The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt discovered her interest in the Reformation around the dinner table.

“Growing up as a double PK in a Presbyterian household meant Scripture, theology, and John Calvin’s Institutes were a regular part of family conversation,” Dr. McNutt recalls.

Recently appointed Franklin S. Dyrness Associate Professor in Biblical and Theological Studies, Dr. McNutt has spent over a decade teaching the history of Christianity from the Reformation through the Enlightenment at Wheaton.

“This juncture in history fascinates me,” she says. “Tremendous shifts were happening in politics, science, economics, technology, culture, and society-at-large, and the story of the church, the Bible, and theology were all integral to those shifts. There is really no way to understand modern Christianity apart from studying this period of history.”

Believing that such an understanding of church history is critical to the well-being of the church, Dr. McNutt and her husband, the Rev. Dr. David McNutt, launched McNuttshell Ministries in 2016 to share their knowledge with a broader audience through speaking, writing, and teaching.

“The church and the academy are meant to be connected, and I am grateful for my part in advancing that dynamic,” Dr. McNutt says.

HOMETOWN: LOS ANGELES, CA

TITLE: FRANKLIN S. DYRNESS ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL STUDIES

DEPARTMENT: SCHOOL OF BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL STUDIES

YEARS AT WHEATON: 12

EDUCATION: PH.D. IN HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS; M.DIV., PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY; B.A. IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES, WESTMONT COLLEGE

FUN FACT: DR. MCNUTT IS A TRAINED CLASSICAL BALLERINA AND FORMER COMPANY DANCER FOR LUBBOCK BALLET THEATRE IN LUBBOCK, TX. SHE TRAINED UNDER A PRINCIPAL DANCER OF THE BALLET RUSSE DE MONTE CARLO, THE COMPANY FOUNDED BY SERGEI DIAGHILEV. SHE IS THE FACULTY ADVISOR FOR ZOE’S FEET.