Dean of Chapel & Professor of Theology
Dordt University
Justin Ariel Bailey is the dean of chapel and professor of theology at Dordt University, where he speaks weekly to a large gathering of students, faculty, and staff. Having served as a pastor in a number of diverse settings, his academic work explores the ways that culture shapes Christian faith, and the ways that that Christian faith shapes culture. He holds a PhD in Theology and his research seeks to bridge gaps between church and academy, and the formational spaces where they overlap.
He writes regularly for Christianity Today, and his work has appeared in numerous academic and popular publications. He is the author of the book Discipling the Diseased Imagination (Baker Academic, 2026), Interpreting Your World (Baker Academic, 2022), and Reimagining Apologetics (IVP Academic, 2020). He was the host of the In All Things podcast for 70 episodes (2021-2025).
I enjoy speaking at gatherings, conferences, retreats, schools, and churches. In recent years I’ve been invited as a plenary speaker at events and venues including the Jubilee Conference, the Colson Center National Conference, the Society for Classical Learning, the InspirED National Conference, the Center for the Advancement of Christian Education, and Redeemer University.
This short, accessible introduction to the conversation between theology and culture offers a patient, thoughtful, and theologically attuned approach to cultural discernment.
The book explores 5 dimensions of culture – meaning, power, morality, religion, and aesthetics – and shows how each needs the others and all need theology. Each chapter includes distinctive practices for spiritual formation and practical application.
For many Christians, the traditional approach of apologetics has grown stale. In light of the current secular climate, rhetorical strategies that previously served the church and apologists well are no longer effective.
This book seeks to address this dilemma by infusing apologetics with an appeal to the imagination, the aesthetic, and the affective.
Demonstrating that this is possible, it engages with two examples of those who have done apologetics through the imagination: George MacDonald and Marilynne Robinson.
