A Miscellaneous Update
I haven’t had the bandwidth to write any original content for the newsletter this week. However, I do want to offer a miscellaneous update about some professional and personal happenings.
Preaching at Taylors First Baptist Church
I love to preach God’s Word to God’s people! Last Sunday, I had the privilege of preaching to Taylors First Baptist Church. Our current sermon series is through the Gospel of Matthew, and I preached on a beloved passage: Matthew 14:22-33, where Jesus walks on the water. I titled the sermon “A Walk to Remember.” If you are interested, the sermon is available online, beginning just after the 32 minute mark.
Doctoral Seminar on Pastor-Theologians
This week, I taught a doctor of ministry intensive for North Greenville University on our graduate campus in Greer, SC. The topic for the doctoral seminar was “The Pastor as Theologian.” We focused on two recurring themes in the class: (1) why pastors (and other ministry leaders) should take intentional ownership for their ongoing theological maturity, and (2) how to exercise faithful stewardship in promoting theological formation in local churches and other ministry contexts. The former is about We enjoyed some great discussions, ate lunch together each day, and read some great books together. Check out the course reading list below.
Voddie J. Baucham, Expository Apologetics: Answering Objections with the Power of the Word. Crossway, 2015.
J. T. English, Deep Discipleship: How the Church Can Make Whole Disciples of Jesus. B&H, 2024.
Alex Fogelman, Making Disciples: Catechesis in History, Theology, and Practice. Eerdmans, 2025.
Carl R. Trueman, Crisis of Confidence: Reclaiming the Historic Faith in a Culture Consumed with Individualism and Identity. Crossway, 2024.
Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Hearers and Doers: A Pastor’s Guide to Making Disciples Through Scripture and Doctrine. Lexham Press, 2019.
Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan, The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision. Baker Academic, 2015.
Gerald Hiestand and Todd A. Wilson, The Pastor Theologian: Resurrecting and Ancient Vision. Zondervan, 2015.
New Issue of Integration
I serve as one of the senior editors of Integration: A Journal of Faith and Learning, which is published online twice each year by the International Alliance for Christian Education. Earlier this week, we published our Winter 2026 issue, which is dedicated to the theme “Artificial Intelligence and Christian Higher Education.” We have some stellar contributors, some of whom are leading Christian thinkers in the world of AI and higher education. I contributed the editorial introduction to the issue. Integration is published online and is available for free. Please consider passing the link along to any professors or graduate students whom you know.
Christian Worldview Week
I have the joy of serving as executive director of the Institute for Faith and Culture at North Greenville University. The IFC sponsors a number of initiatives, but our longest-running event is Christian Worldview Week, which has been held each spring semester at NGU for over two decades. This year, our theme is “Confronting Challenges to Authentic Human Flourishing.” Our two guest speakers will be Andrew Walker and Jamie Dew, both of whom are good friends. Each of them will speak during a regularly scheduled chapel service and deliver an evening lecture. Check out the flyer below, which was created by one of my students, Jaxson Thigpen.
Cancer Update
Leah had her third chemo infusion this week. She wrote an update for her newsletter. We’re so grateful for all the prayers, encouraging texts and emails, meals, financial gifts, and other acts of kindness over these past couple months. Please continue to pray that the Lord would heal Leah completely, that the side effects of the chemo would be manageable, and that the Lord would work through this difficult season draw our entire family closer to Him and closer to each other.
We are grateful for the work you are doing and we are praying for Leah.