Page 120 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 24

What are your actual professional responsibili- do delight in recrea�onally reading in and stu-
�es? Can you tell us a li�le about your experi-
ence?
My primary responsibility at my ins�tu�on is
teaching. I teach four undergraduate classes
each semester which range from first year clas-
ses to upper-level major specific courses. In ad-
di�on to teaching, I am also the coordinator of
the undergraduate psychology program. One of
the exci�ng things I have been able to do in this
role is to ini�ate and lead a complete overhaul
of our bachelor’s degree in psychology to make
it more explicitly Chris�an in the structure of
the degree plan and in the descrip�ons and
outcomes of our courses.
And you also have a private life. Please tell us
a li�le bit.
I have a wonderful, loving, and beau�ful wife
named Rachel. I love to spend �me with my
wife as much as we can, and we like to find and
cook great food from all diverse cultures, drink
coffee, watch movies, and have spontaneous
adventures. My mom has lived with my wife
and I since my dad went to be with the Lord,
and it has been a real blessing to have her with
us. She also enjoys ea�ng, cooking, and wat-
ching movies with us, but not as many adventu-
res; she prefers the peaceful ac�vi�es of cra�s
and puzzles.
Personally, I am an avid video-gamer and love
relaxing with a great game. Even though I study
psychology and theology professionally, I really
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dying these areas, along with philosophy. One
of the things I cherish most is good conversa�-
ons with others. For me there is nothing more
sa�sfying than a spirited, though�ul, and nuan-
ced discussion with others. It is one of life’s sim-
ple but profound pleasures.
Do you have any other concerns you would
like to share with the readers?
One topic that has become an increasing con-
cern of mine in recent years is the prevalence of
secular and pop psychological ideas, language,
and frameworks in the American church. I regu-
larly come across literature, sermons, tea-
chings, and expressions in conversa�ons that
reference things that I know comes out of
mainstream psychology, but as if it is part of the
biblical and theological tradi�on of the Chris�-
an faith. This is deeply concerning to me becau-
se Chris�ans are uncri�cally drawing inspira�on
and guidance from a pool of ideas that is largely
fed from a spring of weak anthropology, secular
humanism, and therapeu�c individualism—fra-
meworks that o�en redefine sin, distort the na-
ture of the self, and replace spiritual forma�on
with self-help techniques detached from the
gospel of Christ.
I think that Chris�an psychology could remedy
this by offering a clear and dis�nctly Chris�an
vision of what it means to be human and what
it means to truly flourish. Rather than uncri�-
cally borrowing from secular frameworks,
Chris�an psychology begins with the biblical
story, which is humanity created in the image of
God, fallen in sin, and redeemed in and through
Christ. From that founda�on, it can though�ul-
ly engage psychological insights while reorien-
�ng them within a theological understanding of
persons as spiritual, rela�onal, and embodied
beings. This kind of framework would help the
church recover a more faithful and holis�c view
of human nature and growth that resists the
self-help and therapeu�c trends of our age and
instead points us toward transforma�on in
Christ and par�cipa�on in His life.