Class of 2021
What work or ministries have you been involved with since graduation?
I worked for three years (starting my last year of seminary) with Sola Media as the director of content for Core Christianity and White Horse Inn. There, I worked primarily in an editorial capacity on written content for print and web. My very first project was working with Dr. Dennis Johnson to publish a Bible study on Revelation, and I went on to work with WSC grads like Adriel Sanchez, Josh Maloney, Chuck Tedrick, Zach Keele, Andrew Menkis, and Rita Cefalu to publish Bible studies that help make essential truths accessible. I also helped develop a series of booklets that answer common questions and dig deeper into foundational truths that I hope will resource the congregations my WSC classmates are serving. I wrote one book in that series (How to Keep Your Faith After High School) and published one by my husband (and fellow WSC grad — What Is God’s Will For Me?).
In January, I transitioned to a new role as multimedia strategist with The Gospel Coalition. As part of the editorial team, I oversee the podcast and video content TGC produces. I’m still getting my feet under me in this new role. Still, I’m excited for the opportunity that multimedia affords to serve the global church, helping people think deeply about God’s truth and, especially, bolstering the faith of the next generation.
My family attends North Park Presbyterian church, where my husband is a ruling elder and I volunteer as the women’s ministry coordinator.
I also travel a few times per year to teach at women’s retreats at various churches, and I just signed a couple of writing contracts — I’m writing a book with Moody Publishers about the unique value and essential contribution of women in the church, home, and society, and I am working with Crossway to contribute a few devotions to a forthcoming women’s study Bible.
How has your seminary education been valuable in your current vocation (or any vocation since graduation)? Has it been valuable in ways you weren’t expecting?
My degree in biblical studies reinforced my love for the Scriptures and a desire to handle them carefully. It also opened the door for me to spend my life doing that in a paid capacity, which still feels quite unbelievable. The Lord has been so kind to me.
I have to admit I feel far from being a biblical or theological expert; I tell people often that I went to seminary to learn all that I don’t know. My training causes me to approach my work as an editor, writer, and Bible teacher with some trepidation — I’ve waded in just far enough to know that many brilliant people have a lot of different ideas about what something means or how you should say it. As that fear turns me to the humble and prayerful dependence on the Lord that was modeled so faithfully by my professors, I’m also grateful that my seminary training has equipped me with the tools and resources I need to do the work. (And it’s left me with an abundance of wise counselors — professors, pastors, classmates, and colleagues to whom I can reach out for the sharpening I need.)
One of the more unexpected ways my seminary education has shaped me is by giving me a passion for the youth in my home and at my church. Seminary gave me a deeper understanding of how God’s truth all fits together — the beauty and unity of Scripture centering on Christ, the necessity of theological categories, and the clarity that comes from understanding church history and the creeds, confessions, and catechisms. It also helped me to grow in charity, recognizing that there is space for thoughtful, godly people to disagree. This cohesiveness and generosity were missing in my early discipleship and that likely had an impact on why I left my faith in college. Hearing a Christ-centered understanding of Scripture was ultimately what drew me back into the church. I think it’s essential that we give our kids the big picture and equip them with solid categories, even as we admit the mystery and let them ask hard questions. I know there are a lot of well-equipped parents out there who didn’t need seminary to help them, but I’m grateful for the ways my training has prepared me to have teenagers in my home and to come alongside them in our church.
What would you say to someone who is currently considering seminary education at WSC?
At the risk of my children rolling their eyes, I would tell anyone considering seminary, “You can do hard things!”
In all seriousness, seminary is up there as one of the hardest things I’ve done, especially in my season of life as a wife and mom. There were so many great things about my time at WSC, but it was also hard on my family, discouraging at times to be one of only a few women on campus, and I didn’t “arrive” when I hit graduation and suddenly have the expertise to write with abandon. Like I said — I mostly learned that there’s so much more to learn. I would never want to over-sell seminary. You are signing up to do a very hard thing.
However, despite how hard it is, seminary is invariably worth it. The dedicated environment to drink deeply of God’s word, to be shaped and challenged by experts and fellow learners, to grow in dependence on the Lord and generosity and compassion for yourself and others — these are experiences I wouldn’t trade. And getting to do that alongside my husband was an even sweeter gift. 10/10 would recommend.
It can be hard to justify seminary as a woman. I have been fortunate to find jobs that value my seminary training, but I also know those outcomes are few and far between. But the church needs seminary-trained women nonetheless. (And men! It’s worth mentioning that my husband also uses his seminary training not in a paid capacity but as a ruling elder in our church.) My favorite ways to serve out of my training are not in my job but in my home and church. I love being a resource to our session — and even to my former classmates who are now serving as pastors — getting to help them think through how to care well for women. And it’s a joy to come alongside women in their spiritual formation in my everyday life. Seminary education is not essential to serve in these ways, but it has been a significant help to me and, I hope, to those God has called me to serve.
