Eric Mack On-Line

Imagine returning to your old college – seeing students learning what you learned so many years ago, maybe even from the same professors, getting the same education you did. Imagine returning to be part of their journey!

That's just what I've been doing for seven years as an adjunct professor at The Master's College. Obviously, I have the best students in the world, and I love my subjects and the school's commitment to Biblically-based teaching.

The Biblical perspective shapes everything about teaching here, from how the material is presented to how professors engage with the students.

Business by the Book

The Bible in a business course? We might not teach accounting out of the book of Numbers, but instructors at TMC bring Biblical truth to the classroom as well as invest in their students personally and spiritually. I love that this happens not only in Bible and theology classes, but every class, even business and robotics.

Here's the mission statement of TMC:

The mission of The Master's College is to empower students for a life of enduring commitment to Christ, biblical fidelity, moral integrity, intellectual growth and lasting contribution to the Kingdom of God.

This has clicked with me from the start, and I've seen it ring true not only in my life, but in the lives of my students and my daughters, two of whom are graduating from Master's this year.

The Master's students

The students are a pleasure to teach -- they all want to be there, and they're eager to learn the material and apply it. Not only that, but they also share their personal passions with me and give me the freedom to pour into their lives. I love that many of my students, even the younger ones, want to get married and have families someday, and I have the opportunity to guide and challenge them in this.

This is what I love about teaching at the College: students don't just get an education. There are many fine institutions that offer this, but Master's prepares students for life by building their skills, character, and spiritual maturity. I experienced this while I was there, I've seen it in my children, and I enjoy being part of that process in my classroom.

The students also get something that was largely lacking in my first college experience at 16: practical life skills. For example, the central focus of my Intro to Robotics class is critical thinking and problem-solving; I'm teaching 18 Computer Science majors, and we've enjoyed putting these concepts into motion.

In the same way, my Technology for Business Decision-Making course equips future managers with an understanding of technology tools and how to make decisions in management -- this way, they learn something more than theory.

Where I came in

In entered college at 16 and I excelled as a computer science major; however, my emphasis was all on the technical subjects, and I was hardly prepared for life outside of technology. I had to pick up other essential life skills over 30 years in business.

Later, I graduated from The Master's College with a degree in Organizational Management (OM). At the time, there were no classes that even mentioned technology at any point in the curriculum. To me, this was incomprehensible -- so in my business communications course, when we had to give a persuasive speech, I chose to persuade the College that the OM degree should be expanded to include courses in the use of technology. After all, there are no businesses that are not in some way impacted by technology, so I strongly felt that managers and workers need to understand the basics at the very least.

My speech may have ruffled some feathers at the time, but I moved on and graduated. I went on to earn my Master's degree in Information and Knowledge Management from CSUN; while I was there, I received a call from Wayne Dell, the chair of the OM program, who asked me to come back to Master's and teach. Together, we created Management 430: Technology in Business Decision-Making, which I've been teaching for seven years.

Someday, I would love to be a part of TMC's Business Department and teach students business and life skills for the 21st-century professional, including self-organization, managing projects and actions, and how to prevent information overwhelm. These skills aren't normally taught in any college, but 34 years in business have taught me that they're invaluable.

Having graduated from The Master's College myself, I'm well aware of the impact that a TMC education made in my own life. Now, seeing it through my daughters and their friends, I'm thrilled to able to return and invest in the lives of students.

Afterword

When I say "Biblically-based teaching," I mean that everything taught at Master's is founded on Biblical principals, not necessarily that everything taught can be traced back to chapter and verse. God's Word might not tell you how to build an award-winning robot or implement a budget tracking system, but it will give you principles for how to make wise decisions and treat the people involved.