About

“I remind you to kindle afresh the gracious gift of God in you” (2 Timothy 1:6).

My purpose for this blog and website is to communicate words that rekindle your faith and keep it burning bright. I want to help you fan into flame what God has already ignited in you. I pray that the various blog posts, books, articles, and sermons will help you think clearly about what you believe, move you to love Christ more, and incite you to live out your faith with conviction and faithfulness.

The blog is a mix of biblical studies, theology, culture, church life, history, missions, apologetics, and forays into the spiritual life–anything I think might help you understand the Word of God better and aid you in living out a committed and faithful Christian life.

Who is this blog for? I’m happy for anyone–anywhere on the planet!–to find spiritual encouragement here, but when I write, I envision those who are in my God-given “sphere of ministry” (2 Cor 10:13-16), especially former students (and current students, and wanna-be students). In other words, this is a way to continue ministering to you even if you’re not in a classroom with me.

I’m happy to send you an email link whenever I post something new. As a free gift for signing up for these reminders, I will send to your email inbox ten days of free devotionals on what it means to live out an ‘in Christ’ life.  Sign up for those devotionals HERE.

Here’s a bit more about me (in case you clicked “about” to learn about me):

I’m a Professor of New Testament at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University where I’ve been teaching since 2002. I teach courses such as Life & Letters of Paul, Principles of Interpretation, Biblical Greek, New Testament History & Literature, Romans, and The Apostolic Fathers. I previously taught a few years at Nyack College in New York City, and have taught as an adjunct professor at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and at Alliance Theological Seminary in New York (and Ukraine and Anaheim).

I am happily married to Trudi, who has been my friend since my freshman year of high school. Like Philip in the Bible(!), I have four daughters and three sons-in-law. Trudi and I lived in the Middle East for seven years and have many friends around the world. Both Trudi and I are deeply involved in the Christian community and ministry of Redemption Hill Church in Whittier, California, where I serve as an overseer. Along with Trudi, I also lead a residential discipleship community of college students known as “The Birdhouse” (sometimes spelled “Berdhouse”).

I love music, and play three musical instruments: piano, guitar, drums. I’ve written many songs, including music for teaching. Some of these songs are aimed at helping people achieve Biblical literacy, others for learning Greek grammar. It isn’t unusual to walk by one of my classes at Biola University and hear music coming out of the classroom!

My education includes an undergraduate degree in Theology from Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon, a graduate degree in New Testament from Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California (where I now teach), and a Ph.D. degree in Hermeneutics and Biblical Interpretation from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

I write both academic and non-academic articles and books, regularly blog here at Kindle Afresh, and am editor of The Good Book Blog. My academic interests are in the New Testament (especially the Apostle Paul) and the Apostolic Fathers (especially Polycarp). I deeply desire that people come to understand the centrality of Jesus Christ, the brevity of life, how to walk in the Spirit, and the importance of learning, loving, and living the Bible.

HERE is my CV (updated annually), in case you feel the need to know more.

Far more important than you learning about me(!), however, is that you truly come to know and love the Lord Jesus. If you are in doubt about whether you actually know him, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me so I can either help you myself, or put you in touch with someone who can lead you into a loving and lasting relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.