As I was finishing my Master of Divinity degree at ACU in 2007, I was still discerning my vocation. I knew that I loved learning and research, but this wasn’t enough to convince me that the next step was a Ph.D. The deciding factor for me was discovering that I also loved the classroom. I taught an undergraduate Greek class at ACU and then spent two years teaching in McMurry University’s religion department. I learned at least two things from those experiences: 1) I wanted to devote my life to teaching in some form, and 2) I had a lot to learn about teaching effectively.

It’s still true today: I love teaching, and though I’ve learned much more, there’s still room for growth. I am so grateful for the many opportunities the Adams Center provides to learn more about effective teaching, how people learn, and what our colleagues around the university are doing in the classroom and in their research. I was already teaching part of my load online, but the pandemic pushed me to become a more effective teacher in that setting, heightening the importance of learning to teach well in that modality. The pandemic also underscored the unique benefits of face-to-face and real-time contact with students and my colleagues.

My academic training has equipped me to teach in a variety of ways for the College of Biblical Studies. My teaching load includes undergraduate and graduate courses in church history and theology, as well as first-year New Testament Greek. I teach both residential and online classes.

The GST hired me to teach historical theology, a discipline that studies the development of Christian doctrine over time. Historical theology bridges the disciplines of history and systematic theology. While much of my research focuses on Eastern Christianity, significant aspects of central Christian theology developed before the East and West parted ways, and they are a part of the heritage of all Christians, whatever their denomination. I am especially interested in the early development of the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation. The importance of these doctrines never wanes, regardless of what Christian tradition one belongs to. I believe the internal logic of these central teachings of the Christian faith makes the most sense in light of the history of their development. In my view, for the church to be faithful in our contemporary situation requires being deeply rooted in the teachings that the church has cherished from the beginning and clarified over time through the study of scripture, prayer, and the life of the church.

My doctoral research focused on the history of Muslim-Christian theological exchange. The main contours of Muslim-Christian debate and dialogue perennially revolve around the doctrine of God and the person of Christ. Among our faculty, I am uniquely able to teach our students about the history of Muslim-Christian relations and how it continues to affect contemporary interfaith relations. I have most often been able to teach this subject to graduate students in my Theological Explorations class; I’d love to be able to incorporate it more into my undergraduate teaching too.

I am also skilled in biblical languages, so Greek I and Greek II are a part of my regular teaching load too.

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