Berean has been a significant part of my life since I was thirteen years old. Thirteen is when I drove to what seemed like Nebraska for my first day of junior. high. And I have been a Warrior ever since. Berean played an important part in my development as a person and as a believer. Berean gave me the foundation and influences that would shape my understanding of the Christian faith as a world and life view. I have had the privilege of teaching high school Bible at Berean for the past nineteen years. As I start my twentieth year at Berean, I will transition into Administration as the Secondary Principal while still having the opportunity to teach junior and senior Bible. I am eager to start this new phase and excited to face the challenges and joys of administration, but I will always love teaching.
While I love to teach, I do not think anyone who knew me when I was younger would ever have seen me as a teacher. People did not know that I always loved to learn and would often get distracted trying to do homework because I would find myself interested in something outside my course of study. After graduating from Berean in May 1992, I attended Wichita State University and received a Bachelor of Arts in Medieval and Reformation history. In 2003, I received a Master of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary in historical theology. I have pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Kansas in seventeenth and eighteenth-century American religious history.
Berean is also where I meet my wife, Kirstin. We were not high school sweethearts, but Berean is where our friendship began. This December, we will celebrate twenty-five years of marriage. We have three daughters, who all attended Berean. Our oldest daughter Sally graduated from Berean in May and will attend Dordt University. Our middle daughter Libby will be a sophomore, and Piper, our youngest, will be entering jr. high this fall.
My confidence is found in the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians, “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” I pray that I will be an instrument that Christ will use to help young people understand their Christian faith, not as a compartmentalized set of beliefs and propositions that plays no active role in everyday life. Rather, they come to understand the Christian faith as a lens that will interpret all their daily life.
