I love wrangling words and ideas, and have been doing so online in some fashion (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Typepad, WordPress, now Substack) since 2002. I migrated the original Second Drafts blog from 2005-2015 here, and with 20-plus handwritten journal volumes as well as a book or two, that’s a lot of content.
In 2015, I stepped away from Second Drafts to write for other online outlets (school, church, a couple random blogs asking for content, etc.). I continued “micro-blogging” via Facebook and Twitter, but neither platform was as satisfying as the more essay-enabling weblog. So, I’ve consolidated my online writing via Substack here.
Why “Second Drafts”?
The title is a carryover from my previous blog and how I tend to write: the first draft is in my head—fluid but nebulous; “second drafts” require grasping thoughts to bring them to life. As Flannery O’Connor said, “I write because I don't know what I think until I read what I say.” As the kids say, “Same.”
Though comments are turned off, you’re welcome and encouraged to email me directly with feedback or ideas at cmdunham [at] gmail.com. Unless you tell me not to, I may quote you here (though it will always be anonymously). Thanks for reading.
Who is Craig?
I was born at a young age in Wauwatosa, WI, before my parents moved us back when I was three to the family farm in west central Illinois. Ours is a sixth generation small farm outside a town (Griggsville, IL) of 1,200 people, and much of my youth was captured and accompanied by one of many John Mellencamp songs (for quick reference, see especially “Pink Houses” and “Small Town”).
I attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, served as the Spirit Chair and playing trombone for Marching Mizzou, and ended up with a bachelor’s degree in geography and a minor in history so as to graduate in four years and pursue ministry with The Navigators, whom I met at Mizzou.
Upon graduation in 1993, I moved to Colorado Springs, where I served as program director for Eagle Lake Camp and Glen Eyrie Conference Center, the camp and conference ministries of The Navigators. In addition to camp and retreat work, I wrote and recorded 60 original songs, traveled to and taught in the African country of Uganda, met and married Megan, and became the father of four daughters.
In 2003, having worked with over 800 college students and 15,000 junior high and high school students, I co-authored and published TwentySomeone: Finding Yourself in a Decade of Transition, a practical theology book for people entering, experiencing, and exiting their twenties (parents of twenty-somethings tend to be readers as well). I’ve also published articles in Christianity Today, Discipleship Journal, and ByFaith.
After 12 years with The Navigators, in 2005 I moved my family to St. Louis, where I earned a Masters of Theological Studies and a Masters in Educational Ministries at Covenant Theological Seminary. During my time at Covenant, I served as teaching assistant to professor Jerram Barrs at the seminary’s Francis Schaeffer Institute. I also taught New Testament, Biblical Ethics, and Worldviews to 9th-12th graders at Westminster Christian Academy.
In 2010, I self-published my second book, Learning Education: Essays and Ideas from My First Three Years of Teaching, informed by my seminary education and my experience teaching. It was also during this time that I began directing Christian teacher and musician Michael Card’s Biblical Imagination conferences for five years.
In 2011, I began my tenure in classical Christian school administration, moving to Oklahoma City and becoming Headmaster at Veritas Classical Academy before leading the successful merger of Veritas and Providence Hall Classical School into The Academy of Classical Christian Studies in 2013. While there, our family helped plant a church as well as provided foster care for 16 different children before moving to Bozeman, MT, where I became Headmaster at another classical Christian school, Petra Academy, in 2015.
In 2020, I went to work for a high-tech cryogenics company called Montana Instruments, for whom I served as the Marketing/Communications Manager to help the company become the premier cryogenics company accelerating quantum discovery. In 2022, I wrote and published MI CEO Mark Carroll’s memoir, Mako’s World: A Memoir of Calculated Adventures, chronicling his life story as a surfer dude, mechanical engineer, and world-traveling businessman.
In the summer of 2023, after a very intentional six-month stint schlepping and slinging boxes for FedEx, I returned (with Megan) to the Midwest to again be involved in full-time ministry as part of Exodus Church in Springfield, IL. It’s good to be home.
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