Volume 4 (2021)

Introduction to combined (print) edition of Volumes 3/4

Welcome to a collection of capstone research projects from graduates of the Olivet Nazarene University Honors Program. Congratulations to them!
The Honors Program at Olivet Nazarene University exists to encourage and nurture academically talented students in the integration of Christian faith and excellence in scholarship, preparing them for servant leadership in the Church and world. Over a four-year journey, Honors students become part of a community of Christian scholars, experience a unique interdisciplinary classroom environment, and embark on an extensive mentored research project. During this journey, they mature from users and consumers of knowledge to creators of knowledge.

ELAIA in Greek means olive. This journal name refers to a diversely used fruit from a slow growing tree, and the Mount of Olives – a sprawling grove within the shadow of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem – where Jesus and his disciples toiled in prayer to understand their times. Notably, in that grind they encountered God.

So it is with these projects and the people behind them. Strong scholarship with deep piety is the desirable fruit of the Honors Program. Research alone would be incomplete, for God’s purpose is not to make us wealthy but wise, not healthy but holy, not generically successful but sanctified. As St. Paul reminded Rome, one of the most advanced civilizations of his time: good root, good fruit (Romans 11:16).

My congratulations, also, to the teaching faculty, research faculty, and staff who co-labored for both fruits – this compendium and the students’ character. As our people do great things and become great people, we all stand in awe!