Learning the Stories God Gave Us

by Anneliese Rider

Steven Sanchez moved halfway across the country—from the skyscrapers of New York City to the cornfields of Iowa—before he found his calling.

Now a seasoned professor at Moody Bible Institute and a new writer for Today in the Word, he’s devoted to showing his students how relevant the Bible is, but he is also passionate about forming relationships with them and helping them grow.

Called to teach

The gospel was “front and center” in Steven Sanchez’s Brooklyn, New York childhood home. He came to know Jesus at 7 years old, and “I’ve been following the Lord ever since.”

Unsure what his future plans were, he attended Columbia University in New York City to earn a BA in Political Science. After graduating in 1993, instead of finding a lucrative job in the city like many of his peers, Steven chose to spend a year at Emmaus Bible College in Iowa—his dad’s alma mater—so he could study the Bible in an academic setting.

Early in his time there, full of admiration for the faculty, Steven discovered his calling: being a Bible college professor.

“The faculty was really special,” Steven says. “They were academically trained and well skilled at what they did, but at the same time, they had a passion for relationship and discipleship and building into students’ lives.”

Meeting his future life partner

Steven’s professors recommended he attend Dallas Theological Seminary for the necessary training to be a professor. With that plan in mind, Steven finished his year at Emmaus and prepared to move to Texas—but not before he met his future wife.

Julie, a Canadian who grew up as a missionary kid in Zambia, was a fellow student.

“We like to say we grew up in two different jungles,” Steven laughs. “I grew up in a concrete jungle. She grew up in a jungle-jungle.”

After his year at Emmaus, Steven moved to Dallas to earn his ThM and PhD. In 2005 Steven and his family moved back to Iowa to begin his teaching career.

“Emmaus was where the fire was lit, and I wanted to go back and teach at that school,” Steven says.

In addition to teaching, Steven led trips to Israel, did archaeology, oversaw the yearbook team, and ran the audio-visual department.

After spending 11 years happily teaching at Emmaus, Steven listened to the Lord’s call—in the form of a persistent friend encouraging him to apply—and submitted his résumé to Moody Bible Institute.

In 2016, Steven found his way back to the urban jungle when his family moved to Chicago so he could be a professor of Bible at Moody.

Developing a grace-filled approach

As a veteran professor, one of Steven’s biggest passions is helping his students through their challenges.

“They want to know, ‘Where's the Lord, why hasn't He answered my prayer right away?” Steven says. “I tell them, ‘His timing is appropriate for the season that you're in. He wants you to learn something about Himself. Our job is to be patient and roll with it.’”

Another area of growth Steven has experienced is how he interacts with his “increasingly complex” students. Where Steven used to just assume behaviors in a student who appears totally disinterested were linked to a bad attitude or “hating the Bible,” he’s come to understand it could be much deeper.

“It might be because his parents are getting divorced,” Steven says. “It might be because he’s struggling with anxiety. It might be because he’s got a gluten allergy and feels sicker than a dog.”

This grace-filled approach has helped Steven teach and disciple his students, as they see him not only as a professor but also a person who cares about them.

Consultancy on the side

Much of Steven’s understanding has come from the relationships he’s built over the years but also from the consulting work that he does on the side.

In 2022, a friend at church suggested that Steven had the skill set—teaching, training, and thinking on the fly—to become an organizational health consultant. After going through the training, he began consulting with a few different companies, using tools based on Patrick Lencioni’s books (The Advantage, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and The Six Types of Working Genius).

“This is the kind of work that’s designed to help organizations function more smoothly as teams and work together more effectively so they can do their work well,” Steven says.

He also uses the training to help his students prepare for their future ministry settings, no matter what they are. “I’m a firm believer in the reality that gravity works the same in church as it does at work. The problems are the same because people are the same.”

The stories we need to know

Steven started writing for Today in the Word on a Christmas issue that numerous professors contributed to. After that, Managing Editor Jamie Janosz asked him if he’d like to write more. His first issue, in May 2023, was about 1 Kings, and the November 2024 issue is about 2 Kings.

While Steven was writing the devotions and also preparing for a class he’s teaching on 1 and 2 Kings, he thought, “What do I say to somebody who says, ‘This is just a lot of historical data of kings winning and losing’?”

And that’s when it hit him.

“We use stories to explain our lives. We use stories to justify our behavior. We use stories to teach, right?” Steven says. “Most of the Old Testament is narrative literature. It’s a story. These are the stories that the Holy Spirit has selected for us to know.”

Getting the Word out in creative ways

As much as his students learn from him, Steven says he continually learns new ways how to connect his students to God’s Word. As chair and professor of Bible in the Bible and Theology Division, Steven teaches a course on Introduction to the Bible. Last year, one of his students, Kares, told him that, while the course content is great, she thought students could use a refresher on some of the class material before they graduate since they typically take the course as freshmen. Kares suggested that Steven teach an evening session for Moody seniors.

Steven agreed, so Kares presented the idea to the Student Government Association. The SGA soon scheduled a “Bible Outro” session from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. one Saturday on campus at Joe’s café, with Steven serving as lecturer. “The goal of the event was to review Bible Intro on the way out,” Steven says.

To Steven’s surprise, the event drew 300 attendees, including a handful of visitors, parents, and prospective students. Most attendees stayed for the duration of the four-hour lecture.

“We were all very encouraged,” Steven says. “This was a student-organized, student-led event and really highlighted the type of students we have at Moody. We train men and women who will give up a Saturday night at the end of the semester to think deeply about the Word of God.”