When Phil Collins, professor of Christian ministries and director of Taylor’s Center for Scripture Engagement, enrolled at Taylor in 1978, he didn’t plan on returning to teach in 1999.
Now, after 27 years of full-time education and seven years as an adjunct, Collins will step down from full-time work at Taylor following Spring 2026. He will work part time for the Center for Scripture Engagement but no longer instruct classes.
During his time at Taylor, Collins co-founded the Center for Scripture Engagement, developed the Abide Bible and created Taylor’s Scripture engagement minor.
Working at Taylor was an unexpected blessing. Collins planned to leave Taylor after his sophomore year of school, he said.
“My original plan was to come here for a year and then to transfer out,” Collins said. “I wanted to see what a Christian school was like.”
Collins’ plan was hampered when he stayed to study biblical literature and Christian education.
For a long time, he fought his call to ministry. Instead, he wanted to represent Christ in a secular workplace – part of the reason he had planned to leave Taylor. Yet, as he fell in love with the university, he yielded to God’s call on his life and switched his major, first to biblical literature and then to Christian education, he said.
After graduating from Taylor, he didn’t think working for the school was possible, he said.
Collins’ wife, whom he met at Taylor, remembers him dreaming about working for Taylor on their first date.
“She asked me what I wanted to do, and I said, ‘Well, my dream would be to teach at Taylor, but that'll never happen,’” he said. “I don't remember saying this, but she does, and it was accurate.”
After graduating as a student from Taylor, Collins earned a master’s in Christian education from Trinity Evangelical School and a doctorate in educational psychology from Purdue University.
He returned to Taylor to teach in 1999.
This miracle reveals God’s grace, glory and intimate involvement in Collins’ life, he said. God led him to where he is today.
He sees the thread of God’s grace throughout both his failures and the successes that reveal God’s goodness. Though he didn’t always feel God’s presence, it is clear to him that God was providing.
Collins is grateful for his Christian ministry students. It’s been a privilege to teach and spend time with them, he said.
“They're wonderful people with great hearts, sharp minds and a desire to obey and follow God,” he said. “And they're funny. They make me laugh all the time.”
Collins is also thankful for the colleagues he’s worked alongside, as they cultivate a Christ-centered work environment.
“The people that I get to rub shoulders with are extraordinary scholars who love Jesus and want to advance His kingdom,” Collins said. “They're amazing.”
Collins doesn’t know a single professor whose primary reason for working at Taylor isn’t love for their students, he said.
Collins’ own commitment to his students is seen through the way he teaches, said Lily Prewitt, a Christian ministries freshman who has attended Collins’ classes.
“I aspire to be like him someday,” Prewitt said.
Collins’ teaching style draws students out while pushing them to do their best, Prewitt said. He’s a gifted instructor, and he often provides metaphors that reveal truths in powerful ways, she added.
“The Lord is a lamp to our feet, not a spotlight,” she said. “So He’s showing the next step, but not the whole way.”
Collins is skilled at connecting with students, Madeline Estep, a Christian ministries and biblical literature junior, said. Estep has taken a class with Collins every semester during her time at Taylor. Collins was also her mother’s youth pastor.
“(His retirement is) definitely a loss to the program, because of the impact he’s had,” she said. “I hesitate to say that, because I know that they will bring in someone who's wonderful as well, but I think he has so much wisdom, and he's such a grounding force for the Christian ministries program.”
Estep can’t imagine the impact Collins has had on campus. He constantly reminds people that Jesus is beautiful and points them to the gospel, she said.
His Scripture engagement minor has been particularly beneficial, too, she said. Knowing how to engage Scripture and make it meaningful is an essential skill for life, not just a hobby for college. The Scripture engagement minor helps make this possible, she said.
Collins’ legacy has not only impacted campus but also the world, as Taylor’s graduates disperse and minister to their wider communities, she said.
Once (partially) retired, Collins is excited to pursue his carpentry hobby by helping his daughter’s family build a house, he said. He also anticipates spending more time with his grandkids.
Estep and Prewitt will miss Collins, but they’re happy he’ll be spending time with the family he constantly mentions in class, they said.
“I'm gonna be so sad,” Estep said. “But I'm also really excited for him, because he's gonna go hang out with his grandkids and build a house for his daughter. And that's super cute.”
