Adam Neder (2004-present) assistant professor of theology
Our fifth year in Spokane has been a good one. Claire and Mary continue to love soccer and school, and Janet is thankful for her job ministering to children and their families at Colbert Presbyterian Church. As people with roots in Tennessee, we're looking forward to putting this brutal Spokane winter behind us, and we've begun preparing our backyard for summer. In addition to the regular landscaping stuff, Janet constructed a soccer wall in our backyard that our girls are already putting to good use. For my part, I bought a smoker upon which I plan to grill many pigs at very low temperatures for long periods of time (we're from Tennessee, remember). In addition to family life, I'll speak for three weeks this summer (two weeks to youth pastors and one week at Camp Spalding to rising college freshmen). I'll also give a lecture at WIM commemorating the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth.    

The highpoint of this academic year for me was participating in the Reformation and German Church Struggle study tour. Jim, Janie, and I, along with Carl Green, took a group of students to visit almost every significant Luther site, numerous sites related to the Kirchenkampf during the Nazi period, and a wide array of museums in Berlin, Munich and elsewhere. It was a glorious trip on every level; thanks to Jim’s encyclopedic knowledge of German and Western history, the tour ended up being an introduction not just to the Reformation and WWII periods, but to Western civilization in general. By the way, if you've never seen Nefertiti or the Ishtar Gate, you should resolve to save up your money and buy a ticket to Berlin sometime before you die. Trust me on this one.