How I got to Regent:

I thought about enrolling at Regent right after undergrad in order to develop a biblical foundation for my faith and my areas of academic study, but an IVCF staff worker encouraged me to get some work experience first. So, I spent some time working for the Sierra Club of Western Canada and the City of Calgary before starting my Master’s program at Regent.

Most important lessons:

I was profoundly influenced by Dr. Houston’s spirituality courses, and by Loren Wilkinson’s approach to integrating Christian faith and academic study.

TA times:

I served as a Teaching Assistant for Loren Wilkinson. My tasks ranged from grading, to helping with Tuesday lunches, to tidying Loren’s office!

Highlights since Regent:

During my first week at Regent, everyone in an introductory course had to write a one-page statement on why they were at Regent and what goals they had for their lives. I wrote that my life goals included being involved in Christian ministry, being a director of a Christian camp, and possibly completing a PhD and becoming a professor. Through God’s grace, most of those hopes have been realized:

• I was involved in Christian ministry at the Salvation Army Booth Centre in downtown Ottawa for four years;
• I served as Executive Director of Gracefield Christian Camp and Retreat Centre in Quebec for five years;
• I completed my PhD in Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo, and was able to become a founding member of the Christian Society for Kinesiology and Leisure Studies; 
• I’ve worked as a professor at Acadia University, Brock University, and now the University of Ottawa.

I met my wife, Monique, through IVCF’s International Student Ministry, where she was a staff worker and I was a volunteer. We were married in 2004, and we have an eleven-year-old daughter. Monique has taken a number of Regent courses over the years.

As I’ve moved around the country, I’ve attended a variety of churches belonging to different denominations. I’ve participated in Bible studies at most of these churches, and they have been very important to my Christian journey. In some churches I’ve led adult education sessions that allowed me to share some of what I learned at Regent. My desire is to continue to grow in my Christian journey as suggested by Psalm 84:5 (“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage”).

Best Regent memory:

There are really too many great memories to pick just one, but I’m glad that my mother was able to attend my MCS graduation, as she died two and a half years later.

Funniest Regent memory:

“The Ballad of J. I. Packer,” presented at the September 1983 retreat at the Firs Conference Centre.

Favourite thing about Vancouver:

Running from Regent along the Spanish Banks east to the Burrard Bridge, around Stanley Park, and back.

Aspect of my life that would have surprised me as a student:

That I would return to Regent to teach spring school courses (2004, 2008), speak in chapel (2008), serve as a Visiting Scholar (2005), and give a public lecture (2018)!

Only Regent people . . .

. . . understand the difference between Canadians and Americans. (American Regent students are mystified when Canadian Regent students always seem to have mutual friends with other Canadian students—must have something to do with the size of the two countries!)

Three words that describe Regent:

1. Biblical
2. Vibrant
3. Integrative

Fun facts:

1. When I completed my Master’s thesis, my supervisor Loren Wilkinson recommended that I publish it. Thirty years later, I published a revised and updated version: Leisure and Spirituality: Biblical, Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (Baker Academic, 2015). 
2. During my first year at Regent, I volunteered at IVCF’s International Christmas for international students at Pioneer Chehalis. Including that time, I’ve volunteered at twelve International Christmases at five locations in four provinces.
3. I remember running in UBC’s intramural races, and helping organize a Regent team for the intramural relay race one year. In fact, I’ve run competitively every year since I was in grade seven . . . except for 1991. After that, my spiritual director advised me to “keep up the racing”!

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