PTS Out and About

Name	Dates(s)	Location	Event Description
Scott Hagley	April 18-21	Denver, Colo.	Teaching for the Church Planting Certificate Intensive
Heather Vacek	April 18-22	Corpus Christi, Texas	Participating in Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion 2017-2018 Colloquy for Theological Deans
Hunter Farrell and Bala Khyllep	April 19	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Conducting Pittsburgh Presbytery Western Branch Mission Leader Training at Unity PC
Hunter Farrell	April 22	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Speaking at Southminister PC
Bala Khyllep	April 22	Monroeville, Pa.	Teaching adult education class at Cross Roads PC
Leanna Fuller	April 22	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Preaching at Community House PC
Ken Woo	April 22	McDonald, Pa.	Preaching at Gladden UPC
Hunter Farrell and Bala Khyllep	April 26	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Presenting for Christian Educators of Pittsburgh Presbytery at Southminster PC
Brian Wells	April 29	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Preaching at Community House Church
Ron Tappy	April 29	Bethel Park, Pa.	Teaching Adult Education at Christ UMC
Karen Rohrer	May 2	Los Angeles, Calif.	Speaking for Cyclical LA Church Starter Lunch
Scott Hagley	May 4-5	Denver, Colo.	Speaking at the 1001 New Worshipping Communities regional gathering
Bala Khyllep	May 5	Slippery Rock, Pa.	Leading workshop for East Liberty PC's All Church Retreat at Crestfield Camp and Conference Center
Leanna Fuller	May 6	Evans City, Pa.	Preaching at the installation of the Rev. Lisa Griffin at St. John's UCC
Ron Tappy	May 6	Bethel Park, Pa.	Teaching Adult Education at Christ UMC
Leanna Fuller	May 8-10	Indianapolis, Ind.	Attending "A Convocation of Christian Leaders"
Tracy Riggle Young	May 11	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Representing PTS at the Pittsburgh Pastoral Care Conference
Hunter Farrell	May 12-13	Bloomfield, Mich.	Giving keynote address for Mission Conference and preaching at Kirk in the Hills PC
Derek Davenport	May 13	Clinton, Pa.	Preaching at Clinton PC
Ron Tappy	May 13, 20	Bethel Park, Pa.	Teaching Adult Education at Christ UMC
Leanna Fuller	May 20	Fox Chapel, Pa.	Teaching Adult Education at Fox Chapel PC
Brian Wells	May 21-25	Washington, D.C.	Representing PTS at the Festival of Homiletics
Steve Tuell	June 3	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Preaching at Allegheny County Jail
Brian Wells	June 3-8	Hampton, Va.	Representing PTS at Hampton University's Ministers Conference
Ken Woo	June 10	Claysville, Pa.	Preaching at United PC of Claysville
Brian Wells	June 10	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Preaching at Beulah PC
Leanna Fuller	June 14-16	Atlanta, Ga.	Facilitating the Church and Christian Formation study group at the Society for Pastoral Theology's annual meeting
Hunter Farrell and Bala Khyllep	June 14-17	Notre Dame, Ind.	Representing PTS at the American Society of Missiology's annual meeting and Board of Directors meeting at the University of Notre Dame
Carolyn Cranston, David Esterline, Christine Chakoian, Hunter Farrell, Tracy Riggle Young, et al.	June 16-23	St. Louis, Mo.	Representing PTS at the PCUSA General Assembly June 19, Reception June 20, Luncheon
Karen Rohrer	June 18-22	Zurich, Switzerland	International Research Consortium
Edwin van Driel	June 19	Zurich, Switzerland	Presenting "Volkskirche on the Margins: Missional-Ecclesiological Lessons from the Swiss Church" at the International Research Consortium meeting
Angela Hancock	June 21-23	Princeton, N.J.	Leading workshop on "Sermon Purgatory with Karl Barth" at the 2018 Barth Pastors Conference, Princeton Theological Seminary
Roger Owens	June 24	Holden Beach, N.C.	Preacing at Holden Beach Chapel
Ken Woo	June 25-30	Crawfordsville, Ind.	Participating in Wabash Center Teaching and Learning Workshop for Early Career Religion Faculty of Asian and Pacific Islander Descent
Leanna Fuller	July 1	McDonald, Pa.	Preaching at Gladden UPC
Shan Overton	July 6-8	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Leading contemplative writing workshops at Allies for Health & Wellbeing's annual retreat
Roger Owens	July 8	Encinitas, Calif.	Preaching at San Dieguito UMC
Bala Khyllep	July 20-27	New Wilmington, Pa.	Representing PTS at the New Wilmington Mission Conference
Roger Owens	July 29-Aug. 3	Danville, Calif.	Giving five lectures on the history of Christian Spirituality for the Academy for Spiritual Formation held at San Damiano Retreat Center
Drew Smith	Aug. 15	Johannesburg, South Africa	Presenting "Theological Critiques of Race-Based Economic Inequality in the U.S. and South Africa" at the conference on Religion and Racial Justice in South Africa and the United States, held at The Jesuit Institute
Drew Smith	Aug. 17	Pretoria, South Africa	Giving public lecture for the Urban Ministry Consultation at the University of Pretoria
Leanna Fuller	Aug. 19	McDonald, Pa.	Preaching at Gladden UPC
Rogers Owens	Aug. 27-31	Gallant, Ala.	Giving five lectures on attentiveness to God in the reading of Scripture for the Academy for Spiritual Formation held at Camp Sumatanga
Hunter Farrell and Bala Khyllep	Sept. 6	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Conducting Pittsburgh Presbytery Western Branch Mission Leader Training at Unity PC
Leanna Fuller	Sept. 29	Zelienople, Pa.	Leading annual retreat for Calvin PC
Hunter Farrell and Bala Khyllep	Oct. 6, 13	Greensburg, Pa.	Leading education class at Westminster PC
Hunter Farrell	Oct. 7	Greensburg, Pa.	Preaching on World Communion Sunday at Westminster PC
Ron Tappy	Oct. 19	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Lecturing at Byzantine Catholic Seminary of Ss. Cyril and Methodius
Hunter Farrell and Bala Khyllep	Nov. 11	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Conducting Pittsburgh Presbytery Western Branch Mission Leader Training at Unity PC
Hunter Farrell	Oct. 7-9, 2019	Mt. Pleasant, Pa.	Giving keynote address and workshop at Wee Kir's Northeast USA annual meeting

