Annual Faculty Update (2017-2018)

At Phoenix Seminary, we live and labor according to our motto, “Scholarship with a Shepherd’s Heart.” In 2017–2018, the faculty has worked in countless ways. In addition to teaching, preaching, and service in the local church and the seminary, they have prepared conference papers to be delivered at the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS; Denver, CO) and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL; Denver, CO). They have been researching, writing, and publishing books and articles; going overseas on missions’ work; engaging in local church ministries; and counseling in clinical settings.

By the Lord’s grace, the faculty engages at both the highest ranks of scholarship and in the life of the local church for the glory of God. The accomplishments listed below only provide a sample of the work of the faculty, but we list them so that we can thank God for his provision of strength to carry out the work.

Brian Arnold

Preaching: Dr. Arnold has been an active preacher in Phoenix this year, preaching in at least five different churches.

Presentations: (1) ETS. Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 2:00 p.m.: “To Behold Its Own Delight”: The Beatific Vision in Irenaeus of Lyons. (2) Dr. Arnold also presented on his recent book at our Night with the Professors event.

Publications: (1) Justification in the Second Century (paperback), (Waco, TX: Baylor, 2018). (2) Cyprian of Carthage: Life and Impact (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2018). Dr. Arnold is currently working on a book on Irenaeus’s spirituality (Lexham) and a commentary on the Epistle to Diognetus (Cascade) with Michael A. G. Haykin.

Social Media: Dr. Arnold is active on Twitter.

John DelHousaye

Conference: (1) Dr. DelHousaye presented “‘The Lord Said to my Lord’: a survey of Trinitarian Throne Conversations in the New Testament and Their Influence on Early Christology” at the Far West Evangelical Theological Society Meeting (2018). (2) He will co-teach a Collective on anxiety for the Spiritual Formation Society of Arizona in September. (3) He will also present a paper at national ETS meeting in Denver.

Publications: (1) Engaging Ephesians: An Intermediate Reader and Exegetical Guide (GlossaHouse, 2018). (2) “Luke’s Baptist in John’s Gospel,” in Early Christianity and its Hellenistic Context 4, edited by Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts (Brill, expected Aug. 2018). (3) “Christ the King” in CSB Baker Illustrated Study Bible, expected Nov. 2018. (4) Co-edited and contributed “Across the Kidron: Reading the Psalms with David and Jesus” in Scripture and The People of God: Essays in Honor of Wayne Grudem (Crossway, expected Nov. 2018).

Social Media: Dr. DelHousaye is active on Twitter.

Wayne Grudem

Presentation: ETS. Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 11:30 a.m.: “What Does It Mean to ‘Be Led by the Spirit’ (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18)?”

Publications: (1) Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique (Crossway, 2017). Co-edited with J. P. Moreland, Stephen Meyer, and Chris Shaw. (2) Redeeming the Life of the Mind: Essays in Honor of Vern Poythress, Co-edited with John Frame and John J. Hughes; Foreword by J. I. Packer (Crossway, 2017). (3) Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning (Crossway, 2018).

Website: you can follow Dr. Grudem's ministry and publications from his own personal website.

Peter Gurry

Presentations: (1) ETS. Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 3:50 p.m.: “A Book ‘Worth Publishing’: The Making of Westcott and Hort’s Monumental Edition of the Greek New Testament”; (2) SBL. Sunday, Nov. 18 at 1:00 p.m.: “Pedagogical Reflections on the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method.” (3) Dr. Gurry also presented on his recent book at our Night with the Professors event.

Publications: (1) “‘A Book Worth Publishing’: The Making of Westcott and Hort’s Greek New Testament (1881),” in The Future of Textual Scholarship on the New Testament, WUNT, edited by Garrick V. Allen (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018); (2) “The Harklean Syriac and the Development of the Byzantine Text: A Historical Test for the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM),” Novum Testamentum 60.2 (2018): 183–200; (3) “Are We Proclaiming a Hell We Don’t Deserve—and a Christ We Do?” The Gospel Coalition, April 9, 2018.

Blogging / Social Media: Dr. Gurry blogs frequently at Evangelical Textual Criticism. He is also on Twitter.

Bingham Hunter

Administration: The seminary was blessed during the 17–18 academic year by the decision of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) to extend our accreditation for 10 years. We also received 10-year accreditation from the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). Both agencies commended the school on the quality of its faculty.

