Author: Robert D. Cornwall
Located in: Troy, MI
Submitted: February 28, 2023
Tell us a little about yourself. I am a retired Disciples of Christ minister, author/blogger, and church historian/historical theologian. I hold a Ph.D. in Church History/Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.
What was your motivation behind this project? This book emerged out of an attempt to explore founding visions/vocations using my own diverse spiritual journey as a foundation. Having spent parts of my life as an Episcopalian, Pentecostal, Baptist, Disciple with ecumenical and evangelical dimensions to my story, I thought my story might help others look at their own journeys and find spiritual rootedness in what I call our spiritual DNA.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? First of all, I would hope readers who have a varied spiritual journey would find encouragement to draw from these varied experiences as they move forward in their spiritual journeys. Sometimes we feel as if we must let go of our past stopping places, but the truth is, wherever we have landed leaves a mark on us.
Secondly, I have created discussion/reflection questions for churches, since many if not most churches are composed of people whose journeys are rather diverse. So how do we incorporate people without requiring them to shed elements of their spiritual journeys?
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? It was helpful to reflect on my own journey and find much their that has enriched me along the way. As I began putting this together I realized that the call of Abraham provided a helpful scriptural thread to hold everything together.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? There have been a number of influences that helped me with this book. I'll name a few -- Amos Yong, Diana Butler Bass, Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Bill Gibson, and Keith Watkins to name a few. I dedicate the book to two of my history professors -- Jim Bradley and Dennis Helsabeck.
