I grew up in rural central Illinois, where I inherited and embraced nearly every midwestern stereotype: black coffee drinker, YouTube handy, hopeless Chicago sports fan, Aldi shopper, and a lover of all kinds of one-dish meals.

“Being good” was important to me, so I tried to win the approval of the Lord and everyone else through my behavior for years. Convicted of my own failure even while at my best, I came to know God (or became known by him [Gal 4:9]) through the testimony of my family—a family that loved the Lord and loved me.

I studied theology at Grand Canyon University (B.A.), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.Div., MA), and Wheaton College (PhD). My research and writing focus on the study of Jesus, the Trinity, and the 17th-century theologian John Owen.

My theological heart was hooked on John Owen as an undergraduate after reading Communion with God. Owen originally delivered the book’s contents as chapel messages with devotional fervor, historical attentiveness, theological precision, and dogmatic coherence.

However, my heart was also hooked and hitched to my best friend, Katelyn. Together we have six children that we pray continue to grow into friends in Jesus and in life.

As a family, we serve at our church, cook good food, attend kids’ baseball and hockey games, play endless pickleball games, take the train to Dallas Stars games, and work on random jobs around the house—nearly all the wood photos across this site are the product of the (very amateur) Kieser woodshop.

Today, I teach theology at Criswell College and write in an attempt to contribute to the clarity of the academy and charity of the church.