For 15 years I had been educated in the public school system and had been taught that the origin of life by universal common descent and random processes was scientific truth. The result of that belief caused me to reject Christianity. However, in 1980, while attending a forestry field trip in North Carolina, I became involved in a series of conversations centering on the scientific case for a Creator, followed by watching the prayers of godly men get answered. These brought me to a spiritual crisis and great conviction. In a matter of days, I repented of my sin and gave my life to Christ. In that brief span of time, God shook my world! As I sought godly counsel, studied the Bible, and ultimately took a year off to attend Bible college, I realized that I had rejected Christ’s gift of salvation because of my trust in philosophical and material naturalism. Once the stumbling block of this worldview was removed, I was ripe for the Gospel of Christ and life transformation by the Holy Spirit of God. Teaching at Truett McConnell University allows me to introduce students to the exciting fields of organism biology and ecology from a biblical worldview. To have the mind of Christ, we must be students of His divine Scriptures. My prayer is that as our students allow God to transform their minds to be more like His, they will be competent biologists in their chosen discipline, understand the rigor required to be successful in graduate school, critically evaluate philosophical naturalism with Christian theism, and grow deeper in their relationship with Christ.

Origins and Baraminology (the study of the created kind) Population and Community Ecology of mammals, amphibians, and reptiles Environmental Microbiology and Symbiosis Field Botany (taxonomy, edibility, medicinal and other practical uses of plants) Physiological ecology of bears and amphibians