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1. I have now blogged through the first thirty years of my life in great detail. My memories are now eternal. I feel like I now need to divert the extra space of my attention to other things that have been crying out to me. I also have already blogged extensively about my remaining years.
As I was getting ready to depart Indiana Wesleyan last year, I blogged through my time there. That series started with the year 1996-97, when I was looking for a teaching position. There are more things to be remembered of a personal nature and I may return to fill those in at some point.
So here are the key personal points of the years 1996-2009:
- Hired in 1997 by IWU to teach philosophy for a year
- Continued on in 1998, first to teach philosophy but then as professor of New Testament
- Married in 1998 to Angie with daughters Stefanie and Stacy - trips that year to England, Scotland, and Greece (for honeymoon)
- Son Thomas born in 1999.
- Daughter Sophie born in 2000.
- Family trip to England, Scotland, and Paris in summer 2001, before 9-11
- Angie's mom died in 2003. We had just returned from a cruise to celebrate five years of marriage.
- Fulbright sabbatical to Tübingen in 2004. We lived in Bühl. Fulbright trip to Berlin. Methodistische Gemeinde (Iraq War)
- Angie's father lived with us in Bühl the first half of the trip (bakery; Sportheim; gymnasium, stupid light). My parents came over. We went to Munich and visited Dachau again. My parents and I drove north to Nuremberg. Went through Oberammergau, drove to Neuschwanstein. They went to see the Grunewald altarpiece in Isenheim while I watched Tom.
- Family trip to Milan as the basecamp (Last Supper by da Vinci), with trips to Venice and down to Florence (fantastic carbonara). Angie's dad went home. We spent a week in Mougins, France (pesky train porter)
- Trips by Wilbur to Israel and Greece
- Books published, papers presented
- Stefanie graduated from high school in 2010, went to Indiana University. Her quinceñera was in 2006.
- Stacy graduated in 2011, also went to IU. Her quinceñera was in 2008.
- Another Fulbright in 2011 to Munich, with Knut Backhaus as host. Fulbright orientation was in Göttingen, after which we went on up to Berlin.
- We took trips to Rome, Pisa, Venice, and Florence again (as basecamp). We went to Vienna and on to Budapest, as well as Prague in the Czech Republic. Angie wanted to visit a Medieval Crime Museum in Rothenburg ob der Tauber as our departure approached.
- Stefanie, her friend Spencer, and Stacy came over for Christmas. We visited Tübingen and Bühl again, having supper with the Bisingers.
- My father died within a couple months of our return in 2012. This probably marks the end of the first half of my life.
- Books and papers presented
- Taught for the undergraduate School of Theology and Ministry 2015-2016. A year of self-discovery.
- From 2016-2019 I became first the Interim and then the full Dean of the School of Theology and Ministry. These were definitely years of learning as I felt like my intuitions would have taken IWU in different directions than it was going.
- Tom graduated from high school in 2018, got a full tuition ROTC scholarship for three years to Purdue.
- Sophie graduated from high school in 2019, went to Pepperdine University.
- In 2019 I felt like a change was approaching, either to go back to teaching or to move into a more significant leadership position. Houghton College stepped into that space.
- Since August 15, 2019 I have been Vice President of Planning and Innovation at Houghton. Exciting times!
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