Logan Isaac

Logan M. Isaac grew up in Tustin, CA as Logan Mehl-Laituri and joined the Army in 2000 right out of high school to escape “The OC” and earn money for college. He began his military career as a forward observer in the 82nd Airborne where, as a Private First Class, he became the lowest ranking paratrooper in the history of the Advanced Airborne School to earn a First Time Go for the prestigious Jumpmaster Pretest. After 9/11, he reenlisted in order to transfer to Schofield Barracks, HI and increase the likelihood that he would be picked up for a Green to Gold scholarship and transition to the Officer Corps. He left Fort Bragg on December 20, 2002 and his unit was locked down to deploy to Kuwait for Operation Iraqi Freedom less than ten days later. The 25th Infantry Division (Light) received orders to deploy just a few months into his Hawaii assignment, and he decided to deploy rather than continue his education at that time. Logan left for Iraq in January 2004, serving during the Transition of Authority as well as the country’s first free elections before redeploying home in February 2005.

Once home, Logan began night classes in religion, awakening an interest in theology and desire for learning more about his faith. Although pacifist influences in his life lead him to feel deeply conflicted about being in the Field Artillery command field, his deep patriotism and years of experience on active duty compelled him to remain in the military. In 2006, he applied to be a noncombatant conscientious objector a few weeks before his unit again came under deployment orders. Despite his best efforts, and a desire to return to the Middle East, Logan was discharged honorably as a noncommissioned officer shortly thereafter. Even after Basic, Airborne, and Air Assault training, the most painful day of his military career was watching his unit deploy without him in August 2006.

His desire to return to the Middle East was realized in November 2006, when he went to Israel and Palestine with Christian Peacemaker Teams. Logan started his undergraduate education in 2008 at Hawaii Pacific University and returned to Iraq as a consultant and translator in January 2010 with Shane Claiborne for Greg Barrett’s The Gospel of Rutba.  He received his Bachelor of Human Service with a concentration in Organizational Management in July of that year and immediately transitioned to a Master of Theological Studies program at Duke Divinity School. During his time at Duke University, he founded a student veterans association, convened a record-breaking conference on Veterans Day 2011, and wrote two books. After graduating with an MTS and a Certificate in Gender, Theology, and Ministry, Logan took a position teaching at Methodist University in 2013. After getting married to his seminary sweetheart, Laura Tardie (and taking the name Isaac with her), he travelled to Scotland to study under NT Wright for a Master of Letters in Systematic and Historical Theology. He completed his second graduate degree in 2015 and returned to teaching, this time at Duke University. He is now a sought after speaker, writer, educator, and consultant.

Logan M. Isaac is the author, as Logan Mehl-Laituri, of Reborn on the Fourth of July (InterVarsity, 2012) and For God & Country [in that order] (Herald, 2013).