Biography
I currently serve as an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. I also have the privilege of being the lead editor of Philosophia Christi, the academic journal of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. I am also a fellow of the Center for Baptist Renewal, the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture at Southeastern, and serve as a Research Affiliate of the Martin Institute’s Dallas Willard Research Center at Westmont College.
My scholarly interests have focused on exploring the nature of God and the fundamental structure of created reality—the nature, action, and moral flourishing of human persons in particular—from a distinctively Christian perspective. I am the author of Christian Philosophy as a Way of Life: An Invitation to Wonder (Baker Academic), What is Reality? An Introduction to Metaphysics (IVP Academic), Contemplating Divine Simplicity: Five Views (Bloomsbury Academic), and Substance and the Fundamentality of the Familiar: A Neo-Aristotelian Mereology(Routledge). My work has also appeared in peer-reviewed academic journals and edited collections published with Oxford University Press, T&T Clark, Blackwell, Routledge, and B&H Academic.
I currently teach philosophy at both the master’s and doctoral levels, in addition to great books classes at Judson College. I am deeply committed to equipping the church in the task of creating a cultural and ecclesial milieu that is increasingly receptive to the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Gospel. Prior to joining the faculty at Southeastern Seminary, I was an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the department of philosophy at Southwestern Seminary (Fort Worth, TX). I’ve held Templeton Research Fellowships at both the University of Notre Dame, Center for Philosophy of Religion (2013-2014), Saint Louis University (2014-2015) with the Philosophy and Theology of Intellectual Humility Project, and was a visiting scholar at Oxford University working alongside the Power Structuralism in Ancient Ontologies project directed by Anna Marmodoro. I completed a B.A. in Biblical Studies and Philosophy at San Diego Christian College, an M.A. in Philosophy (summa cum laude) and an M.A. in Theology (summa cum laude) from Talbot School of Theology (Biola University), and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Trinity College, Dublin. In 2014, I had the honor of being awarded the Marc Sanders Prize in Philosophy of Religion, an award that aims to recognize younger scholars working in philosophy of religion.
Above all, I enjoy the daily and ordinary rhythms of being a husband and a dad. I am married to Suzanne, my high school sweetheart, and together we have the joy of raising our three children Hudson, Declan, and Verity. When I’m not with my family or teaching I enjoy swimming, paddleboarding, hiking, traveling, coffee, reading dead theologians, and learning to become a better husband, dad, and more faithful apprentice of Jesus of Nazareth.
Education
BA, Philosophy and Biblical Studies, San Diego Christian College
MA, Philosophy, Biola University
MA, Theology, Biola University
PhD, Philosophy, Trinity College Dublin
Professional Experience
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC
Associate Professor of Philosophy; 2019-Present
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX
Assistant Professor of Philosophy; 2015-2019
Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO
Postdoctoral Fellow, The Philosophy & Theology of Intellectual Humility Project; 2014-2015
University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
Analytic Theology Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Philosophy of Religion; 2013-2014
Achievements/Awards
Research Affiliate, Martin Institute’s Dallas Willard Research Center at Westmont College; 2024 – Present
Fellow, The Center for Faith and Culture, Southeastern Seminary; 2020 – Present
Fellow, The Center for Baptist Renewal; 2021 – Present
Southeastern Faculty Summer Writing Grant ($4,000); Summer 2021
Alvin Plantinga Reading Group, Stipend Award, SCP & Templeton Foundation ($3,000); 2017 – 2018
Analytic Theology Course Development Award ($18,000), Fuller Theological Seminary; 2016
Classical Theism Project, Summer Stipend Award ($3,000); 2015
Awarded The 2014 Sanders Prize in Philosophy of Religion ($10,000); 2014
Templeton Research Fellowship ($45,000), Saint Louis University; 2014 – 2015
Templeton Analytic Theology Fellowship ($60,000), University of Notre Dame; 2013 – 2014
St. Thomas Seminar in Philosophy of Religion ($2,000), Invited Participant; 2014
Travel Research Grant, Trinity College Dublin; 2012
Trinity College Dublin, Full Research Studentship & Annual Stipend; 2009 – 2013
Graduated with Highest Honors, M.A. Philosophy (Talbot School of Theology); 2009
Graduated with Highest Honors, M.A. Theology (Talbot School of Theology); 2009
Distinguished Graduating Honor Student, Talbot School of Theology; 2009
Undergraduate Academic Scholarship; 2003 – 2005
Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Language Study (Greek); 2004
Memberships
Editor of Philosophia Christi, The Journal of the Evangelical Philosophical Society (2018-)
Member of the Analytic Theology Committee, Evangelical Theological Society (elected) (2018-)
Executive Committee Member, The Evangelical Philosophical Society (elected) (2013-)
Member of The American Philosophical Association
Member of the Society of Christian Philosophers
Invited Participant, St. Thomas Summer Seminar in Philosophy of Religion University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota ( June 2014).
Invited Participant & Commentator, Neo-Aristotelian Philosophy of Physics Workshop, Cambridge University, UK (March 2013).
Invited Participant, Hylomorphism Workshop Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina ( July 2014)
Invited Visiting Graduate Student, Power Structuralism in Ancient Ontologies Project, Oxford University (In Residence for Michaelmas 2012 term and Invited Visiting Graduate Student for the 2011-2012 Academic Year.)
Invited Participant (one of eight), 2011 British Postgraduate Philosophical Association Masterclass in the Philosophy of Religion directed by Richard Swinburne, University of London (Heythrop College).
