Joseph Garner, Ph.D.

My name is Joseph Garner III and I am originally from the state of Louisiana in the deep south. My wife Rebekah and I have been married twenty years and we have five children. My academic passion is history of nearly all sorts, but especially Baptist history and theology. When I can find some spare time I enjoy reading old and dusty epics, historical fiction, and anything from C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. I also enjoy computer games, trading card games, and table top gaming.

One of the many things I love about HLGU is its commitment to the integration of a Christian Worldview with all of our academic disciplines. Christ is Lord of all and his kingdom extends to every corner of creation. Whether it is calculus, Chaucer, or 1 Corinthians all knowledge rests under the created order of Jesus and here at HLGU that is front and center.

The Christian worldview provides not only the root (biblical authority) but also the fruit of education, spiritual formation. I strive to educate not just so my students will have more knowledge, or to make them more efficient employees for the marketplace, but so that they would be better humans. Education is not merely vocational, but must also be personal, developing and growing the whole person into a particular image, namely Jesus Christ. A Christian worldview mandates this because people are made into the image of God; they have an inherent value beyond simply proper job training. Their humanity itself is valued and a Christian education must strive to develop the whole person in the image of Christ. In other words, a Christian worldview strives not merely for better lawyers, doctors, engineers, and artists, but rather for more Christ-like men and women who fulfill their God given vocations “as unto the Lord.”

It is my vocational goal to serve HLGU students through teaching History, Church History, and Historical Theology. To this end I have developed a teaching philosophy founded on three key pillars. The first pillar is teaching history as worship. Ultimately the history of Christ’s church and its doctrines is not about humanity, but rather the head of the church, Jesus Christ. The study of history should highlight the sovereignty and grace that God has extended to Christians throughout history, inspiring the student to worship His sovereignty and grace. By engaging the students through readings, classroom lectures, and directed discussion groups, it will be my task to draw out a spirit of worship from the study of those long dead.

The Second pillar is teaching history for spiritual formation. Through the reading, analysis, and application of historical and theological biography; through assigned imitation of ancient spiritual disciplines; and with particular study and practice of historical prayers, I hope to teach more than just names and dates, but also Christ-likeness as championed by the “great cloud of witnesses” that have gone before us (Heb. 12:1).

Finally, I strive to teach history for healthy churches. It is my hope that those who I teach will go from my classroom to be a part of local churches throughout the world. Whether in vocational ministry or a lay-leader capacity there is much that can be learned to strengthen local churches from a study of the development of doctrine. I hope these pillars will guide my teaching of history so that my students become more fruitful worshippers being formed spiritually for the good of local churches.