I am a native Californian and a graduate of Dartmouth College, Oxford University, where I studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and the Claremont School of Theology.  Ordained in the United Methodist Church, I earned my Ph.D. in History from the University of Southern California, with emphases in religion and early American history.

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My writing blends history, religion, memoir, and social commentary. In Mrs. Hunter’s Happy Death (Doubleday, 2006), I share "lessons on living from people preparing to die." In One Life to Give (Fortress Press, 2021), I detail the role played by martyrdom in the making of the American Revolution. In American Heresy (Fortress Press, 2023), I explore the roots and reach of "white Christian nationalism."

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My career as a pastor and nonprofit executive was shaped by my enduring commitment to the peoples of the US-Mexico borderlands. Working with many others on both sides of the border, I founded The Border Church / La Iglesia Fronteriza, a weekly celebration of communion at International Friendship Park, the historic cross-border meeting place at the western end of the border, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. To learn more, visit: www.borderchurch.org.

After years of working with friends as a grassroots coalition, I helped to establish the Friends of International Friendship Park as a non-profit seeking to establish an international park at this iconic location.  I retired from my role as founding Executive Director in August 2026. To learn more, visit: www.internationalfriendshippark.org.

My commitment to fostering trust, solidarity, and cross-cultural understanding has shaped my work as an author, community organizer, pastor, and nonprofit executive.​