 

Archaeology

• Archaeology of the Ancient Near East/Old Testament World (Tappy)
• Jerusalem and Samaria: Royal Cities of Ancient Israel (Tappy)
• The Samaria Ostraca (Tappy)
• Tel Zayit: A Biblical Village in the Foothills of Judah (Tappy)
• The Tell Dan Inscription and the House of David (Tappy)

Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Exegesis

• Aramaic (Tuell)
• Biblical Hebrew and Exegesis (Creach, Tappy, Tuell)
• New Testament Greek and Exegesis (Ferda)
• Northwest Semitic Languages (Tappy, Creach)
• Ugaritic (Tuell)

Biblical Backgrounds

• Biblical Archaeology (Tappy)
• Biblical Literature of the Early Persian Period (esp. Ezekiel, Chronicles) (Tuell)
• Dead Sea Scrolls (Ferda)
• Extrabiblical Texts and What They Tell Us about Biblical Israel (Tappy)
• Hellenistic Jewish Literature (Humphrey, Ferda)
• Historical Geography of the Holy Land (Tappy)
• History of the Ancient Near East (Tappy)
• History of the Religions of Israel (Tappy)
• Jerusalem and Samaria: Royal Cities of Ancient Israel (Tappy)
• Kinship and Covenant in the Biblical World (Tappy)
• The Tel Zayit Abecedary and the Origins of the Alphabet (Tappy)

Christian History

• African Church History (Wells)
• Asian-American History and Theological Perspectives (Woo)
• Book of Acts (Esterline, Humphrey, Ferda)
• Christian Responses to Persecution (Woo)
• Christianity in America (Vacek)
• Church Architecture (D. Davenport)
• Church History (Burgess)
• Early Christian Experience in Africa (Wells)
• The Early Church/Church Fathers (Burgess, Humphrey, Ferda)
• Evangelicalism in North America (Hagley)
• Graphic Novels in American Christianity (D. Davenport)
• Gnosticism and the Church Fathers (Humphrey)
• History of Biblical Interpretation (Woo, Ferda)
• History of Christianity from Late Antiquity to the Present (Woo)
• History of Christian Mission (Hagley)
• History of the Christian Tradition (Vacek)
• History of Presbyterian Mission (Farrell)
• Irenaeus (Humphrey)
• John Calvin and Civil Disobedience (Hancock)
• History of Black Presbyterians (Wells)
• History of Protestants and Mental Illness in America (Vacek)
• Protestant-Catholic Tensions in Early America (D. Davenport)
• Pulpit, Politics, and Pathos: Protestant Rhetoric and the National Socialist Revolution (Hancock)
• Reformation History (Woo)
• Twentieth-century American Protestantism (Vacek)
• Worship in the Bible and the History of the Church (Humphrey)

