Alden Bass served Oklahoma Christian University as a Bible professor for seven years (2017-2024). Bass is leaving his position at Oklahoma Christian to take a job closer to his relatives at Lipscomb University in Nashville.
Through his time as professor at Oklahoma Christian, Bass said he was enabled to reframe disciplines within a Christian framework.
“My time at Oklahoma Christian has deepened my understanding of integrating faith and learning—something that requires intentionality even at a Christian college. Through both successes and challenges, I’ve developed and tested various approaches to reframing disciplines like healthcare, engineering, and art within a Christian worldview,” Bass said. “This integration isn’t merely theoretical classroom content but a practice involving daily habits and mindsets. These experiences have taught me a lot about teaching and working with non-Academic departments like Student Life.”
With a wide variety of aspects to miss, Bass said the connections he made while teaching multiple different students will be the hardest to let go.
“I’ll certainly miss many aspects of campus life. The Branch stands out. I’ve eaten there about once a day for the past 8 years, enjoying both the excellent food and meaningful conversations with colleagues and students. I’ll also miss my wonderful students, both Bible majors and those from across campus,” Bass said. “At Lipscomb, I’ll be doing a lot more graduate teaching, which means less interactions with undergrads. Here, teaching numerous GenEd courses allowed me to connect with a diverse range of students, and Oklahoma Christian’s close-knit community meant running into them regularly—at chapel, church, on the walking trail, or at the Brew (which I also visit daily).”
Although there are many qualities Bass will miss, he said moving to his original home of Nashville will enable him and his family to be closer to relatives.
“My wife and I are Tennessee natives, so we’re thrilled to be moving closer to our extended families,” Bass said. “I’m also eager to go back to the lush, wooded hills of the Cumberland Plateau—a landscape I’ve missed during my time on Oklahoma’s beautiful but distinctly different plains. Oh, I’ll also miss the sunsets here.”
Though farewells are never easy, Bass said his deepest hope for his students is for them to become future spiritual leaders for the next generation.
“As a Bible professor, my deepest hope is that students leave Oklahoma Christian feeling spiritually strengthened and closer to God,” Bass said. “I pray they become leaders in their local communities who help guide the church into the next generation. To borrow language from my GenEd courses, I hope they flourish materially, socially, and spiritually—just as God intends.”
Being far from his original home, Bass said the family he built on campus will be missed.
“Oklahoma Christian has truly become an extended family during our years away from our biological relatives. It’s a special community that has shaped us profoundly, and we’ll deeply miss the many friendships we’ve formed here,” Bass said.
Junior Sydney Byers, who has taken multiple Bible classes with Bass, said he taught her to constantly search for answers.
“It is not too much of an overstatement to say that Dr. Bass has shaped my view of the Bible and who Christ is more than any other person. Part of this is the sheer number of classes I have been honored to have with him, but he also encourages questions, reaching into the hard topics, and wrestling with God,” Byers said. “He has always pushed me to read and look for my own answers, rather than giving a one size fits all answer. Dr. Bass has introduced to me many theologians and traditions different from my own, for both I am increasingly grateful.”
Although Byers said she will miss taking classes with Bass, she expressed her best wishes as he moves forward.
“While I am very sad to see him go, I have full confidence that he will be dearly loved at Lipscomb just as he is here by so many. Dr. Bass has impacted so many students here at Oklahoma Christian, and I pray that he can continue to be a blessing to those around him no matter where he goes,” Byers said.
Dean of the College of Bible, Jeremie Beller, said Bass’s influence on Oklahoma Christian’s campus will not be forgotten.
“God has gifted Dr. Bass with an extraordinary mind and a generous heart, which our campus has been blessed to share. He has opened God’s word and the world of theology to numerous students,” Beller said. “In a recent Senior Capstone class, I asked students how they have changed during their time at Oklahoma Christian. One student told the class that he arrived at our campus as someone who did not believe in God. Dr. Bass was the first to give him a Bible and helped him come to see God is real. Alden and Candace’s kindness and hospitality have helped our campus see Christ in wonderful ways and I am excited to see how God uses them in their new work.”
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