“I would rather die for Jesus Christ than rule the last reaches of the earth. My search is for Him who died for us; my love is for Him who rose for our salvation. The pangs of new birth are upon me. Forgive me, brethren. Do nothing to prevent this…

This is my final sermon from the Fall semester of 2020. It was delivered on the week of All Saints’ Day and the morning after the election of the President of the United States. This is still in manuscript form, but hopefully, the message reaches you without the medium of…

What does it mean to be a Christian theologian? After changing my major three times, I learned to grapple with the meaning of my vocation. I found it hard, however, to pinpoint a way of being which made sense of my calling as a theologian. Does being a theologian mean…

Ecclesial Identity in 1 Peter 1:17–21 — This is the first of a pair of manuscripts on hope for my homiletics course, Fall 2020. My parents have been married for over 25 years. My father is a native of Edmond, the town I grew up in, but my mother grew up a few hours away. They only…

You, O Lord, graciously bestow your love upon us. By your love we may love you; by loving you we may know you; by knowing you we may ascend into your ineffable light. Grant that we might be beacons of your splendor, stalwarts of your wisdom, and warm places of your care, that we may guide the weary to your rest. Amen.

Holy God, who so graciously withheld your wrath from your People when we persisted in disobedience, and graciously provided salvation from right judgment by the blood of your only Son; grant also that we may have the same grace toward one another, that we may fulfill your word, “They will know you are my disciples because of your love for one another.” Amen.

How art formed my understanding of Jesus. — When I reflect upon my image of Christ, stripped of the theological jargon that I have become so accustomed to, I often return to the same image from my early years. When I was a child, I spent much of my time in the church I grew up in and…

Watching The Dark Knight Trilogy with Saint Augustine — Years ago, I walked down a sticky, darkened aisle and settled into my creaky theater seat for the second night of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. This showing, however, was unlike those other nights I had walked through clouds of buttery fog hanging in the theater. I suspect many…

The Church, the State, and the COVID-19 Pandemic In recent days, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended life as we know it. Schools, businesses, and cities throughout the world have closed to the public and many are forced into their homes indefinitely. In the midst of this mass self-quarantine, the Church…