Christian Leadership

• Adaptive and Missional Leadership (Owens)
• Church Planting and Revitalization (Rohrer)
• Congregational Discernment (Owens)
• Congregational Mission and Leadership (Farrell, Hagley)
• Continuing Education for Christian Leaders (Blier, Esterline)
• Leading Bible Studies (Ferda)
• Motivating Congregations for Mission (Hagley)
• Nurturing Missional Mindset through Global Worship Music (K. Smith)
• Spiritual Formation (Owens, Ferda)
• Spirituality for Christian Leadership (Owens)
• Stewardship (Cranston)
• Teaching through Sacred Music (E. Davenport, K. Smith)

Christian Ministry

• Adult/Young Adult Ministry (Blier)
• Death, Dying, and Grief (Fuller)
• History of Protestants and Mental Illness in America (Vacek)
• Mental Health (E. Davenport)
• Older Adult Ministry (E. Davenport)
• Sharing the Good News (Hagley)
• Social Work (E. Davenport)
• Theologies of Disability and Suffering (Vacek)
• Youth Ministry (Hagley, Blier, D. Davenport, E. Davenport)

The Church and Contemporary Churches

• African-American Churches (D. Smith)
• Adaptive and Missional Leadership (Owens)
• Children and Youth in Worship (E. Davenport)
• Christian Responses to Persecution (Woo)
• Church Planting and Revitalization (Rohrer)
• Church and Politics in Russia and Ukraine (Burgess)
• Church Unity and Division: How to Think Faithfully (Burgess)
• The Church around the World (Esterline)
• The Church in Africa (D. Smith, Farrell)
• Churches in the African Diaspora (D. Smith)
• Churches and Social and Demographic Change (D. Smith)
• Conflict in Congregations (Fuller)
• Congregational Discernment (Owens)
• Family Systems Theory and Congregational Life (Fuller)
• Global and Ecumenical Theological Education (Esterline)
• The Missional Church: Its Identity (Hagley)
• Safe Church Practices (E. Davenport)
• Urban Churches (D. Smith, Owens, Gonxhe)
• What It Means to “Be” Church (van Driel)
• When Faithful People Disagree: Deliberation as a Christian Practice (Hancock)

Faith and Science

• Christianity and Human Origins in the Light of Evolutionary Biology (Cole-Turner)
• Creation in Scripture (Tuell)
• Science and Theology: Their Relationship (Tuell)
• Transhumanism: Living as a Christian in an Age of Human Enhancement (Cole-Turner)
• What Christians Can Learn from Science (Cole-Turner)

Global and International Issues

• Addressing Socio-cultural Systems of Injustice (Gonxhe)
• Afrocentric Studies (Wells)
• Christian Responses to Persecution (Woo)
• Christianity and African Traditional Religions (Farrell, Gonxhe)
• Christianity and U.S. Foreign Policy (D. Smith)
• Church and Politics in Russia and Ukraine (Burgess)
• The Church around the World (Esterline)
• The Church in Africa (D. Smith, Farrell)
• Churches in the African Diaspora (D. Smith)
• The Church in Latin America (Farrell)
• Cross-cultural Conflict (Farrell)
• Global and Ecumenical Theological Education (Esterline)
• Global Gender Justice (Gonxhe, Riggle Young)
• Human Trafficking (Gonxhe)
• Religion and Social Movements (D. Smith, Riggle Young)
• World Mission and Justice (Farrell)

Mission

• Adaptive and Missional Leadership (Owens)
• Anthropological Tools for Cross-cultural Mission (Farrell)
• Christian Mission (Hagley)
• Church Planting (Hagley)
• Congregational Mission and Leadership (Farrell, Hagley)
• Cross-cultural Theological Education (Esterline)
• Cultural Proficiency (Farrell)
• Evangelism, Compassion, and Justice in Mission (Farrell)
• Gospel and Cultures (Hagley)
• Living Missionally (Hagley)
• Nurturing Missional Mindset through Global Worship Music (K. Smith)
• Presbyterian Mission (Farrell)
• Short-term Mission (Hagley, Farrell)
• World Mission (Farrell, Hagley)
• World Mission and Justice (Farrell)

New Testament Themes

• Book of Acts (Esterline, Humphrey, Ferda)
• Book of Revelation and Apocalyptic Literature (Humphrey)
• Discipleship in the New Testament (Ferda)
• First Corinthians (Esterline)
• Gospel of Luke (Esterline, Ferda)
• Gospel of Matthew (Ferda)
• Gospels and the Life of Jesus (Humphrey, Ferda)
• The Old Testament in the New (Ferda)
• Provocative Parables of Jesus (Hancock)
• Reading Mark as Story (Ferda)
• Writings of John (Humphrey)

