I have time for a couple media interviews weekly. Before you contact me, however, please read this information.

In recent years my research has focused on the intersection of religion and the media, particularly in two areas: (1) the impact of new communication technologies on religious groups, movements, and institutions, and (2) the role of religious communication in public life, especially in religious persons' public speeches and mass media interviews/appearances. I am particularly interested in how new communication technologies such as email, blogs, and podcasting are strengthening or weakening spirituality in contemporary society. Three of my recent books address these topics: Habits of the High-Tech Heart: Living Virtuously in the Information Age; High-Tech Worship? Using Presentational Technologies Virtuously; and An Essential Guide to Public Speaking: Serving Your Audience with Faith, Skill, and Virtue. This website further explains some of my current projects.

Normally email is the best way to contact me. I prefer an email "interview" to a telephone interview because I can compose clearer and more concise responses to journalists' questions. So if possible, please first send me an email with some specific questions and I will do my best to respond quickly with quotable answers. Then we can set up a time to talk more on the telephone, as needed. If you are in a rush, by all means try telephoning me as well, but be sure to follow up with email if you do not reach me. If you are under an extremely tight deadline, try calling Gainey Institute Program Coordinator Kim Chimienti (616-526-7506), who can track me down as needed.

My current affiliation, title, and other biographical information are provided in the "Bio" section of this Web site. Sometimes journalists like to know what my "biases" are when using me as a source in stories about religion. I was raised a Roman Catholic but am now an active Protestant in the Reformed tradition. I have Jewish roots in Vienna, where upper-class Jews sometimes converted to Catholicism. That did them no good when Hitler's forces invaded Austria, however, and many of my newly Christian ancestors went to the death camps. What tangled webs we weave.

Calvin College is the college of the Christian Reformed Church in North America and headquartered here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The 4,300-student school is one of the largest church-affiliated liberal arts institutions in the United States. I teach in the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences, which includes about twenty full-time faculty and nearly 400 undergraduate majors.

If you need high-resolution photos or a live digital feed for a radio interview, please contact Phil de Haan, Director of Media Relations for Calvin College.

See the Contact section of this website for my phone, FAX, email and postal information.

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"Speak only if you can can improve upon the silence."

— Monastics