After Hours Theology Club

After Hours Theology Club

Have you tuned into The After Hours Theology Club? Designed as a place to direct our students for deeper theological conversation and lighthearted fun, my colleague Dr. Joel Houston and I started the podcast while we were both teaching Introduction to Christian Theology. It's for anyone interested in learning more about theology.

We've been a bit preoccupied lately but more episodes are coming soon. We recorded our latest just last week.

Here are some links if you're interested:

You Tube: AHTC 

Spotify: AHTC 

Apple: AHTC 

Speaking more in 2026

An emerging priority that went unmentioned in my 2026 goals was accepting opportunities to speak. Since teaching is one of my strongest gifts, I am somewhat surprised to look back on my time in Saskatchewan and realize that I have not had many chances to speak at churches, conferences, and events. I speak at college chapel now and then and preach occasionally at our local Free Methodist Church, but not a lot. At the turn of the year I sensed God inviting me to be ready to speak more. This might be because, after years of research and writing a book I finally have something to say. It might also be because God is doing something new in my life. Maybe it's a bit of both.

Regardless of why, a trickle has started. Last week I received a phone call from a Canadian denominational leader inviting me to speak about my research at a pastor's conference. I'll say more about this in a future blog post but for now, I'm thrilled to be invited. On Sunday I spoke at the Church in Caronport, a community church that meets in Briercrest's chapel. The lead pastor's wife served as my admin assistant up until she took parental leave to be with their adopted son. It was a joy to preach and to catch a glimpse of them at the service. Here's a link to the sermon video if you're interested.

If you happen to be a denominational leader looking for a conference or workshop speaker to talk about Jesus' carpentry, Paul's tent-making, and how their work might help inform the church's possible future, reach out. My book won't be printed for another year but I've got plenty to say in the meantime.  

 

 

 

Teaching less in 2025 and 2026 Goals

 

I've been spoiled. During the fall of 2025 I didn't teach. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy teaching; but I also appreciate time to channel more energy toward academic administration (i.e., course scheduling, writing accreditation reports, and overseeing the day-to-day functioning of the seminary), big picture planning (i.e, dreaming about and launching our new CoVo certificates, making connections with denominational leaders, and attending events on behalf of the seminary), and writing/editing my book.

As dean of the seminary I typically teach three courses per year. This year my load has been less. That has enabled me to work on finishing my book manuscript for the January, 2026 submission deadline. It isn't a strict deadline but I'm treating it like it is. I spent my Christmas and New Year's break eating and playing games with my family. And, because I haven't been teaching I am unburdened from the end of semester grading drudgery to write. As such, I've accomplished my goal of editing two of my densest chapters, both dealing with Paul's New Testament writings on material support for church leaders. It was a ton of work but I am thankful to have met my goal and made it this far.

Speaking of goals, my wife and I crafted a handful of them for 2026. Here are some of mine:

• Finalize and submit my book manuscript to IVP  
• Blog 1x/month
• Read the Gospel of John in Greek
• Go on a European vacation with my wife
• Teach at the chaplain school this summer
• Prepare an outline and write one chapter of my next book project
• Run 30km in one shot

This post is the beginning of my quest to accomplish the second bullet point goal. Here's to accomplishing a bunch more of them in 2026.