The Day I Defended a Doctorate with a Concussion

Before I officially became “Dr. Agnew,” I met Dr. Al Mohler at a graduate reception for the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at his home in Louisville. As I shook his hand and started to explain that my doctoral work focused on family discipleship, he interrupted me with a surprising question:

“Are you the guy who had the concussion during his doctoral defense?”

“Why, yes I am.”

“Well, that’s a first for us. Good job.”

That was my only interaction with him, but to this day, when people ask, “Does Al Mohler know you?” I usually say no. But maybe he does. The man has a mind like an encyclopedia—he might actually remember.

And if I had any doubt, it was erased the next day. As I walked across the stage at graduation, Dr. Mohler nodded at me with a knowing look. He said, “Congratulations, Dr. Agnew.  Great job!” I could almost hear him saying with his eyes, “Congratulations, Dr. Concussion.”

Here’s the backstory.

On the morning of my doctoral defense, I was driving through pouring rain in my wife’s car when I hydroplaned on the interstate. I narrowly avoided other vehicles and slammed into the guardrail. I sat there in shock. A police officer—who happened to be a student at Southern Seminary—helped me get a rental car so I could continue my trip.

I arrived on campus, cleaned myself up in the bathroom, and walked into the room to defend years of research—still dazed and foggy. I answered the questions, not at my best but well enough. Afterward, Dr. Chuck Lawless asked me if I ever got checked out after the wreck. I hadn’t. When he told me I had passed and said, “Congratulations, Dr. Agnew,” I stepped out of the room, called my wife, and began to cry. I’m not a crier.

Later, I looked up the symptoms of a concussion. Turns out, unexpected weepiness is one of them.

The Point

I didn’t plan for that moment to define the culmination of my seminary career. I never asked for that wreck or the foggy defense. But somehow, it’s what some people remember.

And that’s the way life works sometimes.

We try to craft the highlights of our lives—the degrees, the titles, the projects. But God often uses the moments we didn’t plan, didn’t want, and didn’t expect. Sometimes, people remember us not for the polished contributions we worked hard to present, but for the way we showed up and persevered in the middle of chaos.

You may feel like your most meaningful moments are behind you or still ahead of you—but what if God is using this random, inconvenient chapter right now? The accident you didn’t ask for. The detour you didn’t plan. The fog you’re still walking through.

He doesn’t waste anything—not even concussions.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
—Romans 8:28