I am an Alabamian by birth, raised in the tail end of the Appalachians in the north eastern quadrant of the state, full of long-leaf pines and red-clay dirt and rolling hills. After leaving home I completed an undergraduate degree in Computer Science at Lipscomb University (B.A., 1989) in Nashville, Tennessee, where I fell in love with the wonderful woman named Laura who became my wife. We made our way out west where I did seminary at Abilene Christian University (M.A., M.Div., 1993), and Laura did an M.B.A. There we learned to love the flat dry desert, the ubiquitous mesquite trees, and the good people of west Texas. Following a six month sojourn in Kenya working with street-kids and a vocational school, we made our way to the mid-west and made a home in South Bend, Indiana where I did graduate studies at Notre Dame in Moral Theology / Christian Ethics (M.A., Ph.D., 1999): there the Alabama boy who had deeply distrusted Notre Dame as a child (because they always beat Bear Bryant) learned to love Domers and Touchdown Jesus and Notre Dame football, and cold, snowy winter days cooped up in Hesburgh Library, long, dark days good for studying, with summer and fall days so crystal clear and beautiful that it made one simply grateful to be alive.
I've been teaching full-time at Lipscomb University since 1999, a community I love and for which I am deeply grateful, full of many dear friends and outstanding colleagues. Laura and I have three sons whom we love, of course, more than words can tell, and have been grateful to raise them in Nashville. Since 2013, I've been flying sailplanes for my primary hobby. It makes me giddy.
I'd be delighted to have you come join in the No Small Endeavor community, either online or for a live event in Nashville. For more information, visit here.
