Prior to his professorship, Joel served as a Director of Christian Education in Hawaii (1997-2001) and Texas (2001-06), specializing in high school and college student ministry. His academic interests explore the relationship between faith and technology, embodied theology, and the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Joel is the author of More Than a Pretty Face, a text about the relationship between embodied theology and social media. (Wipf & Stock, 2017) He also enjoys hunting, fishing, cooking, and all manner of sports. He lives with his beautiful wife, Tiffany, and three kids (with one more on the way!) in Laguna Hills, California.