His books include Preaching After God: Derrida, Caputo, and the Language of Postmodern Homiletics; Toward a Hopeful Future: Why the Emergent Church Is Good News for Mainline Congregations (winner of the 2011 Mayflower Award); and The Hyphenateds: How Emergence Christianity is Re-Traditioning Mainline Practices. He is a graduate of Missouri State University, Phillips Theological Seminary, and Chicago Theological Seminary.