I was born and raised in a military family. I spent much of my childhood and youth traveling and developed a lifelong appreciation for the diversity of peoples. My parents retired in Austin, Texas when I was 17 and soon after I began my collegiate studies at the University of Texas. After a brief stint in the honors business program, I developed a religious studies specialization within a broadly conceived humanities curriculum. After receiving my B.A. in Humanities (1981), I devoted the next two years of my life to working as a campus minister in Denton, Texas in exchange for room and board in the parish rectory.

During my period of volunteer work I also developed a real love for the Hispanic culture as I encountered it in the Mexican-American community there. Consequently, I decided to enroll in an immersion-based Spanish language program which took me to the small town of Chalchihuites, in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico. There I spent part of one summer studying Spanish as one of three English speaking persons in that small mining and farming town. It was an experience of cultural enrichment that has stayed with me even as my facility with the Spanish language has diminished.

After my two years of service in campus ministry I returned to school to get an M.A. in Biblical Theology at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio (1984) and then was hired by the Catholic Diocese of Ft. Worth, primarily to teach in small urban and rural parishes that could not afford their own professional adult education ministers. I quickly fell in love with teaching, and even explored some writing for publication, with modest success. Still single, and aware of a growing passion for teaching and writing, I decided to leave my diocesan position in order to pursue a doctorate in theology. I did a preparatory year at the University of Texas studying Latin, German and Philosophy while working part-time in a parish as a Religious Education Coordinator.  In the Fall of 1987 I left Austin to begin my doctoral studies at the University of Notre Dame. During my four years there I had the opportunity to study under some of the giants of contemporary Catholic theology:  Richard McCormick S.J., Thomas O’Meara O.P. (my dissertation director), Richard McBrien and Catherine Mowry LaCugna. I received an M.A. (1990) and a Ph.D. (1991) in systematic theology with a concentration in ecclesiology. More importantly, it was there that I married my wife, Diana; soon after we had our twin boys, David and Andrew (later followed by two more, Brian and Gregory).

Upon graduating, I accepted an academic appointment to the faculty of the University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Theology in Houston, Texas, where I taught for ten years. It was an ideal teaching position for me as I had the opportunity to introduce ministry students (both ordination and non-ordination track) to the Catholic intellectual heritage. In addition to my work in the classroom I became a frequent speaker in parish and diocesan adult education programs and began speaking at numerous regional and national conferences. This provided me with the opportunity to pursue my teaching interests along two distinct tracts: the first was more academic in nature and was nurtured in the classroom and in scholarly publications; the second flowed out of my commitment to pastoral ministry and the importance of life-long learning for all adults. In the Fall of 2000 I was approached by Fr. James Bacik, sometimes referred to as the “godfather of Catholic campus ministry,” about accepting an appointment to the newly established, Thomas and Margaret Murray and James J. Bacik Chair of Catholic Studies, at a large state university, the University of Toledo. I was initially skeptical, but the terms of the position were generous and, with a much lighter teaching load, it afforded me the possibility to dedicate more time and energy to my expanding speaking and writing commitments. While it was initially quite a culture shock, I have enjoyed the experience of interacting with students and colleagues in a state institution of higher learning.

Alongside my academic work I have continued to serve the church not only through writing and speaking but as a consultant to several USCCB committees and sub-committees. From 2001 to 2005 I served as a USCCB appointed Catholic delegate to the U.S Catholic-Methodist ecumenical dialogue.