Joe Rigney
Dr. Joe Rigney serves as Fellow of Theology at New Saint Andrews College. He is the author of six books: Live Like a Narnian: Christian Discipleship in Lewis’s Chronicles (Eyes & Pen, 2013); The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts (Crossway, 2015); Lewis on the Christian Life: Becoming Truly Human in the Presence of God (Crossway, 2018); Strangely Bright: Can You Love God and Enjoy This World? (Crossway, 2020); More Than a Battle: Experiencing Victory, Freedom, and Healing from Lust (B&H, 2021), Courage: How the Gospel Creates Christian Fortitude (Crossway, 2023). Previously, Dr. Rigney served as a professor and president of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis, a pastor at Cities Church in St. Paul, and a teacher at Desiring God.
Joe is a teacher who can’t help but tell others about the things that fascinate him, and he is a generalist who is fascinated by a great many things. He loves to teach classes on biblical theology, C.S. Lewis, Shakespeare, English literature, political philosophy, and Jonathan Edwards. Beyond teaching, writing, and preaching, Joe loves to play baseball with his three sons and spend time with his lovely wife Jenny.
2024 Speaker Topic
Anselm the Teacher: The Pursuit of Joy in Education
In this workshop, we will explore Anselm’s theological and pedagogical method. Anselm famously commended “faith seeking understanding” as a motto for Christian theology. In his own teaching and writing, Anselm saw education as a joint venture between teacher and student in which they sought joy in God through dialogue and disputation. By examining Anselm’s approach to education, we will sharpen our own vision of teaching in hopes of creating “Aha!” moments for our own students.
The Paideia of God
In this Foundation of Classical Christian Excellence workshop, we will explore the richness of the biblical vision of paideia. As classical Christian educators, we want our students to be thoroughly converted, that is, real Christians, all the way down. The paideia of God refers to the immersive process by which children are enculturated into the Christian faith. It covers everything from the habits of heart and mind that we seek to impart to our students, as well as to the air that they breathe in our classrooms and in our homes as we seek to help them grow up into maturity in Christ.