So you’ve come searching to find out if I’m legit, eh? Good for you. I hope you find the information you’re looking for, and if not, feel free to comment on this page or contact me directly.

Education:

Ph.D. – Social Psychology (in progress)
Th.M. – New Testament; Denver Seminary (in progress)
M.Div. – Apologetics, Ethics, and Biblical Studies; Denver Seminary (2018)
M.A. – Psychological Sciences; University of Colorado, Colorado
Springs (2012)
B.S. – Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Air Force Academy (2007)

Professional Experience:

I was a behavioral scientist in the Air Force from 2007 to 2016, mostly involved in research and consulting. My final assignment was an adjunct professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy where I taught intro to psychology and leadership psychology courses. While I was in seminary, I volunteered (on a very part-time basis) as a research assistant in a neuropsych lab at the University of Denver. I am currently working on a Ph.D. in social psychology and Baylor University with a focus on how virtues and religious beliefs affect well-being and performance.

I became a Christian because of apologetics in 2005 and have been intensely studying it since then. I started actively serving with my local church in 2012 as a small group leader and teacher. Since then, I have taught or preached on various apologetics topics for several churches and small groups. I’ve founded two small ministries, Apologetics Awareness and Christianity for Everyone, and work with a campus ministry at Baylor.

Testimony/Biography

I grew up in a non-Christian home in central MN and devoted my whole life to hockey. I dropped out/tested out of high school, depending on how you look at it, when I was 16 so I could focus more on hockey. I spent the next four years playing junior hockey (think minor pro, but lower level and without pay) until I was recruited so play Division I college hockey at the Air Force Academy.

While in college, I took a psychology of religion course that required me to journal about what I believed about God, the afterlife, morality, and so on. I realized I didn’t know what I believed, why I believed it, and the things I thought I knew were contradictory. I decided to investigate religion as rationally as possible. As a result, I discovered Christian apologetics.

The evidence convinced me, but I still didn’t believe because I figured if it was true, every Christian I’d ever known would have talked about it. I thought a better explanation was that I was just unable to see the flaws in the Christian arguments so I checked to see what atheist scientists and philosophers said about the arguments because I thought they were the smartest, most unbiased people on the topic.

Much to my surprise, I realized the Christians had better, deeper arguments that incorporated more evidence than the arguments for any other worldview. Once I realized this, I submitted my life to the authority of Jesus and haven’t looked back since.

The day after graduating college in May 2007, my wife and I were married and we were stationed in San Antonio, TX. I served in the Air Force as a behavioral scientist while my wife went to law school. After she graduated, we had our first child and moved back to Colorado Springs in 2011 where I did my first master’s degree in psychological sciences. After finishing the degree in Dec 2012, I began teaching psychology at the Air Force Academy and we had our second child in 2013.

In 2016 I separated from the Air Force so I could attend seminary. By the end of the year, we had adopted a child from foster care, who is now our oldest. I graduated with my M.Div. in apologetics, ethics, and biblical studies in Dec 2018 and am on track to finish a ThM in new testament in May 2019. I hope to begin a Ph.D. program in psychology in the fall of 2019.

Why you should read my blog:

My background gives me a somewhat unique voice among apologists and theologians. I didn’t become a Christian until my early twenties, and I’ve always been pretty rebellious, so I am more likely than most to stand against dogmatic claims, even from Christians. I definitely have orthodox beliefs (see below), but I don’t automatically except everything just because it comes from a fellow apologist or are widely accepted in Christian culture.

I also have education and experience in psychology, which is pretty rare for apologists, so I see things from a little bit of a different angle than others. This affords me the opportunity to add a new perspective to several topics, which means sometimes I may have a different positions on issues and other times I can add a new twist where there is agreement.

Finally, because I study bias scientifically, I tend to be less trusting than others, which is yet another factor that often drives me to push against dogma, which ironically, sometimes leads me to more conservative beliefs (such as how ministries should use money). I don’t like to believe anything without thorough investigation, religious or not. If I don’t have good reasons for believing sometime, I won’t have a strong view on it and it’s probably on my list of things to examine! I also like heavy metal and humor. Hopefully this all works together for something that’s fun, interesting, and educational.

What I believe/Statement of Faith

I believe that all scripture is inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16)
I believe in one God in three divine persons who share one essence (Athanasian Creed)
I believe that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose bodily on the third day (1 Cor 15:3-4)
I believe that that only means of salvation is through faith in Christ alone (John 8:24)

Obviously, I believe more than this, but this should be enough to show people I’m not a heretic, even if we disagree on secondary and tertiary issues. I’ll add more to this section as I get a chance to explain and defend my views on more controversial topics.