SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE

Dr. Derek King is the Scholar-in-Residence at Lewis House. His role is both ministerial (he hangs with students) and academic (he hangs with nerds). He has a Ph.D. in Analytic and Exegetical Theology from the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

His doctoral dissertation—The Church and the Problem of Divine Hiddenness—was published with Routledge (2023). His second book is a popular-level book exploring some of the same themes. It is under contract with Wipf & Stock and is called Faith Without Belief. It should be released in late 2024. In addition to these books, he has published several academic articles and in non-academic outlets like Mere Orthodoxy and Christianity Today.

Derek’s current academic project is Theological Attention. The book is under contract with Oxford University Press and should be published in 2025. The book is the result of a grant in science-engaged theology from the John Templeton Foundation.

Derek joined the University of Kentucky Christian Student Fellowship (CSF) staff after participating as a student until he graduated in 2011. He took his first-ever theology class with CSF’s Christian Studies Center. While on staff at CSF, he completed a Masters of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary.

Derek and his wife, Bethany, were married in 2016. In 2020, they adopted embryos. They have two children: a son Lewis and a daughter Iona. Derek and Bethany are passionate about embryo adoption and encouraging others to consider it. As a couple, they especially enjoy cooking together, taking long walks, traveling, and reminiscing about their time living in Scotland.

In addition to spending time with his family, friends, and theological pursuits, Derek especially enjoys baseball, running, and reading—he’s a White Sox fan, a fair-weather runner with one-half marathon under his belt, and especially enjoys the fiction of Dostoevsky, Waugh, and Wodehouse.