Week 3, Faith and Family: My Cornerstones
This week, we sat down with President Sutton to learn more about his family. Read on to discover his roots and get to know him on a more personal level.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your family?
A: My wife Brooke and I met in graduate school in Kansas. She is an exceptionally talented English teacher at a Christian high school, but more importantly, she is a supportive and loving wife and mother. We are both passionate about Christian education and its cultural importance, so we talk about education a lot at home. She is my best friend and my sounding board, and she covers me in prayer every day. My life has been immeasurably richer since we met.
We are extremely proud of our three children. Our oldest, Isaac, is a state trooper in Minnesota. He puts his life on the line and serves his community every day. He is thoughtful in the way he interacts with people, and he makes a significant impact on people’s lives. He is one of the most courageous people I have ever known. He is also an accomplished guitarist and drummer.
Our middle son, Ian, works for an insurance agency in Oklahoma. When Ian graduated from college, he won the awards for Outstanding Student in his Management concentration as well as the overall Outstanding Student in the Business Department. He is one of the best strategic problem-solvers I have ever known, and he improves his environment everywhere he goes.
Our youngest, Ireland, is a Hospitality and Event Management major at Warner, and she is set to graduate in December 2025. She has a gift for hospitality, and she also has an amazing singing voice that she uses to lead worship at her church. She can walk into a room and calm almost any situation. She is one of the most skilled peacemakers I have ever known.
Our children are all so talented that they must take after their mother. I marvel daily at the family God has given me. I am blessed beyond measure. We also have four beautiful grandchildren. Unfortunately, they all live far away, but we treasure our time with them.
Q: How has your faith shaped your approach to leadership and decision-making?
A: Because God has given us his written word, we have a guidebook for life, and it applies to all areas of life. I have a high view of Scripture and strive to apply it to leadership.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Josiah’s kingship. Josiah was one of the last kings of Judah—and Judah, just like Israel, had strayed from God’s laws and had experienced a series of bad kings who fostered a culture of idol worship. In fact, idol worship had become so rampant, and the leaders and citizenry had strayed so far from God’s laws, that the people no longer even realized that a book of God’s laws existed. According to 2 Kings 22:8 and 2 Chronicles 34:14, the Book of the Law (Scripture) was found during Josiah’s reign, and when Josiah heard the Book of the Law read aloud, he tore his robes because he realized how much God’s anger burned against the nation due to previous generations’ disobedience. Josiah responded appropriately and called together “all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem” and renewed the people’s covenant with God (2 Kings 23:1–3; 2 Chronicles 34:29–31).
Then Josiah went to work not only tearing down the idols but also destroying them completely. Josiah’s obedience to a centuries-old command of God—one that had been ignored by many kings of both Judah and Israel—was thorough.
And Josiah’s obedience led to God’s blessing. Even though God had already determined to bring disaster upon Judah because of generations of idol worship, God promised Josiah that he would stay his hand while Josiah was alive: he would not allow the obedient king to see the demise of his nation (2 Kings 22:20).
Josiah understood two important leadership realities. He understood that both sin and obedience have spiritual consequences, and he understood the importance of culture—of promoting God and his ways and protecting people from influences that lead them away from God. These are significant lessons for leaders in Christian higher education.
Q: How do you and your family stay spiritually connected with one another?
A: I think it’s important to talk about the things of God at home. Brooke and I always have. It can be easy to allow all family conversation to become about other things—work, hobbies, the news, anything really. But Brooke and I, and the kids, have always been intentional about framing even those things in the context of Scripture. We reflect on our workdays as ministry, and we discuss the news, cultural events, and social trends from a biblical perspective. By doing this, we learn how to think about certain things that perhaps we’ve never had to think about, and we help steer each other toward truth.
Q: What’s one lesson from your parents or upbringing that continues to influence you today?
A: I am so thankful that my parents taught me how to work hard. That was one of the best gifts they gave me. Being a university president is very hard work, and I would not be able to do the job if my parents had not instilled in me a strong work ethic.
Q: How does your family support you in your work at Warner University?
A: My family understands the value and importance of Christian education. All three of our children have attended Christian universities, and our daughter attended a Christian junior high and high school. My wife has also been a Christian school teacher for a number of years, and now one of our sons is sending his son to a Christian school. The fact that they themselves value Christian education and understand its importance is a huge support to me because one of my tasks as the president is to communicate to the greater Christian community why Christian education is of such consequence, and they help me do that in myriad ways. They understand what is at stake and therefore understand my passion for Christian education. Their understanding is a huge blessing and support.
Q: What advice would you give to students about balancing faith, work, and relationships?
A: When Brooke and I were in our early thirties, we had a parachurch ministry about the concept of teamwork within the church. Through that ministry, we really embraced the idea of viewing our family as a ministry team. Such a perspective can really change things because so much more becomes meaningful. I would also add—and this is something we try to teach at Warner—that believers must find meaning in their work. Whether we are bankers or business owners or nurses, God is sovereign and puts us in places and calls us to tasks so that we can serve him and others. Understanding the potential to make a kingdom impact in our vocations is one of the keys to true happiness, I believe.
Q: What do you pray most often for—personally and professionally?
A: Personally, I pray (and thank God) for the health and safety of my family and that God will use me to speak truth, encouragement, or the gospel into someone’s life. Professionally, I pray for Warner University’s influence to increase, because the Warner University education is extremely consequential.
Q: What’s one Bible verse or passage that your family returns to again and again? Why?
A: As Christian educators in a culture that is in many ways antagonistic to biblical truth, Brooke and I are anchored in our work by Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” There is definitely a lot of “hollow and deceptive philosophy” in the educational world today, and Brooke and I are adamant about helping students see it and showing them why the wisdom of Christ is better.
