What I do: High school teacher at Mennonite Educational Institute since 2001; head of English Department
Spouse: Sharon (née Friesen, married 1996)
Children: Adam (1999), Phoebe (2002), Nathan (2005), Chloë (2007)
Education: BA in Biblical Studies (’93, Columbia Bible College), BA in English, History (’99, Simon Fraser University) B.Ed. (’00, Simon Fraser University) MA English (’14, Trinity Western University).
Hope and vision for Northview: Developing a local church community that preaches the gospel, teaches it’s context, disciples its practice, and facilitates its growth.
Words of Wisdom: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” This was my yearbook quote for my last year at Bible school. It’s by John Lennon, who I now think was mostly a fool, but I still like the quote. If you actually want words of wisdom go read the Bible, obviously.
How I got involved with Northview: Moved to the Fraser Valley from Kamloops in 1990 to coach basketball camps with Athletes in Action; began attending in the summer before starting at Columbia Bible College.
A few of my favourite things: Writing, philosophy, photography, news and cultural studies, film, cooking (& eating), coffee, all of which can be found @gdnickel on Twitter.
Favourite authors: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, David Foster Wallace, Stanley Hauerwas (basically anything pretentious)