Professor Jim Beilby builds a classroom for big questions

“I didn’t really color inside the lines during college, and my faith blew up my senior year,” recalls Jim Beilby S’94. He played football, but his coach died. He had a long-term girlfriend, but that relationship ended. It was a season of personal upheaval, and he realized he no longer believed in Christianity.

“I had a moment where I thought, ‘Why would anyone want to be a Christian?’” he recalls. “And then I realized—I no longer believe. I’m an atheist.”

He was planning to go to law school, but upon shadowing a lawyer, quickly realized he had no interest in practicing law. Rudderless, he enrolled at Bethel Seminary not out of conviction, but curiosity, encouraged by his parents while he searched for direction. “I was aggressively skeptical those first few months, but then I started digging in on my own, reading far beyond what the syllabus required,” he says. He also met and was mentored by David Clark, former dean of Bethel Seminary and professor of theology emeritus. Beilby continued on for his M.A. in Theological Studies. “And without any big fireworks, I found my way back to faith. I realized I had so much fun thinking through these big questions,” he says. 

Now, 35 years later, that experience and those questions about faith shape how he teaches as a professor in Bethel’s Department of Biblical and Theological Studies. When students express doubt, he doesn’t shut it down. He recognizes it and uses it as an opportunity for growth. 

“When a student says, ‘I don’t know if God exists,’ I can say, ‘I’ve been there,’” he says. “‘That’s not failure. That means you’re thinking. Good. Well done! Let’s dig into that.’”

A class every student takes—and remembers

In addition to his seminary degree, Beilby has a bachelor’s in biblical studies and a doctorate in theology and philosophy. He teaches courses including Christianity in Western Culture, Apologetics, Intro to the Bible, Philosophy of Religion, Christian Social Ethics, and Christian Theology—a course taken by all Bethel students across disciplines as they begin to shape their worldview.

“Studying theology is an activity that is essential in the ongoing Christian formation of all believers,” says University Provost Robin Rylaarsdam. She points to Bethel’s view of Scripture and the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding interpretation and understanding across generations. “Studying theology connects us to the great cloud of witnesses who surround us. It acts as iron sharpening iron and should call us to action for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good.”

In Beilby’s classroom, that formation is not passive. Students are expected to engage, question, and think deeply. Quinn Stromberg ’28, a graphic design major, describes it as the “best class” he’s ever taken. “The way he involves and engages each student in the material, while stressing the importance of the topics and range of beliefs, is truly profound,” he says. “The environment he curates is one where questions and conversations are the highest priority.”

That environment is intentional. “First, you have to have fun in class, right? If you’re not having fun, that’s a problem,” Beilby says. “So, I’m asking questions, like ‘where is everyone going for spring break’? And then “Okay, which spring break is better: a mission trip to Jamaica or your cabin? Jamaica. Why? Because—Jesus plus Jamaica! It might just be four minutes at the beginning of class, but that’s plenty of time for some irreverent comments,” Beilby jokes. 

He works to build a culture where students feel comfortable sharing about spring break because then they’re more likely to feel comfortable asking questions like, “Why does that make sense?” or “What if I disagree with that?” Once that type of culture is in place, the learning follows. “The best part is when that space opens up,” he says. “Then you start to see the light bulbs go on.”

A space for honest conversation

In Beilby’s classes, students learn the tenets of Christianity but also how to engage people and ideas with humility, curiosity, and care. Maddie Johnson ’27, a double major in missional ministries and biblical and theological studies, has taken multiple classes with Beilby and now serves as his teaching assistant. She says his approach has reshaped how she interacts with others.

“He really opens my eyes to the ways that Christians must continue to break down hurtful stereotypes and seek to love people in genuine friendship,” she says. “I also appreciate the way he encourages you to view and think about people different from yourself. He is passionate about seeking to understand others before jumping to assumptions and judgments, modeling the way Jesus loves.”

That posture carries into how students approach life beyond the classroom. Stromberg notes that he already applies what he learned in conversations with people who hold different beliefs. “I already use the values instilled through Dr. Beilby’s class of polite, meaningful conversations with those who have differing beliefs,” he says. “And the takeaways I have about broader theology and why people believe what they believe will follow me through my whole life.”

For Beilby, that is the point. Theology is not just about arriving at answers. It is about forming people who can think carefully, engage faithfully, and live with conviction in a complex world. 

A professor students remember

Beilby met his wife, Michelle, in an Acts and Pauline Letters class in his second year at Bethel Seminary, where she received her master’s in marriage and family therapy. They went on to have four children, all of whom have attended Bethel—the youngest is a senior and plays for the Royals’ women’s soccer team. 

For Beilby, Bethel is a family affair. He brings energy, humor, a willingness to be candid—and his mom!—to the classroom. Eighty-three years old, she’s currently sitting in on one of his classes for fun. She listens, asks questions, and joins conversations with students decades younger than her. Her presence captures something true about Beilby’s courses and his own story: theological learning does not have an endpoint. It is something you return to, wrestle with, and grow into over a lifetime.

As the weather warms, you may catch Beilby out on Bethel’s disc golf course—ranked one of the top college disc courses in the nation. He helped design it in 2006, and the course has since expanded to 18 holes. Beilby plays competitively and for fun with students, including Stromberg, who plays for Bethel’s disc golf team. “Me and a bunch of theology classmates have played with Dr. Beilby on several occasions,” he says. “He’s an excellent disc golfer, and it’s always a blast to go play with him.” 

Back in the classroom, Beilby sees a common thread among nursing majors, business students, athletes, and future pastors: they’re all searching for meaning and direction. And helping them in that search is his sweet spot. The conversations about God, suffering, justice, and truth don’t stay in the classroom, though. They inevitably shape how students lead, serve, and make decisions in their careers and communities long after Bethel. “We sit in a place between telling students exactly what to think and telling them to believe whatever they want,” Beilby says. “That tension is hard, but it’s also where real growth happens.”

Grow in your faith

Ask your tough questions, learn from others, and experience personal growth in Bethel’s Department of Biblical and Theological Studies. 

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