2020 was obviously such a difficult and painful year for so many that I recognize that having the health, resources, and time to devote to my various writing projects is itself a significant blessing. At the end of this most unusual and challenging year, then, I think it is all the more important to pause and take stock of the good things that the Lord has brought over the last 12 months.

The early part of this year was devoted to the completion and publication of my second book, How the Spirit Became God: The Mosaic of Early Christian Pneumatology. Launching a book in the midst of a pandemic was hardly an ideal way to get the word out, but I have nevertheless been deeply encouraged by the warm reception it has received from those who have read it. The first published review, from Brandon Smith in the Southwestern Journal of Theology, noted that “The strengths of this book are legion—from its succinctness to its clarity to its theological precision—but its greatest contribution is its avoidance of generalizing early pneumatological development. […] This book is recommended for anyone seeking to understand how and why Christians confess the Holy Spirit’s full divinity.” If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, get it now!

The second half of the year, then, has been consumed with writing the bulk of my forthcoming book, also with Cascade, on the intersection of patristic theology and modern Christian teaching and learning. While there has of course been much written on the integration of faith and learning, I’m not sure anyone has approached these questions from this particular angle of gleaning from the wisdom of the church Fathers on spiritual formation and pedagogy. I am particularly grateful for the large group of outside readers who have been working through the manuscript as I complete each chapter, providing constructive criticism and additional illustrations that really flesh out my points in practical ways. It has been wonderful to spend the year in the company, so to speak, of men like Pope St. Gregory the Great, St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil the Great, St. Benedict of Nursia, and St. Cyril of Jerusalem. If nothing else, my time in the Fathers has enriched my own soul. I’ve completed about 150 pages, putting me at roughly 75% of the estimated total length, and am aiming to have it submitted to Cascade by the end of February. If everything stays on track, you can expect to see Teaching for Spiritual Formation: Patristic Insights for Christian Education in a Convulsed Age (working title) from Cascade in fall 2021. Much more on this to come in the new year!

Thank you as always for your interest in support of my work. May God richly bless you in 2021!