Hosted by Matt Davis, Maranatha Baptist University · EN

S13 Ep 1 | I Love People, Pastoring, Training, Understanding : Ralph Warren Season 13 launches with the warm, grandfatherly advice of Pastor Ralph Warren as he and host Dr. Matt Davis examine life transitions and practical ways parents can prepare their children. As a history buff, Pastor Warren briefly sketches highlights from six generations of his lineage. The conversation includes analysis of his multicultural church—its development, the quest for the “common good,” the biggest detriment, and strategies for grooming a spiritually mature congregation. The episode concludes with actionable steps and diagnostic questions to help young people discern God’s will. About our guest Ralph Warren, pastor of Lake County Baptist Church in Waukegan, Illinois, and our 2026 Spring Opening Meetings speaker, is passionate about learning. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he pursued degrees in laboratory medicine. Surrendering to be a pastor, he began studies in pastoral theology and earned master’s degrees in education and exegetical theology. He enjoys training young people in his church’s Christian school and in Bible colleges abroad. He and his wife, Tiffany, have two grown children.

Katie Schmoeckel is an associate professor in Maranatha’s Department of Humanities. An alumna who completed both undergraduate and graduate work at Maranatha, she worked as a historical guide and taught high school history for twelve years before joining the faculty full-time. She enjoys traveling to historic sites and preparing food for the bus ministry children in the Raven Ministry at her church.

Dr. David Handyside, retired dean of Maranatha’s School of Education, previously taught in both Christian and public schools and served as a school administrator. At Maranatha, he directed student teachers before becoming dean. He has faithfully served in his local church as a Sunday school teacher and deacon. In retirement, he serves on the Watertown School Board. He and his wife, Margaret, have been married 55 years, have two children ,and five granddaughters.

Jon Crocker is Executive Director of Gospel Fellowship Association Missions. He assumed the position in 2022 after having served for 10 years in church planting in Mexico City. Jon and his wife, Andrea, have five children.

Ben Coronado is the worship and discipleship pastor at Fairview Baptist Church in Decatur, Alabama, and is a chaplain with the Decatur Police Department. A Maranatha alumnus, Ben served as student body president and in Guest Services. Upon graduation, he became a youth pastor at his home church and continued his studies, earning an MA in Biblical Counseling while pursuing an MDiv. Ben and his wife, Beth [‘16], have four children and joyfully await a new little one.

Jodi Faithfull, a Prince Edward Islander, is an associate professor in the Department of Applied Science who oversees Maranatha’s kinesiology program, exercise science practicums and internships, and serves as the head baseball coach. As an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and an MASM Performance Enhancement Specialist, he works with athletes from Maranatha’s ten intercollegiate programs. He has served in physical education as an instructor and coach since 2003. Jodi and his wife, Jody, have four children.

Dr. Dwayne Morris is an associate pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Watertown, where, in addition to his other duties, he now directs New Focus, an addiction recovery program. He has served in various capacities during his more than 40-year association with Maranatha and currently teaches part-time in the College of Bible and Church Ministries and the Department of Humanities. He and his wife, Angela, are parents to three Maranatha alumni.

Craig Lawson [‘13] is the program director at Ironwood Christian Camp in Newberry Springs, California. Craig met and married his wife, Emily, while at Maranatha and then worked at MBU for a year following graduation. Summer ministry at Ironwood led them to join the resident staff in 2015. The Lawsons have two children who, by camp tradition, are dubbed “desert pygmies.”

The expression “famous last words” applies to guest Emily Haynes. “One day you will be dean of women,” an associate dorm supervisor once playfully predicted. Emily adamantly replied, “Absolutely not!” Yet the Lord steadily guided her from teaching piano into the conjectured dean of women position. She and host Dr. Matt Davis review that process. Joining the Student Life Office as a dorm supervisor in 2010, she learned the one surprising rule—every day you must laugh. Emily enjoys her work, which mainly entails counseling and discipleship, though it includes a modicum of discipline too. She explains varied aspects of the dual mentorship role of working with students and dorm supervisors. Naturally, she partners with parents as well, assuring them of attentive student care. Maranatha’s supportive environment “ought to be pretty reassuring to parents,” Dr. Davis observes, “once you describe all the different things we have in place to help their students thrive.” Now a 15-year veteran, Emily insists, “The rule still applies; there is laughter every day.”

Athletics as ministry offers a great “classroom” with many teachable moments, as you will hear in this episode with guest Phil Price, MBU faculty member and assistant basketball coach. He claims to have had a “front-row seat,” spending all but seven years of his life on a Christian campus. Growing up shadowing his coaching father and later playing in multiple sports, he treasures having been mentored by Godly men. Among various topics, he and host Dr. Matt Davis review his sports involvement, the “relationship of math as a discipline and the concept of truth as a reality,” lessons of grace learned from a bicuspid aortic valve, and transition to the role of “old guy” and mentor to a younger generation.