ed Larson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Summer for the Gods and professor, speaking on the topic "The Scopes Trial in History and Folklore" in 2022;
• April Cordero, Dean of Educational Effectiveness and Professor of Biology at Point Loma Nazarene University, speaking on effective approaches for teaching biology to enabled students to develop not only factual knowledge, but biological ways of thinking and reasoning about the living world. Her lecture, in 2023, was titled "Science & Faith: A Life Lived at the Crossroads".
• Sandra Richter, the Robert H. Gundry Chair of Biblical Studies at Westmont College, who spoke on the topic, "Can a Christian Be an Environmentalist?" in 2024; and
• Dwayne Simmons, the Cornelia Marschall Smith Endowed Professor and the senior director of STEM Initiatives in the College of Arts and Sciences at Baylor University, gave a lecture titled "God on the Brain: Soul on the Mind" in 2025.
   

In addition to the annual lecture, the center has reached out to the community through an online course for secondary education professionals focused on discussing challenging issues in science in faith-based institutions. It also hosted a workshop for about 40 church youth ministers and science educators, entitled “Navigating the Challenges of College Science,” discussing how to talk to youth and their parents on these issues.

Also, since 2023, Lewis and Owens have collaborated with professors at Belmont and Samford universities to explore through a survey the perception among GenZ students that Christianity is inherently at odds with scientific principles. A Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities grant funded a May 2024 workshop for faculty from the three universities to develop the survey for freshmen in biology classes. The survey results are now guiding the faculty in designing curriculum modules to better discuss the relationships of science, Christian faith and biblical truth.

For Lipscomb students, the McClure Center has hosted a book club for interested students and a watch party for the American Scientific Affiliation's symposium, and coordinates two breakout chapel opportunities on faith and science themes, one for non-science majors and one for STEM majors.

Last fall, the center hosted a Viscio Divina event for students, where Ciara Reyes-Ton, adjunct professor in biology, and Lipscomb’s associate director of spiritual development led students to engage with science-related art as an act of reflection and worship. 

The McClure Center also sponsors faculty and student travel to faith and science conferences such as the American Scientific Affiliation in Washington D.C., where undergraduate research student Raegan Melhorn attended and presented a poster on her research.