Every once in awhile, I meet someone or read someone’s book and the language of their life speaks to me in a way that entirely overwhelms me because I can see so much of who I am or who I want to be in them. Dr. Amanda Kaminski, a recent faculty member here at Texas Lutheran University, is one of those people to me. She has a type of charm and charisma to her that is magnetic and is one of the reasons that she is quickly becoming one of the most beloved professors on campus. This makes her an engaging teacher as she takes on topics in theology and social entrepreneurship— though it should be noted that all her courses are truly interdisciplinary as she is able to connect different fields and make them all come to life. 

With all this in mind, it should come as no surprise that as someone who asks everyone the question “what gives your life meaning?” I was compelled to sit down with Dr. Kaminski and pick her mind about it. When I sat down with her I should have known better and recorded the conversation instead of just taking notes, especially, since when I am in her one of her classes I get really in the moment of whatever she is saying and forget to jot things down. This was a similar situation.

The starting point of our conversation was centered around Dr. Kaminski’s draw to the catechism line that states that the chief end of human’s is “to love God and enjoy him forever.” (She notes that, personally, she would not use gendered language in this.) Her draw to this is apparent in the different movements that have impacted her formation— specifically a particular branch of neo- reformed theology. She came to a lot of this thought and exploration in her undergraduate years. This helped her develop her thinking around how she lives her life as being able to enjoy beauty and pleasure without compromising her desire to be in relationship with God. She holds her calling for love, passion, and fun as imbued in her ethics that are ultimately glorifying God. These are not opposing ideas but instead two things she can hold as true. Dr. Kaminski often encourages holding what might seem like paradoxes. She mentioned having to reconcile embodied experiences with suffering; a topic I can only imagine will be discussed in her course Biblical Spiritualities of Suffering that is being offered this coming fall semester.

After some much enjoyed stories and explanations, Dr. Kaminski deduced that what gives her life meaning is intellectualism, community, expression, and the type of growth and transformation that is immersed in change. It takes only briefly meeting her to notice that she is the walking embodiment of these values. She believes we are only limited to our imagination and that the language and semiotics we use shape that and therefore are worth exploring in detail. She preaches that this should be done with thoughtfulness. This naturally leads into community. Dr. Kaminski views community as something that shouldn’t be confined to the church building but is extended beyond to the outside community. This extension is how her re-imagining is put into action and this leads us to expression. Expression is the performance, the living out, of these values and re-imaginations. Her recent work to reevaluate the theology degree plan, where the new plan is much more expansive allowing for six different concentrations within the theology curriculum, as well as her creation of the @tluthinkingtheo instagram, that has created a digital meeting place for those interested in theology to explore together on and offline, is only the tip of the iceberg in her pursuit to live out her values fully. The growth and transformation aspect of her life’s meaning is evident as she takes on each new venture and fully commits to it in a way that allows for evaluation and reformation within it.

The intentionality surrounding Dr. Kaminski’s life is inspiring and exactly what I was hoping I would stumble into when I started out asking people what gives their life meaning. Her exploration of meaning influences the questions I have when exploring my own which is always the more selfish goal of my project. I feel honored and entirely grateful that she is so willing to take time out of her busy schedule to sit down with me as well as for her impact at Texas Lutheran University.