Personal

I received word yesterday that the Ph.D. Committee voted to approve my request for “Excused Program Leave” beginning in January 2021 and lasting until January 2022. At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, 2020 has been a particularly difficult year. Attempting to complete my “Barth, Bonhoeffer, and the Bible” dissertation has taken a toll on my mental health as I ran into some major research and writing roadblocks right before and during the COVID pandemic....

Hey everyone! Just a brief update to note that I’m looking for a new role to supplement my part-time work as Managing Editor of Anglican Compass! I’m pretty flexible at this point, but I want to do something that benefits the church. I think I would make a great Assistant Rector! 🙂 Any advice, opportunities, or connections you can offer would be appreciated! You can view/share my CV here. And here’s my LinkedIn profile....

This is, admittedly, a half-baked opinion. However, I need to get back in the habit of blogging/writing regularly, so here goes. In my opinion, the use of the sign of the cross in clergy names/signatures—unless it’s done in official ecclesiastical communication or immediately after a blessing or prayer for the recipient—is pretentious. It’s showy. At the very least, it conveys or connotes pretentiousness. Note that I’m not making a claim about the *people* who use crosses in their signatures, their inner thoughts, or their intentions....

Due to increased symptoms of depression and anxiety in recent weeks, I’ve decided to try out a combination of counseling and medication. Sure, I’ve still been able to get out of bed in the morning. And I wasn’t having any serious thoughts about hurting myself. But still, I was feeling hopeless and trapped often enough that I decided it was time to seek out help. I know, I know. That’s pretty personal for a blog post for the whole internet to read!...

I needed this prayer this morning, and I plan to return to it often in the days ahead. Most loving Father, you will us to give thanks for all things, to dread nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on the One who cares for us. Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested unto us in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord....

Not sure how this is going to go, or even why I’m doing this anymore, but here we go! Still praying for either a dissertation break-through or a clear sign that I should quit. I hope to receive or discover one of those before the end of the calendar year.

After listening to the Blinkist summary of Cal Newport’s Deep Work (I’ve read the book, this was just for a refresher), I’m convinced that it’s time for another 30-day fast from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I think I’ll still keep my micro.blog up and running, but between running Anglican Compass and sprinting for some last-ditch clarity on my increasingly frustrating dissertation, I need all the extra bandwidth I can get!...

For months and months now, I’ve been praying for either (1) a breakthrough on my “Barth, Bonhoeffer, and the Bible” dissertation or (2) a clear sign that I should quit the Ph.D. Unfortunately, after countless confusing dead ends in my endeavors to put Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer into precise conversation with each other regarding specific passages of the Bible, I’ve now realized that such an approach is not going to work....

After realizing just how easy it was to lose access to the physical books that I own (now sequestered in my library carrel at Wheaton), on a bit of a whim I created a fundraiser to help my upgrade my Logos Bible Software library to either the Anglican Gold ($216) or Anglican Platinum ($582) libraries. Upgrading would help me in my preaching, teaching, and writing roles (as a pastor-theologian and as the Managing Editor of AnglicanCompass....

I’m a husband to Rachel and a father to Eva. I’m also: An Anglican Priest (serving/volunteering without pay) A Ph.D. Student at Wheaton College (full-time, including a fellowship as a Teaching/Research Assistant) Managing Editor of AnglicanPastor.com (part-time) In May 2020, my full-time residential obligations to Wheaton’s Ph.D. program will come to an end. I’ll still need to finish my dissertation in the following 1-2 years (the sooner, the better!), but I will no longer have to work on campus as a teaching/research assistant....