I have been teaching for 30 years on the university level. I teach Rhetoric and Composition, as well as Creative Writing and various literature courses. I have a deep love for the works of C.S. Lewis-The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, Till We Have Faces, Mere Christianity, and Surprised by Joy are just a few of my favorites. I also enjoy the works of William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, and Cormac McCarthy. When I'm reading to relax, I might grab a novel by Frank Peretti or John Grisham. When I'm looking for Christian non-fiction, I reach for Philip Yancey or Donald Miller. Favorite book? Huckleberry Finn. Favorite movie? Forrest Gump or Chariots of Fire or Gran Torino or Monsters, Inc. (depends on what day you ask me!)

My wife and I met on a blind date and married in 1998. We worship at Alpine Church of Christ in Longview. We have two cats, and when we aren't tending to their needs, we love to travel. We also like a little adventure in our lives, so, in our free time, we've been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane at 10,000 feet, dog sled on a glacier in Alaska, soar high in the sky in a hot air balloon, raft down the Snake River in Wyoming, or even browse London’s Picadilly  Circus at midnight!

The most adventurous thing I do on a daily basis, however, is to walk into a classroom full of students and try to instill in them an excitement for reading and writing. I want to make a difference in the lives of my students. And when teaching becomes as Arthur Holmes says, "an act of love, of worship, of stewardship, a wholehearted response to God," then teaching can indeed make an eternal difference. And that's, bottom line, why I teach - to glorify God and to impact the lives of my students for eternity.

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., English - Baylor University (2001)
  • Dissertation: "Searching for a Moral Center in Cormac McCarthy"; Field of Specialization: Twentieth-Century American Literature
• M.A., English - Tarleton State University (1990)
  • Thesis: A Study of the Development of One Basic Writer"
• B.A., Biblical Studies - Biola University (1984)

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Creative Writing
• Cormac McCarthy
• The Memoir as a Literary Genre

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

• Professor of English, East Texas Baptist University, 2010-2015
• Professor of English, LeTourneau University, 2008-2010
• Associate Professor of English, LeTourneau University, 2001-2008
• Graduate Teaching Assistant, Baylor University, 2001
• Assistant Professor of English, Howard Payne University, 1996-1998
• Instructor of English, Grand Canyon University, 1994-1996
• Assistant Professor of English, Howard Payne University, 1990-1994
• Instructor of English, Tarrant County Junior College, summer 1990
• Graduate Teaching Assistant, Tarleton State University, 1988-1990

PRESENTATIONS

• "Snapshots." The Conference of College Teachers of English, March 2018.
• “Educashun.” The Conference of College Teachers of English, March 2016
• "A Summative Report-A Look Back on a Semester of Faith and Reflection." Scholar's Forum. East Texas Baptist University. February 4, 2014.
• "A Meditation on Words: The Incarnational Transformational Power of Story." Presented as part of The Faculty Roundtable in concert with the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and Arts Initiative-"Human Rights, Reconciliation, and Restorative Justice." East Texas Baptist University. November 13, 2013.
• Ward Walker Lecture. "Christian Higher Education: Then and Now." East Texas Baptist University, April 4, 2012.
• "What Would You Die For?" A Lecture on Sophocles' Tragedy, Antigone. Hosted by the University Scholars Program, East Texas Baptist University. October 2011.
• "View from a Cancer Cubicle: Writing out of my Pain." The Conference of College Teachers of English, Stephenville, TX, March 2011.
• "Education as an Act of Love and Stewardship." The International Community of Christian Teachers and Educators Conference, LeTourneau University, May 26, 2010.
• "Read Me a Story." Keynote Address for the Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading Conference, LeTourneau University, February 5, 2010.
• "Exploring Bibliotherapy: Writing Out of Your Pain." Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading Conference, LeTourneau University, January 30, 2009.
• "Dog Paddling." Creative Writing Session. The South Central Conference on Christianity and Literature. LeTourneau University, February 22, 2008.
• "A Discussion of Poetry - What Is it? How Does it Sound? How Is it Created?" Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading Conference, LeTourneau University, February 1, 2008.
• "'The Purple Kitty of Forgiveness': Creative Non-Fiction in Theory and Practice." General Assembly Address, Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading Conference, LeTourneau University, February 2, 2007.
• "The Challenge of Growing an Honors Program at a Small College." National Collegiate Honors Council, Philadelphia, PA. November 16, 2006.
• "A Picture of a Feeling: A Closer Look at Lyrical Poetry." Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading Conference, LeTourneau University, January 20, 2006.
• "The Art of Compressed Emotion - or - I Know I've Read a Good Poem When I Feel Like the Top of My Head Has Been Blown Off." Creative Writing Poetry Seminar, LeTourneau University, October 13, 2005.
• "The Amusing Use and Abuse of Comedy." Co-Presenter with Dr. Harvey Solganick, Art and Soul Conference, Baylor University, April 7-9, 2005.
• "How Does a Poem Feel When it Speaks?" Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading Conference, LeTourneau University, January 28, 2005.
• "The Heart of the Matter: Embracing Emotion in the Reading and Teaching of Poetry." Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading Conference, LeTourneau University, January 23, 2004.
• "Life in the Darkness, Light from the Fringe: An Unlikely Source of Moral Insight in Cormac McCarthy's Child of God." Art and Soul Conference, Baylor University, March 20-23, 2003.
• "The Widow and the Wild Man - A Short Story." Art and Soul Conference, Baylor University, March 20-23, 2003.
• "Searching for a Moral Center in Cormac McCarthy's Outer Dark." The Conference of College Teachers of English in San Antonio, TX, February 27 - March 1, 2003.
• "A Moral Center That Holds: Unlikely Voices of Moral Insight in The Orchard Keeper." Conference on Christianity and Literature: Southwest Region, Shawnee, Oklahoma, September 2000.
• "Graduate School and the Job Market." Graduate School Symposium, Tarleton State University, March 2000.
• "Searching for Affirmations in Cities of the Plain: Does Evil Have the Last Word?" The Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Associations and American Culture Associations Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 2000.
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PUBLICATIONS

• Catalyst: A Developmental Reader for Basic Writers, Stanley K. Coppinger and Alice
  Newsome, Houghton Mifflin Custom Publishing, 2001, 3rd Edition.
• Catalyst: A Developmental Reader for Basic Writers, Stanley K. Coppinger and Alice
  Newsome, American Heritage Publishing, 1997-2000, 1st and 2nd Editions.

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT

• Adult Bible Study Teacher
• Pulpit Supply
• Two-year member of the In-Touch Team (Committee on Church Growth, Evangelism and Discipleship).
• Member of Brother's Keeper Group (Serve as Co-Bible Study leader.
  • My wife and I also serve as home hosts for this group, as well as assisting with activities and service projects.)
• Speak at churches across the state of Texas (Sunday morning services, conferences, and special events).
• Sharon and I also sponsor six children through Compassion International.