In the sixth grade. My first computer was a Pentium 386 that had Windows 3.0 and MS-DOS 4.51. In college, my first job was with IBM as a programmer—as a freshman. Then I switched majors five times: undeclared, communication, philosophy, classics, computer science, and then back to classics. (Who knew?)
My passion was ancient history. I had a head start in high school when I geeked out with Latin. Surprisingly, I stuck with those subject matters that were most challenging. Programming came relatively easy; reading comprehension not so much. Even then, it was my thesis supervisor who challenged me to new heights. He encouraged me to apply to Yale, his alma mater.
Yale opened its doors, and I went to New Haven to study theology. While there, I served on a church's ministry staff for four years. When it was time to come back to Texas, family drew me home, and so did the chance to begin doctoral work. That program led to a teaching post at the same school, and I spent the next fifteen years on that campus in Fort Worth.
A lot of life happened. After those years in the classroom, I was thrilled to begin a new chapter of my life. I went back into tech in 2023 as a data engineer, building pipelines for healthcare data. In 2026 the two paths met again: I joined The King's University to help lead its Doctor of Ministry program. Through it all, family and church life remain at the center.
Ph.D. in New Testament
Southwestern Seminary
M.Div., New Testament Studies
Yale University
B.A. Classics
University of Texas at Austin
Back on campus, this time in Southlake. I help lead the Doctor of Ministry program, working alongside pastors and ministry leaders as they turn years of practice into research.
I lived and breathed data pipelines and database design. I worked on migration projects with a special focus on data engineering.
I started teaching as an adjunct while working on a degree here. Adjunct became tenure track. Ended up teaching over 15 years here. Lots of great memories.
After graduating from Yale, I was on staff at church. I needed a job and I didn't have to go far to find a job. Right on campus where the church was. Tech support for the administration of the school where I studied.
One manager gave me a chance in my freshman year. Worked on code fixes and shipped them out to cients as patches and service packs. Learned to code in a Unix environment. Bash = Bourne Again Shell. Yes, I am bourne again.
So much happened in the classroom. Learning and life happened. We grew together. Those years flew by.
Greek grammar for Attic and Koine. Poured into NT, LXX, and various authors. Toga days were the best.
Latin grammar. Latin literature. Roman and church history. Some inscriptions. Cicero knew how to pack a punch with words.
Gundry as my textbook solely because of the pictures. Flew through the NT books in two semesters.
Fancy word for "interpretation" but really just Bible study methods. Never got to the high-level theories, but we didn't need to. So much to unpack in the text.
Super fun class. Learned to respect other religions and belief systems. Best part was visiting different religious sites. I chose Prothero because it was an easy read.
1 Corinthians, Hebrews, 2 Corinthians, and Luke. Deep dive into the text. Learn to read the text carefully. Lots to take in. Always impressed with the ideas students came up with.