With Gratitude from Matt

What began as a doctoral thesis and ended as a book, turned into a roller coaster ride along the way: barrel rolls and inverted twists through iterations of research and writing, steep climbs and drops as a pandemic surprised us all. But like any roller coaster, half the fun is enjoying it with everyone else on the train:
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• I am thankful for the person directly next to me on this ride, Dr. Timothy Bonner, with whom I enjoyed stimulating conversations about hard topics, throwing our hands in the air and trusting one another, even when we couldn’t see the bottom of the hill. We were joined by the rigorous and thoughtful staff at Judson Press, who followed their call to build a stronger and healthier Church by making our book stronger and healthier in the process.
• I could not have begun this work without my colleagues and mentors in the ACTS DMin in Preaching who sustained, buoyed, challenged, and fed me, especially my advisor Michael Montgomery, who taught me to love research and Medici’s chocolate croissants. Nor could I have sustained it without the Purple Baptist saints of Lawrence; the leadership, staff, and membership of FBC has taught me about trust, pushed me to greater scholarship and graciously offered room and resources to accomplish this work.
• Finally, I am forever indebted to my family, who have shown grace whenever I disappeared to study, write, or collaborate. My patient wife Kimberly, honest daughter Addison, and playful son Ethan have each taught me volumes about trust and God’s grace.