The parish and the academy symbolize the core of my theological method, the interaction between ecclesial practices and theological theory. Faith is grounded in human lives, social practices, religious communities, and cultural contexts.

Since my Ph.D. in practical theology in empirical homiletics, published as Religious Involvement in Hearing Sermons (2010, open access), I have applied (parts of) Grounded Theory methodology to various projects in the fields of homiletics, military chaplaincy, and pastoral care.

In my current research I focus on two main projects:

1. Digital Homiletics. The application of computational methods in the study of preaching; digital methods enrich existing strategies to analyse sermons. Further, the empirical study of online preaching, both streaming worship and new digital forms of preaching  contributes to the theory of preaching (collaborative international project with the working title "Homiletics for a Digital Age").
2. Soul Care. A reframing of pastoral care theory based upon the theological-anthropological idea of the 'soul'. Special attention will be paid to two religious practices: end-of-life care (death and dying), and spiritual formation.