From Upland to Massachusetts, from Ireland to Scotland — he didn’t know if his doctorate in theology and philosophy would lead him to a career in academia. Yet Koert Verhagen, assistant professor of philosophy and religion, took a leap of faith.
Verhagen graduated from Taylor in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Towards the end of his undergraduate, he sensed a tug towards a profession in teaching — an interest he had never felt before.
That thread continued to weave in and out of his life, twisting into his gap year at Summit Ministries in Colorado where he spent time mentoring high school and college students.
In light of his growing desire to teach, Verhagen pursued his master’s degree in theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 2012, initially intending to follow the path of pastoral ministry.
And yet, the desire for a route in academia persisted.
Pastoral ministry proved to consist of a smaller percentage of teaching and mentoring than Verhagen had thought.
“This is generally the case in philosophy and theology because there's so few jobs, (but I pursued academia) fully believing that I could go this route, get a PhD, not get an academic job, and that that would be part of how God ultimately brought me into pastoral ministry,” he said.
While Verhagen believed that God could grow him into a pastoral role, it was more a question of timing — was pastoring a part of God’s plan for him now?
The one thing Verhagen knew was that he wanted to spend most of his career teaching. So he followed that thread, palms ready to receive whatever God had in store.
Even toward the end of his doctorate program at the University of St. Andrews, Verhagen still kept the door for pastoral ministry open. God would later lead him to teach at Taylor.
“I believe that part of my responsibility and faithfully pursuing that route was always allowing the door to be open to some sort of pastoral work,” he said.
In 2014, he married his wife, Diana (’12), and the two moved to Chicago while Diana pursued her master’s degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
After a year working for the InterVarsity Press, Diana was hired as the onsite director of the Irish Studies Program at Taylor — a position she had interned for previously. Her new role required the couple to live abroad.
The Verhagens packed their bags and left for Ireland.
While living in Ireland, the idea of U.K. doctorate programs suddenly became more possible, so Verhagen applied to several, ultimately landing at the University of St. Andrews.
Another move, and the couple landed in Scotland in 2016.
After Verhagen defended his dissertation in 2019, he continued in post-doctoral research. That was until God called him to finally take a step into academia. What had been a repeated passion and desire was becoming real life.
The thread that had followed him from the end of his undergraduate years came to fruition when a visiting assistant professor of philosophy and religion position at Taylor was available. Verhagen took this opportunity to pursue a career as a professor. And so, Taylor University re-entered his life.
“When I fell in the direction of academia and began to pursue that slowly — it took some time — I always kind of thought that I would like to be at a place like Taylor,” Verhagen said. “But for a variety of reasons, I didn’t think that I would ever be back at Taylor.”
While it was easy to say yes to the new position, the transition from Scotland back to Upland had its emotional challenges. After four and a half years, the Verhagens had made a home and started a family in the U.K.
“We lived by the sea,” Verhagen said. “We took our kids to play in tide pools and go to the beach every day in Scotland. And we had really dear friends over there — some of our closest friends to this day. So it was hard. It was hard to leave that behind.”
The life of tide pools and a Scottish community would be coming to an end.
As Verhagen shifted from a research role to working with students at Taylor, what was originally meant to be a one-year appointment at the university, became a permanent position.
Faculty who had formerly been Verhagen’s professors became his colleagues. Verhagen and his family would later move into Olson Hall in 2022 where Diana would work as the Olson Hall Director.
“I wanted to be teaching in a place where I could also exercise and lean into some of the pastoral giftings that I think God has given me and wants me to use,” he said.
As a part of his position, Verhagen also began coaching the university’s Ethics Bowl team.
Despite numerous attempts from a former faculty member to recruit Verhagen during his undergraduate years, he had never actually participated.
“It was a bewildering and disorienting thing because when I was a student here, the coach at that time asked me to get involved, like, every year I was here, and I always said no,” he said. “And so I had no point of reference for Ethics Bowl.”
But the foundation laid by Verhagen’s predecessor made the transition smoother for him. Now, he says, Ethics Bowl is one of his favorite things that he does — particularly because of the students involved.
The ability to disciple students inside and outside the classroom is a passion of Verhagen’s. He loves that it’s an unspoken part of his job description.
“The students move on, but I stay here,” he said. “How can I be a point of continuity when it comes to growing and encouraging students in developing the skills that are involved and encouraging them in thinking about what it means to be responsible witnesses to Jesus Christ in a complex and broken world?”