Transition: Phoenix Seminary lost a godly and gifted colleague when our brother, Dr. Charles “Chip” Moody, passed into the presence of our Lord following a long bout with cancer. Dr. Joshua Anderson has assumed Chip’s responsibilities as Dean of Students.

New Academic Program: During the 17–18 academic year both HLC and ATS commissions approved the seminary’s petitions to offer the Master of Theology (Th.M.) program. This research-orientated program will be small and admissions competitive. Dr. Brian Arnold has been appointed as Director of the program.

Campus Move: 2017–18 saw the seminary move its entire campus from the leased facility on Thomas Road in Phoenix to a new campus at 7901 East Shea Blvd. Scottsdale. The ATS visiting team described the new facilities as exceptional. In addition to the collection, the new Biblical Research Center (library) will house faculty offices.

Jonathan Logan

Preaching: Pastor Logan has been busy preaching and teaching at Antioch Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the church he pastors, and several other churches throughout the valley.

Presentations: Arizona Jurisdiction COGIC, “Chosen to Proclaim and Impact the Kingdom” and “Advice to the Preacher Who Wants to Season the World.” COGIC International Leadership Conference “Shepherding God’s People with Integrity.”

Missions: Conducted a mission trip to Hyderabad, India that ministered to a leper colony, provided sewing machines to widows, and provided food to the homeless. Assisted several pastors in Uganda East Africa build their sanctuary, upgrade their school, and purchase property for ministry expansion.

Publications: Wrote and implemented new curriculum for Arizona Jurisdiction COGIC Ordination Board. Wrote proposal for Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary that was accepted by Fuller’s Doctoral Projects Committee.

John Meade

Speaking: (1) Library Lecture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary on Origen's Hexapla. (2) Library Talk on the Formation of the Canon at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. (3) Two talks on the Canon of Scripture at Clearview Church: "Why Does our (Protestant) Bible have the Books it Does?" and "The Biblical Canon Lists." [View them on the PS blog here.]

Presentations: (1) ETS. Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 4:40 p.m.: "The Canonicity of Esther in Early Jewish & Christian Sources: A Case Study for Evaluating Canon." (2) SBL. Sunday, Nov. 18 at 2:30 p.m.: "The Dream for a 'Field for the Twenty-First Century' Endures: A Description and Defense of the New Critical Edition of Job 22–42."

Publications: (1) The Biblical Canon Lists from Early Christianity: Texts and Analysis. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018). Co-authored with Edmon Gallagher.  (2) "The Origins of the Reformation Bible." OUP Academic Blog (January 2018). Co-authored with Edmon Gallagher. (3) “Was there a ‘Septuagint Canon’?” Didaktikos 1.3 (2018): 40–2. [Logos Academic Blog Version].

Blogging / Social Media: Dr. Meade blogs at Septuagint Studies and at Evangelical Textual Criticism. He is also active on Twitter.

Steve Tracy

Presentations: (1) ETS. November 13, 2018 at 3:40 p.m.: “Sexual Abuse, Gender and Power: Developing a Theological Response for the Church and Academy.” (2) Redemption Church, Tempe, Mental Health and the Gospel Conference, March 2018, “The Burden of the Call: How Caring Requires Sacrifice,” and “Trauma and Abuse: From Shalom to Shattered to Restored.” (3) Dr. Tracy regularly preaches in local churches.

Missions: (1) In January/February 2018, Dr. Tracy conducted three weeks of ministry to East African Christian and community leaders. (2) In the Spring, he spent a month leading two short-term teams conducting trauma ministry intensives for South Sudanese pastors and ministry leaders living in refugee camps in northern Uganda. You can read updates on this ministry here.

Parachurch: Dr. Tracy serves as the president and international director of Mending the Soul Ministries, a Christian nonprofit which creates written resources and trainings on trauma, abuse, and sexuality for domestic and global use.

Publications: (1) Caring for the Vulnerable Child: Welcoming Children Who Have Experienced Neglect, Abandonment, and Abuse. Co-authored with Celestia Tracy, forthcoming. (2) “Abuse and Shame: How the Cross Transforms Sexual Shame,” in Honor, Shame, and the Gospel: Reframing Our Message for 21st-Century Ministry, William Carey Publishing, forthcoming.