Personal Biographies

David & Teresa Stoops, the initiators of Morning by Morning, are university profs. Both universities in which they teach are members of the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities. The CCCU ( www.cccu.org ) represents more than 100 private institutions of higher education in the U.S. and internationally.

In their profession, the Stoops teach and write about the integration of faith in student lives in Business and Education, their respective fields. Many of their friends are teachers and writers from other fields of expertise, and who share an interest in creating dialogs within the Christian community, in Christian higher education and in particular with fans of C.S. Lewis writings.

From 1983-1993, David & Teresa coordinated a monthly discussion group of 15-20 people on a C.S. Lewis book or essay. This decade of discussion is seminal to the Morning by Morning Internet Inspiration project.

David: In 1982, I was reading Lewis' book, The Problem of Pain, and felt I was missing much of the content meaning. In high school, I had belonged to a Great Books discussion group, and remembered how the multiple perspectives enlivened the material and broadened our learning. With that model in mind, I put an ad in the classifieds in the Ft Collins, CO newspaper:

C.S. Lewis books discussion group? Meet 10 AM Saturday.

I gave the address of a local restaurant and my phone number. 17 people showed up, and a new thing was born!

People of all ages and diverse churches came and went, but some were there the entire 10 years, until Teresa & I moved from Colorado to the West coast. The group dynamics were wonderful, with pithy quotes from the chimney sweep, the historical perspective of the archivist and wisdom spawned of varied perspectives. However, for some the group was too dynamic. They sought closure, expecting consensus on each interpretation and a single “right” answer to every question. This did not happen.

During several summers we read the Chronicles of Narnia series to include the kids for those who had children. I loved to read aloud then, still do for my wife, and now do for members of Morning by Morning.

Some of these 1983 “discovered-friends” are writers of the content you now read at Morning by Morning.

Teresa: To answer the question, Who is Morning by Morning?, I would have to say it changes with each new member. Morning by Morning is a community of friends and colleagues with diverse ideas and experiences.

If you want to know about me, it is much easier to answer. I love to laugh, talk, read, write and learn. I enjoy mystery novels and other fiction. I cheer for Notre Dame football and the Seattle Mariners. My favorite movies are Hunt for Red October, Enchanted April, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I don't favor television much, but I'll confess…I do love everything Star Trek. But most of all I love conversation, and that is what drives my desire to make Morning by Morning a dynamic, global conversation with a Christian world view.

*** Update 2007: Teresa is the Director (Dean) of Education at Argosy University, in Dallas, Texas. Serving mostly graduate students, degree programs further prepare students to be teachers and administrators in both public and private school systems in Texas.

David and Teresa operate a bed and breakfast in Hillsboro, Texas, the 1895 Tarlton House. Additionally, David has written a mystery novel and is seeking a publisher. Click here to read Chapter 1 of this novel.