Inner Compass SEASON 4 (2003-2004)
Episode Descriptions (long)

#401 LEARNING DISABLED OR LAZY?

Some people seem to think the initials "LD" stand for "lazy & dumb." Others say there is no such thing as a lazy child when it comes to learning. But there are plenty of students who try to hide their disabilities. Phil Stegink of the Christian Learning Center and Debra Buursma of the Calvin education dept. tell host Shirley Hoogstra how children are mislabeled and misunderstood, the calling of educators, and what the federal role should be.

#402 SUBSTANCE ABUSE: THE WHOLE STORY

Why do people find it so difficult to walk away from destructive habits? Bill Paxton of Pathfinder Resources and Alvin Poussaint of Harvard Medical School (author of Lay My Burden Down: Unraveling Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis among African Americans) talk about myths, realities, and sources of addiction.

#403 WHERE'S GOD IN THE NETHERLANDS?

Why does Holland have some of the most liberal laws on prostitution, drugs, and euthanasia? Do the Christians there have no voice? Or perhaps they feel differently from Americans on many of these issues? Gerben Groenewood of the Free University of Amsterdam philosophy department tells host Karen Saupe how many Dutch people feel about their country and its principles.

Retired U.S. Army Chaplain (Colonel) Herman Keizer, Jr. discusses the spiritual challenges soldiers, veterans, and military chaplains face during and after war. There are no atheists in the foxholes!

Are human beings polluters or producers of the earth? Are we the world’s most toxic species, or fashioned in God’s image as its caretakers? Peter Illyn, executive director of Restoring Eden, a Christian environmental organization, tells host Quentin Schultze about the ways Christians have seen their role as citizens of this planet.

What does every good church youth group need? Cool music? Zany games? Trendy young leaders? Could it be that the very things we use to draw young people to church youth groups keep them from joining a church when they get older? They haven’t learned a thing about how to be a part of the adult Christian community! Host Quentin Schultze explores this possibility with Mark DeVries, author of the book Family-Based Youth Ministry.

How much did you see your father during the week when you were growing up? Could that have affected the kind of man or woman you are today? Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen of Eastern University psychology department and author of the book My Brother's Keeper: What the Social Sciences Do & Don't Tell Us About Masculinity describes the affects of fathers on the gender identity of both boys and girls, and how a change in work schedules could improve family life.

Now that white people no longer make up the majority of Christians around the world, Americans would do well to learn what is happening in the rest of the Church. Hear host Shirley Hoogstra's discussion with Won Lee, professor of religion and theology at Calvin College, who grew up as a Christian in Korea, and James Ault, documentary filmmaker and sociologist, who shows some of his footage from Africa.

What does it mean when a jailed gang member sees a pastor approaching and the first thing he wonders is "Who died?" Perhaps the church can do more in its relationship with kids on the streets. Host Shirley Hoogstra hears amazing testimonies and advice from former gang members Jimmie Tolliver and Jeremiah Utley and their pastor Gordon McLean of Youth for Christ Chicago.

How do you respond when a friend is in trouble? Many of our "helping" behaviors actually drive sufferers away. Karen Mulder and Ginger Jurries, co-authors of the book The Compassionate Congregation: a Handbook for People Who Care, describe how people can develop a listening ear and empathetic heart for those who are in crisis.

The March for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 was the biggest March on Washington up to that point--a dream that came true only through much planning, hard work, and compromise. Was the compromise worth the achievement? Civil rights rhetoric scholar Garth Pauley from Calvin's Communication Arts & Sciences department tells host Karen Saupe how this momentous event was accomplished and how the different planners measured its success.

Are students with computers getting the better education? Or do computers actually kill creativity in several important ways? Clifford Stoll, author of High-Tech Heretic, challenges educators and parents (and host Karen Saupe) to think outside the box.

Geographer and author Harm de Blij compares the Soviet Union Cold War with our relationship with China today. Americans seem unaware of the potential consequences of the growing number of misunderstandings we keep having with this country. The key, he tells host Karen Saupe, is for Americans to learn more about China.

January Series guest Richard Lapchick was a leader in the anti-apartheid Olympic boycott of South Africa. Now at the University of Central Florida, he and Orlando Magic owner Richard DeVos tell guest host June Hamersma about the UCF DeVos Sport Business Management program and its goal to bridge the racial divide in sports.

January Series guest Randall Balmer of the Columbia University religion department and host Quentin Schultze discuss the evolution of Protestantism and where its two main branches--mainline and evangelical--seem to be headed, with or without anyone at the helm anymore.

Why is it that 1/3 of South Korea’s economy is conducted over the web, while in America it’s 1%? Why are we trailing in use of the internet, which we invented? January Series guest George Gilder explains to host Quentin Schultze why paranoid telecommunications overregulation by the U.S. government is to blame.

Is it fair to hire a religion reporter who believes in one particular religion? Could an athiest reporter understand the world of the religious? January Series guest Kenneth Woodward describes for host Quentin Schultze the media’s relationship with religion during his decades as religion reporter for Newsweek magazine.

An earlier episode of Inner Compass warned of potential conflict with China if we don’t gain a better understanding of that country. Working at the Catholic Notre Dame University as a China historian, professor Dian Murray found herself in an intersection of two worlds that began to look quite similar. Host Karen Saupe asks what we can learn from such a comparison.

Can you show God’s love without giving to those in need? Should you give privately or publicly? Grand Rapids businessman and philanthropist Peter Cook tells host Shirley Hoogstra how he arrived at his philosophy of giving.