Hometown: Westerville, OH
Passion: Serving the Lord.
My life theme comes in two parts. The first is Job 23:10, that the Lord has in mind for me, for us, a rich development and maturing. The second is that the Word is the first guide for life and godliness, II Peter 1:3.
Education: Grace College of the Bible (Grace University), B.S., TEDS, MA/CS.
Hobbies and Interests: I have three hobbies. The first is photography, especially b&w film. The second is woodworking. The third is reading. But I have to be careful that I don’t become a book collector.
Past Ministry: The first goal is to teach and train believers so that they may pass on something of substance to the next generation. This begins with a strong theological approach to the Word. Accompanying that is the need to allow and to give attention to criticism of ourselves, because sometimes we get things wrong. Criticism is not demeaning but is an opportunity to grow and improve.
The second goal is to provide a useful apologetic for the church. As fascinating (and valuable) as a philosophical apologetic is to us all, there are many times when a very practical apologetic for the Christian faith can be handled by every believer. The Christian ethic, showing the value of life and liberty, is one of our best yet most underemployed ways to reach the world. Apologetics can make a difference in the daily life of everyone (not just believers) by bring that value to the world (Matthew 5:14).
In past years I have also spent time as a director of adult education in local churches and was involved in inner-city work with World Impact (Omaha).
These days I teach in the local church and participate in conferences, such as EMNR, where I provide workshop instruction.
I cannot separate building the body of Christ from building up the local church.
Easily entertained: In music I enjoy light jazz (like Hurricane Smith). It’s the kind of music I like for dancing with my wife. And 1970s “Jesus music.” Some of the stuff has really horrible theology but at the same time it’s a bunch of young believers who are trying, learning, and growing. My favorite album of that genre is Shamblejam by Parchment. (It’s British.)
Movies and TV are fun sometimes. But right now everything Disney is putting out has the same story line, and that includes the Star Wars franchise. I am saddened about that change.