I am grateful to have had numerous significant spiritual mentors in my life, but one of the most significant mentors in my young adult years was Dr. Jeffrey Crafton. Dr. Crafton is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church, an adjunct professor at North Park Theological Seminary, and a Sacred Studies teacher at Minnehaha Academy, teaching classes in ethics and faith formation to eleventh and twelfth graders.

This year, Dr. Crafton is retiring from Minnehaha Academy after 26 years of mentoring thousands of high schoolers as they wade through pivotal faith-related questions. In my time with Dr. Crafton, we tackle some of the same issues and themes that arise in his classes, including issues of faith and doubt, how he sees science as complimentary to faith, and, after studying the uniqueness of Christianity for decades, what he believes to be most captivating about the person of Jesus. Spiritual mentors don’t offer easy answers but bring us hope and grounding in an often-chaotic world. My hope is that today’s conversation will do just that.