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MY Mission:
Preparing
Influencers
Doing meaningful and life-giving work for the benefit of others.
āLearning is the creation of knowledge through the transformation of experience.ā
D.A. KOLB | FOUNDER, EXPERIENCE BASED LEARNING SYSTEMS
Follow me on #HigherEd Twitter
About Me
I am currently a Ph.D. candidate at Baylor University, studying Higher Education Leadership. I hope to continue working alongside like-minded education faculty and staff in higher education, while also discipling students on college and university campuses. I long to be a useful asset wherever God leads me and to use the gifts with which I have been blessed.
Hobbies: Cooking, Videography and Photography, College Football, Web Design, Blogging
TV: This Is Us, The Good Place, The West Wing, Ted Lasso, Severance, The Office, Sports
Research Interests: Student Self-Worth, Ungrading, Christian Higher Education
Recently published articles
Published in
Christian Higher Education
āDavid A. Winklerā¦[notes] one dimension of the concern: āSimplifying academic evaluations by assigning percentages and letter grades leaves students with very little context for what those measures meanā (Winkler, 2021, p. 4). Although āgoodā students find support for their self-esteem in receiving high grades, Winkler identifies a concern that learning may not be reflected in grades, and that the unevenness of grading may result in the current system of grading actually resulting in ādegradingā studentsā sense of self-worth and potential. In response, this article calls upon Christian educators to convey to students that their self-worth is not based upon external (and somewhat arbitrary) standards such as grades; rather, āstudents should recognize and be reminded of the true, inherent self-worth they have in their Creatorā (Winkler, 2021, p. 7). The article concludes by describing four practices (e.g., āCovenant Gradingā and āImproving Rather than Provingā) that can change the narrative of how students view themselves in light of their value and identity in Christ.ā
Published in THE
International journal of Christianity & Education
Can Protestant higher education redeem the failure of earlier Protestant institutions regarding graduate education? Based on our findings from the discourse analysis, only one-third of the graduate programs showed evidence of attempting to engage in the integration of theological discourse with graduate education. Furthermore, some of the research universities with the most graduate programs (including our own) were the most secularized. If we create only a minority of graduate programs where this integration takes place, we are not sure a redemption of the earlier Protestant failure will take place among the majority of institutions. The good news is that many of these programs are young and institutions are continuing to expand their graduate offerings. Now is the crucial time to make changes so that Protestant higher education does not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Personal Goals
Something I am continually excited about are the ever-changing goals in my life. My wife and I make sure to set aside time each year to āgoal dreamā and come up with new and exciting endeavors to chase after. Now, I have a lot of dreams that might not ever come to fruition (e.g. owning a restaurant), but spending time thinking about these dreams and working to make them a reality is what I truly enjoy. Vision casting is exciting and I think helps me grow as I move further in my education. Spending time thoughtfully and philosophically reasoning through different goals excites me for the journey God has only just begun to take us on. I hope to prayerfully consider and discern the doors God might open in the months, years, and lifetime to come.
PREPARING INFLUENCERS
Discovering purpose is a common goal and sincere hope of many. I exist to glorify God and bless others by preparing influencers to do meaningful and life-giving work for the benefit of others.
CREATIVE DESIGN
I have been a freelance videographer, photographer, and web-designer for nearly a decade because of the love I have for design and creativity. These are passions of mine I hope to share.
Education
I am currently a PhD candidate at Baylor University. I will update my website with some of the latest projects, readings, writings, and thoughts, including those from my time at Dallas Seminary.
READING & WRITING
I love reading, which is great seeing that most of the time in a doctoral program is spent reading and writing. I love sharing great books with others and sharing my own thoughts as well.
āLearning doesnāt just affect what you know; learning can transform how you understand the nature of knowing.ā
KEN BAIN | FOUNDER, BEST TEACHERS INSTITUTE
Core Values
Defining a personal set of values is an important task, one that should be done thoughtfully and carefully. I am not perfect, but I am being perfected in Christ and I long to reflect him in the values I have chosen. I pray that these personal values would take hold of my life, pointing me toward Christ and spurring me to be a blessing to others.
LOVE
Love is the essence of the nature of Christ. The apostle John declares the love of God made evident in Christ, that āGod is loveā (1 John 4:8). We can love because Christ first loved us (1 John 4:19). I long to reflect the love of Christ to all I come into contact with daily.
WISDOM
More than mere knowledge, wisdom is the application of knowledge. I pray that God would graciously provide me wisdom, but that he would protect me from boasting in wisdom and lead me toward practicing His steadfast love, justice, and righteousness (Jer 9:23, 24).
RELATIONSHIPS
āMaking touches.ā Thatās what my mentor says. Keeping up with people, their lives, and their families is an important part of any ministry. Jesus chose to spend his time with twelve guys, modeling not only discipleship, but also what it looks like to be a good friend (John 15:12, 13).
PEACE
Peace is an untroubled heart that comes from trusting God. Peace comes only from God (Ps 29:11; 1 Pet 5:7; Phil 4:7). Only He can create peace through the work of the Holy Spirit. I strive to advocate for and nurture peace in my personal relationships. I thank God for assurance of my salvation (John 10:28, 29; Rom 8:38, 39).
STEWARDSHIP
Made man and woman we are to be co-rulers of the earth with God. This means practicing the stewardship of all he has given us. Everything comes from God and we are to thoughtfully tend to His creation (Jam 1:17; 1 Pet 4:10). I aim to steward my time, finances, relationships, and other resources for the furtherance of the Kingdom.
EXCELLENCE
Excellence is not perfection. Excellence, defined by Booker T. Washington, is āto do a common thing in an uncommon way.ā I endeavor to shoot for excellence in every aspect of my life: work, study, play, spiritual life, volunteer work, friends, and family (Col 3:23).
INTEGRITY
Integrity is more than just being honest or having good intentions. It is by definition ābeing wholeā or āundivided.ā Integrity clings to truth and flees from falsehood. It permeates our character to the core. Integrity thinks about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Phil 4:8).
GRACE
Grace may be listed last on this list, but it is one of the most important for me to remember every day. Godās grace saves me, nothing else can. Only He has the power to save. In Ephesians, Paul states, āFor by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not by your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boastā (Eph 2:8, 9).
The Latest
Be sure to keep up-to-date with everything I am learning and discovering. I hope to periodically update this section of the website with new class projects, book reviews, movie reviews, and even personal blog-type articles that focus on the things I am learning.
āTell me and I forget.
Teach me and I remember.
Involve me and I learn.ā
BENJAMIN Franklin | FOUNDing father
