I am a 5th generation educator. Ali of my formal education — thorough a Ph.D. — is from public schools. My first 20 years as an educator were as a public school English teacher, associate principal, and principal. My paralleling spiritual journey was interesting, to say the least. I have been “churched” my whole life. My parents were faithful to have my brother and me in church twice a week, but I never heard preaching about the Good News and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I was married for 12 years until that teaching stuck and the Holy Spirit got ahold of my heart, head, and hands. How? I started attending an adult Sunday school class centered on Walk Thru the Bible materials. Then, our wives formed a weekly family gathering for study of Focus on the Family Homebuilders content. And my friend Bill invited me to CrossTrainers, a weekly men’s Bible study group. Finally, I attended the second-ever Promise Keepers stadium event at The University of Colorado football stadium. For an English major who had never studied the Bible from a Christian worldview, I was overwhelmed by the truth of God’s Word — and, at 36 years of age, I embraced Jesus as Lord and Savior! Daily, I am so grateful for my salvation! I served for 14 years as an adjunct professor at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. I loved the energy of those Master’s degree students. At Year 20 of my career, God called me to be the Superintendent of Des Moines Christian School, my first experience with private Christian education. I have been so privileged to see God work through our teams in 3 Christian schools over the course of 23 years. I should also add that one of my greatest privileges as an educator was serving as a founding Board member of Joshua Christian Academy, an inner-city Christian school in Des Moines. Retiring from full-time ministry in 2023, I am excited about new opportunities to fully express my faith in Jesus as an adjunct faculty member at Columbia International University, a Christian college. I love Jesus. I love the church of Jesus Christ. I love my wife and family. I love learning. I love students and how relationships can ramp-up learning and spiritual growth. I pray that God gives me many more years to grow myself and to help the next generation of educators to positively influence their students.