From left to right: Liza, Miranda, Rachel, Silas, Jonathan, and Lucian Mumme pose for a family photo. Courtesy | Johnathan Mumme.

Jonathan Mumme, associate professor of theology, talks overcooked steak, advice for his college-aged self, and wanting to be a fighter pilot. 

What is something most people on campus would not know about you?

I am a firm believer in the power nap.

What’s one thing you think all students should know but don’t?

That the possibility of Christian friendship over the course of college is so much greater than the minutiae of Christian difference within the collegiate bubble of Hillsdale.

What are your hobbies?

Cutting, splitting, and burning wood.

Coffee or tea?

Spurious alternative! (Love both)

What did you want to be when you were little?

Fighter pilot, and when I got a little older, a chiropractor.

When did you know you wanted to teach?

When I fell in love with theology via mentors who were teachers. I was probably 25.

How did you meet your wife?

We were friends —  just friends —  in college. I’m slow on the uptake. Then some years after college we crossed paths abroad and were married a year to the day thereafter.

If you could have a conversation with any three people, living or dead, who would they be and what would you talk about?

The Apostle Paul, Jean Parisot de Valette, and Abraham Lincoln. I’d like to listen to them talk about courage.

Who is the greatest theologian, in your opinion?

Pretty hard to top Jesus as the embodiment of the theos-logos vocation.

What is your favorite food?

Hard to beat a good steak, unless it’s overcooked.

What has been your favorite vacation?

With my wife — anything in Italy. With my whole family — in Colorado last summer.

What is one book every student should read?

I wouldn’t put it under “should,” but Luke and Acts are two I wouldn’t want to miss.

What is one piece of advice you would give to your college-aged self?

Look up from your book.

What is your favorite movie?

Tie between “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Gran Torino.”