My name is David Smith. My mother and my wife call me David, everyone else calls me "Dave" (or sometimes a few more colorful names).

I’m an Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Indiana Wesleyan University and the Chair of the Division of Religion and Philosophy (now 18 full-time professors and counting). I’m 52 years old (or young depending upon your perspective) and the last 25 years have been spent married to the most wonderful woman I know, Angie. She is currently working on developing a “Titus 2” mentoring program at IWU…older women discipling younger women. She is also renovating our 100+ year old brick home here in Marion, Indiana. Two jobs; what a woman. We have two children; Joshua who just graduated from IWU with an Education-Social Studies degree and Hannah who is a Psychology-Biblical Literature double major. My wife and I love to watch old movies together. I love the movies. She loves cuddling during the movies (which I have never complained about). To relieve daily tension, I lift weights (though to look at me you might be surprised. I did however, look more like it at 25 than my present 50+).

I am an ordained minister in the Indiana North District of the Wesleyan Church. Angie and I have pastored several churches, the last one being in Cleveland, Ohio for five years (1989-1994). And we loved it. It was a great incubator for me to develop a practical philosophy of ministry. As I see it, the church is God’s organization (maybe better stated as “living organism”) to fulfill the “great commission.” Within the church, solid theological training certainly plays an essential role as it prepares men and women for the work of the church. But I see it as supplemental. So, you will find that I consistently try to make the theoretical aspects of seminary training as practical as possible. My thesis is simple; if it doesn’t work in the church; get rid of it!

To give you at bit of my professional and academic training, I am a second (or maybe third) career professor. I spent 10 years as a Computer Systems Analyst with Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, Ohio. So, my foreign languages are not just Hebrew, Greek, and German, but I also talk “computer-eze.” My undergraduate training was done at Ohio Christian University (formerly Circleville Bible College in Circleville, Ohio) and Asbury College (B.A.; Bible). I then went to Asbury Theological Seminary for an M.A. in Biblical Literature (Old Testament Major). But in 1994, after pastoring, we returned to Asbury Seminary for me to work on an M. Div. and then on to University of Durham (England) for a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies.

That's my story...I can not wait to hear yours.