David Bowen grew up in Knoxville, TN loving sports and reading. After studying intellectual history at The University of Virginia, he returned to his hometown and taught and coached at his old high school for two years. To seek answers to his questions about the Christianity and the Christ he had committed himself to, he went to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL, where he received his Masters of Divinity. Again he returned to his hometown, this time to become Assistant Minister at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church. After two years of practical experience in ministry, he pursued a doctorate in the History of Christian Thought at Vanderbilt University. In 1985, Ph.D. in hand, he accepted the call of the Presbyterian Church in America to plant a church between Durham and Chapel Hill. He is married to the former Lee Stewart of Memphis, and they have three children--Jeff, Drew, and Marie.