- Department: Political Science
- University: South Texas College
- Location: McAllen, Texas
I was fortunate enough to be raised in a loving, Christian household, with married parents and a sister. Until departing for college, however, I had generally taken my Christian faith for granted as something that was always real, yet something that was also untried and raw. When I was in the world of the secular state university, I began to realize how important it is to take Christianity seriously, to not only love Jesus and His Word, but also to study the Word, digest it, and defend it, and to more completely practice the faith, as well. The desire to do so that began as an undergrad intensified during graduate school at a major Christian university and led me to an academic career. Nowadays, I'm teaching at a state community college, in a city several hundred miles from my family and many of my friends. When I moved here to take the job, I kept returning to the call of Abraham to leave the land of Ur and go to the land that the Lord would show him. There are plenty of days I still feel as though I'm in exile from the 'promised land' of my early growth and maturity, and I would be lying if I said that it has been an easy time living in South Texas. But I do know and have seen God's hand at work, even as He worked in the lives of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. He has, in putting us here, kept me and my family humble and dependent upon Him, which I suppose is His purpose for bringing us here in the first place. Every day, I'm striving to make "Soli Deo Gloria" the object of my life--To God alone be the glory!
Favorite Quote
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours." — David Livingstone "Our hearts are restless, O God, until we find our rest in Thee."--Augustine "They say that one useless man is a disgrace, that two are a law firm, and that three or more are a Congress..."--1776, the Musical
My hobbies
Travel, cooking, reading
Fantasy dinner guests
G. K. Chesterton, N. T. Wright, C. S. Lewis, Richard Nixon, and George H. W. Bush
My undergrad alma mater
University of Texas-Austin
My worst subject in school
Math (Thankfully, I never had a college math course.)
Favorite books
Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky); Pride and Prejudice (Austen); The Day the Revolution Began (Wright); Mere Christianity (Lewis); Death on a Friday Afternoon (Neuhaus); The Cost of Discipleship (Bonhoeffer)
Favorite city
Austin, TX; Washington, DC; London, England
Favorite coffee
Anything dark, strong, and caffeinated