Theology That Becomes Biography
The Blog of Daniel R. Hyde
“Theology that does not become biography is wishful thinking.”
That line from my college professor, Ronald Wright, has shaped my life, preaching, and writing.
I’m Daniel R. Hyde, pastor of Oceanside United Reformed Church in Carlsbad, California, and this is where I think out loud about Reformed theology and what it looks like lived out.
Here you’ll find short posts on the Christian life, confessional (Dutch) Reformed identity, reflections on expository preaching, notes on the books I’m reading, news about my own writing, and word of what's happening in our congregation.
Some of it is doctrinal. Some of it is pastoral. Most of it is both, because it’s not healthy to separate the two.
You can also browse my books, sermons and teaching series, articles, and translated articles published over the years.
A Christian’s Pocket Guide to the Presence of God Featured on The Heidelblog
Too many Christians talk about God's presence like the weather. On the Heidelblog, I explain why I wrote A Christian's Pocket Guide to the Presence of God.
Daniel R. Hyde Interviewed on Christ the Center
Daniel R. Hyde joins the Christ the Center podcast to discuss A Christian’s Pocket Guide to the Presence of God (Christian Focus, 2026), tracing the theme from Eden’s garden sanctuary through the tabernacle, temple, exile, incarnation, church, and new creation. Scripture’s map of God’s presence leads not to a sacred location or spiritual sensation, but to a Person: Jesus Christ, the temple and glory of God among us.
New Book by Oceanside Pastor Explores the God Who Draws Near
Daniel R. Hyde's new book from Christian Focus traces God's presence from Eden to the New Creation — a concise, biblical guide for everyday Christians.
New Book Announcement: Walk: Setting Out on the Christian Life
I’m excited to announce my new book, Walk: Setting Out on the Christian Life—a short, pastoral guide for new Christians, seekers, and anyone wanting to return to the basics of following Jesus.
A Christian’s Pocket Guide to the Presence of God
God's presence isn't a feeling or a mystical experience — it's the covenantal nearness of Father, Son, and Spirit. My new book traces that story from Eden to the New Creation. Out now from Christian Focus.
Book Notices (August 2025)
Three books from August: Bryant Rueda's Screwtape-style letters to preachers, William Whitaker's sixteenth-century defense of Scripture against Bellarmine, and a thousand aphorisms from Campegius Vitringa.