CMU Faculty

Dan's specialty is Old Testament but he appreciates the opportunity to teach courses that span the entire Bible. He has recently moved into semi-retirement and is enjoying a more relaxed pace of life that goes with teaching one-third time.

Dan enjoys seeing students get excited about the background and richness of biblical texts. In graduate courses he enjoys exploring biblical themes like "From Creation to New Creation." Dan also appreciates opportunities to focus an entire course on a single biblical book like Genesis or Exodus. He gets equally excited about the Old Testament prophets' passion for social justice, as he does about the priestly commitment to holiness, purity, and worship. Teaching biblical apocalyptic writings provides opportunity to explore how the biblical writers express their hope in God's good future within the symbolic world of angelic beings, vicious beasts, and evil empires.

Dan is a bridge-builder committed to making the insights of academic biblical scholarship available to students as well as lay persons with an interest in the Bible for personal faith reasons. He welcomes invitations to lead seminars at church conferences and in congregations. Dan is comfortable producing technical scholarship, such as his book on true and false prophecy, but also writes worship resources and Sunday school curriculum. His current research project is to write the Believers Church Bible Commentary volume focussing on the prophets Micah, Joel, and Obadiah.

May is Dan's favourite month of the year, because his two favourite hobbies kick into high gear, gardening and watching birds during spring migration. Other interests include running, biking, camping, canoeing, reading, and of course family.

Dan and his wife Esther have two sons, Mark who is married to Melissa, and Chris. They are absolutely delighted with their two granddaughters, Hannah and Leah.

Areas of Teaching

Pentateuch, Prophets, Biblical Theology, Biblical Book Studies

Education

PhD, University of St. Michael's College, 1994; MA, University of Manitoba, 1981; BA, University of Manitoba, 1977; BTh Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1976

Work in Detail

Teaching

Apocalypse Then and Now

Creation, Ecology, and the Bible

Consumption and Desire

Prophets of Israel

Beginnings -- Genesis to Deuteronomy

The Bible and Ethics

Theology of the Book of Genesis

Theology of the Book of Exodus

From Creation to New Creation

New Testament Book Study: Matthew

Research

Concerning the Prophets: True and False Prophecy in Jeremiah 23:9-29:32. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2012.

"Abraham's Promised Land," "The Land in the End Times," in Under Vine and Fig Tree: Biblical Theologies of Land and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. Ed. Alain Epp-Weaver. Telford, PA: Cascadia Publishing House, 2007, pp. 49-61,117-42.

"A Spirit of Power: An Ordination Sermon," Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology, Spring, 2013, pp. 68-74.

"Living under God's Judgment," Direction, Fall, 2011, pp. 235-40.

"God and Moses: Stories from Exodus," Teachers' Guide for Gather Round Sunday School Curriculum. Waterloo, ON: Mennonite Publishing Network, 2011.

"Faith and Hope in the Midst of Changing Times," resources and model sermons for a series of five worship or prayer week services. Winnipeg, MB: Mennonite Church Canada, 2010.

"Death, Resurrection, New Creation," Christian Reflection: A Series in Faith and Ethics, 34, 2010, pp. 88-93.

"Resurrection of the Body or Immortality of the Soul: Some Personal Reflections," Direction, Fall, 2008, pp. 223-27.

Community

Dan currently offers four Portable CMU presentations: "Surviving and Thriving with Cancer" (which he has now presented approximately forty times), "Creation, Ecology and the Bible," "Rapture or New Creation," and "Preaching with Power and Passion." Each year he presents from three to five of these weekend workshops in congregations across Canada. Dan is frequently invited to preach, teach, or lead workshops at church conferences, leadership training events, or in congregations. He also preaches and teaches adult Sunday school regularly at his home congregation, Home Street Mennonite Church.

In the last years Dan has led numerous seminars on the topic of reading the Bible in light of same-sex relationships. He seeks to help people understand how and why Christians can read and be committed to the same Bible yet still come to hold different positions on the issue.