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Faculty Spotlight: Dr. David Kotter

Meet Dr. David Kotter

Degrees and Experience
  • Ph.D., New Testament (The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
  • M.Div., New Testament (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School)
  • MBA, Engineering (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
  • M.A., New Testament (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School)
  • B.S., Engineering (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Biography and Professional Achievements

Dr. David Kotter serves as the dean of the School of Theology, but began his career at Ford Motor Company as a financial analyst at its world headquarters and eventually as a plant controller at a manufacturing plant in Spain. After graduating summa cum laude from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, he was invited to join a church-planting team for CrossWay Community Church and served as the pastor of discipleship for seven years.

Kotter's primary research is focused on the areas of intersection between theology and economics. He has been invited to lecture on related topics around the United States as well as Asia and Europe. Kotter has contributed to five books along with numerous journal articles and book reviews. He is also active in biblical archaeology and has taught on five summer expeditions for CCU students to dig at Tel es-Safi (Gath), Shiloh, and throughout Israel.

Dr. Kotter co-founded the Faith and Work Project to train future pastors in the principles of economics and finance. He also writes as a senior research fellow for the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics.

Publications and Presentations
  • The Unique Temptations of Wealth and Poverty Over Time" in Healthy and Wealthy? A Biblical-Theological Response to the Prosperity Gospel, ed. Robert L. Plummer (forthcoming from Fontes Press 2022)
  • "A Moral Case Against the Universal Basic Income" in Rich in Good Deeds: A Biblical Response to Poverty by the church and by Society, ed. Robert L. Plummer (forthcoming from Fontes Press 2022)
  • "Reading Augustine's Two Books Together: CCU Professors Collaborate on Understanding the Age of the Earth" in Beyond Magazine (April 2022)
  • "Why Adam Smith Matters" for the President's Lecture series at Colorado Christian University (March 2022)
  • Foreword for Why Church Matters: Going All In with the Broken yet Beautiful Body of Christ by Mark Hallock and Aaron Weber (Acoma Press, 2021)
  • "Greed and Self Interest: Economic Lessons from the First Century," in The Bible and Money: Economy and Socioeconomic Ethics in the Bible, Hallvard Hagelia and Markus Zehnder, eds. (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2020)
  • "Revisiting the Rock at Rephidim: The Role of Christ with Israel in the Wilderness" presented at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in San Diego (November 2019)
  • "Transforming More Than People: The Role of the Church in Neighborhood Gentrification" invited paper at the New Testament colloquium of the Oikonomia annual meeting in Dallas (January 2019)
  • "Crony Capitalism: What Should Christians Do?" invited panelist at the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids (December 2018)
  • "The Intrinsic and Instrumental Value of Work: A Biblical Response to the Universal Basic Income" presented at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Denver (November 2018)
  • "Milkmaids No More: Revisiting Luther's Doctrine of Vocation from the Perspective of a 'Gig' economy" presented at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society and later published in The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology (November 2017)
  • "Is Capitalism Based on Greed?" in Counting the Cost: Christian Perspectives on Capitalism, Anne Bradley and Art Lindsley (Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press, 2017)
  • "Remember the Poor: A New Testament Perspective on the Problems of Poverty, Riches, and Redistribution" in For the Least of These: A Biblical View of the Poor, Anne Bradley and Art Lindsley (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014)
  • "The Cross of Christ and Christian Vocation" presented at the Park Church Denver men's conference (August, 2018)
  • "Dismal Science, Glorious God: Biblical Decision making and the Language of Enterprise" at the Commerce and Vocation Lecture Series at Bethlehem College and Seminary (June, 2017)
  • "The Distinction between Self-Interest and Greed in the Life and letters of the Apostle Paul" at the New Testament Economic Summit (September, 2016)
  • "How Churches Can Really Help: Community Development Guided by Biblical Values and Economic Tools" at the Conference on Community Development (October, 2015)
  • "Does Economics Need to be Redeemed? A critique of John D. Mueller's Redeeming Economics" at the colloquium on Ethics and Worldview (May, 2014)
  • "Ayn Rand vs. Jesus: What Can We Learn" Panel discussion at the Students for Liberty Conference, Washington, D.C. (February, 2014)
  • "Greed or Self Interest: A Biblical Evaluation of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations" presented to the Association of Private Enterprise Education (April, 2013)
Professional Societies and Honors
  • Evangelical Theological Society
  • Association of Private Enterprise Education
  • Kern Fellow at the Acton University
  • Kemper Fellowship for Management Studies
  • Edmund James Scholar in Engineering