Dr. Bill DeJong

Faculty Chaplain; Director of the Albert M. Wolters Centre for Christian Scholarship


Phone: (905) 648-2139   Ext:4658

Email: bdejong1@redeemer.ca

Office: 102C

Programs: Mission and Ministry , Biblical and Theological Studies

Education

PhD (2017), McMaster Divinity College.
Dissertation: Eucharistic Reciprocity: A Practical Theological Inquiry into the Virtue of Gratitude

MDiv (1996), Mid-America Reformed Seminary.

BA (1993), Redeemer University.

Courses

  • Introduction to Christian Worldview (CTS-110)
  • The Drama of Scripture (REL-110)
  • Teaching Scripture and the Christian Faith (REL-354)
  • Youth Culture and Spiritual Formation (REL-355)
  • Faith and Philosophy (PHL-210)
  • Evangelism and Discipleship (REL-353)
  • Youth Culture and Spiritual Formation (REL-455)

About

I have served as a pastor in Canada and the United States for nearly thirty years, most recently as Lead Pastor of Blessings Christian Church in Hamilton, Ontario. I also serve as a Fellow of the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology in Cambridge, United Kingdom. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the spiritual formation of Redeemer University’s faculty and staff while also teaching and mentoring students in the classroom.

Research Interests

  • Practical Theology
  • Ethics
  • Spiritual Formation
  • Theology of Gratitude
  • Ecclesiology
  • Kuyper Scholarship
  • Neo-Calvinist Scholarship

Selected Publications 

DeJong, Bill. “On and Around the Stage.” In Generous Calvinist: A Liber Amicorum for Richard Mouw, edited by Marinus DeJong and Jessica Joustra. Kampen, NL: Theological University, 2019.

DeJong, Bill. “Growing Up into Christ: Renewing the Pathway to Maturity in the Church.” In Children and the Church, edited by William Den Hollander and Gerhard H Visscher. Hamilton, Lucerna, 2019.

DeJong, Bill. Eucharistic Reciprocity: A Practical Theological Inquiry into the Virtue of Gratitude. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2019

DeJong, Bill. “On Earth as It Is in Heaven: The Pastoral Typology of James B. Jordan.” In The Glory of Kings: A Festschrift in Honor of James B. Jordan, edited by Peter J. Leithart and John Barach, 133–46. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2011

Select Conference Papers

DeJong, Bill. “Sensory Stimulation, Aesthetic Excess, and Hierarchical Privilege: Abraham Kuyper’s Equivocal Critique of Anglican Worship.” Paper presented at the Kuyper Conference, March 26-28, 2026.

DeJong, Bill. “‘Better for All Art to Disappear’: Abraham Kuyper’s Defective Theological Argument against Visual Art in Public Worship.” Paper presented at the Kuyper Conference, Grand Rapids, MI, April 3, 2024.

DeJong, Bill. “Clarifying by Complexifying: The Peculiar Approach of Practical Theology.” Paper presented at the Canadian Practical Theology Network and the British and Irish Association of Practical Theology, September 29, 2023.

DeJong, Bill. “Is There Any Virtue in Herman Bavinck’s Ethics?” Paper presented at the Kuyper Conference, Redeemer University, Ancaster, ON, May 10, 2023.

DeJong, Bill. “‘If Extremes Will Please You, I Am Your Man’: A Missional Embrace of Dort’s Dialectic Pedagogy.” Paper presented at the Prodigal Love of God Conference, Dordt University, Sioux Center, IA, April 5, 2019.

Awards and Certificates

  • Duncan R. MacNab Scholarship, McMaster Divinity College, 2012
  • Gordon S. Martin Scholarship, McMaster Divinity College, 2011
  • Ministerial Studies Award (awarded to the graduate demonstrating most aptitude for ministry), Mid-America Reformed Seminary, 1996
  • Jelle Tuininga Scholarship, Mid-America Reformed Seminary, 1995
  • Roger Vanderveen Scholarship, Mid-America Reformed Seminary, 1994