蜜豆app

Recently, I was privileged to participate in my church鈥檚 100-year anniversary. As part of the worship service, the pastor spoke from 2 Timothy 1 about 鈥渇anning into flame鈥� the gift of God. 

The pastor encouraged us to remain faithful because we each have a part to play in that process. When he dug into the context of Paul鈥檚 message, he showed us that God uses the 鈥渙rdinary means of His Word鈥� and the 鈥渙rdinary means of relationships鈥� to fan into flame the gift of God. 

As I listened, I was struck by how this truth resonates with my own life story and my reason for returning to Cedarville. God has used ordinary relationships and the ordinary teaching of His Word to change and grow me in extraordinary ways. 

There was nothing extraordinary about my experience. I grew up in Central Indiana as a pastor鈥檚 son in a small church that weekly explained the Gospel to me and taught me about the character of God. I spent years of my childhood trying to 鈥渟how鈥� that I was a good Christian, but frankly, I was just being a good hypocrite.  

At 16, that all changed when I heard Isaiah 53 faithfully preached. I realized what it meant that I had gone astray and that my iniquity was laid on Christ. I knew I needed to repent and seek Christ as my salvation. In that moment, I found peace, and my life began to transform with Christ as my Savior.  

Enter Cedarville. Months after my salvation, I began looking at colleges. I visited my brother for a Lil鈥� Sibs Weekend on Cedarville鈥檚 campus and stayed in Brock Hall. I was amazed at how crazy his friends were, yet I was equally impressed with how much they cared about God and each other, and I was struck by how powerful the teaching was in the classroom and in chapel.  

From 1997 to 2001, my extraordinary experience as a Cedarville student was primarily shaped by 2 Timothy鈥檚 鈥渙rdinary means.鈥� My heart and mind were shaped by the ordinary teaching of God鈥檚 Word I received daily in chapel and the classroom. I was challenged to grow in my faith through Bible studies, to think well in the classroom, and to grow as a leader through college sports and student leadership.  

Just as impactful were the ordinary relationships I developed with faithful faculty, caring staff, and lifelong friends. I was blessed by key staff and older students who, early on, identified evidence of grace and leadership potential in me and gave me opportunities to grow. They lit a fire in me that shaped my career and ministry aspirations going forward.  

After I graduated, those aspirations pushed me to Washington, D.C. I worked in the U.S. Senate and for a major think tank, The American Enterprise Institute. God used that time to show me career insights and ministry passions. My Cedarville education prepared me for success and stirred my love for Christ and the Gospel.  

However, my most profound discovery in D.C. was a deepening love for the local church. I was blessed to be a member for several years at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Mentors in the church shaped my growth through seemingly simple acts like regularly taking me to lunch and coffee. To this day, I still remember lessons learned through these ordinary meetings.  

My work with policy quickly helped me realize that I wanted to serve people more than I cared about particular bills and laws. In God鈥檚 providence, I was given opportunities to direct college student intern programs for my senator and at AEI, and that revealed my love for working with university students.  

In 2004, I returned to 蜜豆app as a resident director for four years and oversaw student leaders for five years after that. I loved doing for others what had been done for me. I loved using ordinary means like studying the Bible, planning events, and teaching leadership to challenge students toward the extraordinary. During this time, I was extremely blessed by God to meet the love of my life, Clara, who became my wife in 2011. 

My degrees at The Ohio State University (MA) and University of Dayton (PhD) refined my passion to see students grow and learn to love God. I knew God was calling me to use that passion to serve in higher education. So, in 2013, I took the next step to grow my experience and abilities at another faith-based institution in another state.  

Clara and I moved to Palm Beach County, where I served in several student-facing roles at Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA), most recently Vice President for Student Development. Clara and I found an incredible local church in Boynton Beach and were blessed with three wonderful children. We had started considering that we might stay at First Boynton and PBA for the rest of my career until, in His providence, God prepared us for change and opened up a door for us to return to this place we love, Cedarville, in 2024.  

People often ask me, 鈥淲hat would make you leave the beautiful weather of south Florida to return to Cedarville?鈥� Really, the answer is easy. My ordinary ministry of helping students learn God鈥檚 Word and deepen relationships is extraordinary and life-giving!  

In my role as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, I use creative venues to help our campus find new students. In every initiative, I rely on what makes Cedarville so special: the ordinary means of God鈥檚 Word taking root and Gospel relationships being developed.  

At the forefront of this work is Cedarville Online. We鈥檙e excited to launch online undergraduate programs so we can help students achieve their academic goals with affordable, flexible degrees. But more than that, we鈥檙e excited to see new lives transformed through the ordinary means God has been using throughout the history of the Church!  

While a residential college experience can be an incredible blessing, we know that not every student can or wants to move to Cedarville. Many students can鈥檛 come to Cedarville because of financial, health, and life constraints or because God has already revealed work and church callings to them where they are today.  

Now, these students can enjoy an extraordinary Cedarville experience online, complete with the same timeless, ordinary means God has always used: His Word and relationships with other believers. Just like our residential students, students in the online programs have full access to chapel and are taught an excellent curriculum that鈥檚 fully integrated with biblical truth. Students can be mentored by faculty and staff and establish the same lifelong friendships with classmates and fellow believers around the world.  

I love this place. I love what it has done in my life. God has used it to draw me to Himself and embolden me to use my passions to serve others for the Gospel, and it has all been accomplished through the ordinary. I pray that He uses my work to help students grow in the same ways.