Rev. Dr. Puffer became a follower of Christ in his sophomore year at Michigan State University. This transformation prompted him to abandon his dream job, veterinarian, and re-direct his ambitions toward serving as a missionary with CRU (or back then, Campus Crusade for Christ).

Twelve years of discipleship experience exposed a need for theological and psychological training. Over the years of 1986-1998, Rev. Dr. Puffer earned two master's degrees (i.e., Theological Studies and Counseling Psychology), a doctorate in Counseling, and was ordained by the Evangelical Church Alliance.

His calling and mission as an apprentice of Christ is to help fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28) – making disciples through the roles of professor, therapist, and researcher.

Presently, he teaches psychology to undergraduates and counsels in his small private practice as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the state of Indiana. 

PROJECTS

• The relationship between religious belief, doubt, and unbelief
• Helping Protestant undergraduates manage their religious doubt
• Predicting religious undergraduates’ career development: The salient roles of religious calling, life satisfaction, and quest religiosity
• Improving freshmen’s emotional intelligence
• Adaptive negative emotions in career development
• Edward A. Pace – a 19th-century role model for 21st century psychologically
• trained professionals and undergraduates.
• Protestant millennials, religious doubt, and the local church
• Heart of wisdom (Ps 90:12) – numbering the days of life for authentic coping
• Facilitating emotional awareness in career development
• Religious doubt and social personality traits
• Emotional intelligence and undergraduates career development
• The schizophrenic experiences of an adult woman
• Religious doubt and adolescent identity formation
• Biblical assumptions of human nature for Christian mental health professionals
• The church as an agent of help in battling late life depression
• Family influences in undergraduates' career development
• The neglect of reproving behavior in small groups in a campus ministry