Old Testament Themes

• The Battle of Lachish and the Theology of Jerusalem (Tappy)
• Biblical Literature of the Persian Period (Tuell)
• Book of Psalms (Creach)
• Ezekiel and the Minor Prophets (Tuell)
• Genesis and the Moral Imagination (Creach)
• Jacob, Esau, and Binding Kinship Ties (Tappy)
• Life and Times of Amos the Prophet (Tappy)
• Old Testament Ethics (Creach)
• Old Testament Historical Books (Tappy)
• The Old Testament in the New (Ferda)
• Old Testament Prophets (Creach, Tuell)
• Prophecy and Priesthood (Tuell)
• Psalm 23 and the Psalms of Trust (Tappy)
• The Ten Commandments for Today (Burgess)
• Violence in the Bible (Creach)
• Wisdom Literature (Creach)
• The Worship, Faith, and Temple Ideology of Ancient Israel (Tuell)

Practical Christian Living

• The Bath: Living into Your Baptism (Hancock)
• Christian Counseling (E. Davenport)
• Christianity, Race, and Class (D. Smith, Welch)
• Cultivating Scriptural Imagination (Ferda)
• Faith and Public Life (D. Smith)
• How to Listen to a Sermon (Hancock)
• How to Read the Bible (Tuell, Ferda)
• Leading Bible Studies (Ferda)
• Living Missionally (Hagley)
• Memory, Memorization, and Memory Tricks (D. Davenport)
• Practical Theodicy: What Do Christians Do when Bad Things Happen? (Hancock)
• Praying the Psalms (Hancock)
• Safe Church Practices (E. Davenport)
• Sanctity of Human Life (Humphrey)
• Sexuality and the Church (Humphrey)
• Sharing the Good News (Hagley)
• Social Work (E. Davenport)
• Spiritual Formation (Owens, Ferda)
• Stewardship (Cranston)
• The Ten Commandments for Today (Burgess)
• Vocational Discernment (Blier, D. Davenport)

Prayer

• Corporate Prayer (K. Smith)
• Liturgical Prayer (K. Smith)
• Prayer (Owens)
• Prayer in the Trinity (Cole-Turner)
• Praying the Psalms (Hancock)

Reformation Studies

• Anatomy of Grace (Hancock)
• Basics of Reformed Theology (Burgess)
• John Calvin and Civil Disobedience (Hancock)
• John Calvin and the Reformed Tradition (Woo)
• Karl Barth and the Practice of Biblical Interpretation (Hancock)
• Reformation History (Vacek, Woo)
• Reformed Spirituality (Cole-Turner)

Religions and Religious Traditions

• Christianity and African Traditional Religions (Farrell, Gonxhe)
• Christianity and Other Religions (Burgess)
• Doctrine of the Church (Humphrey)
• Ethiopian Orthodox Tradition (Wells)
• Evangelicalism in North America (Hagley)
• Gospel and Cultures (Hagley)
• History of the Christian Tradition (Vacek)
• History of the Religions of Israel (Tappy)
• John Calvin and the Reformed Tradition (Woo)
• Mythologies and Comparative Religions of the Ancient Near East (Tuell)
• Religion of Ancient Israel (Tuell)
• Russian Orthodox Church (Burgess)
• Scriptures and Tradition (Humphrey)
• Wesleyan Tradition (Morse)
• What Protestants Can Learn from Eastern Orthodox Tradition (Burgess)
• World Religions (Hagley, Ferda)

Social Issues

• Christianity, Race, and Class (D. Smith, Welch, Riggle Young)
• Christianity and U.S. Foreign Policy (D. Smith)
• Community Organizing (Wells)
• Educational Diversity (Esterline, Riggle Young)
• Ethnicity and Race Relations (Welch)
• History of Christianity and Politics in America (Vacek)
• Human Trafficking (Gonxhe)
• Mental Health (E. Davenport)
• Pulpit, Politics, and Pathos: Protestant Rhetoric and the National Socialist Revolution (Hancock)
• Religion and Public Life (D. Smith)
• Religion and Social Movements (D. Smith, Riggle Young)
• Social Work (E. Davenport)
• Sociology of Urban Religion (D. Smith)
• Urban Churches (D. Smith, Gonxhe)
• When Faithful People Disagree: Deliberation as a Christian Practice (Hancock)
• Youth Culture (D. Davenport, E. Davenport)

Social Justice

• Addressing Socio-cultural Systems of Injustice (Gonxhe, Riggle Young)
• Christian Responses to Persecution (Woo)
• Global Gender Justice (Gonxhe, Riggle Young)
• Justice for the Poor and Marginalized (Gonxhe, Riggle Young)
• Old Testament Prophets and the Call for Justice (Creach)
• Race, Racism, and White Privilege in the United States (Esterline, Welch)
• Social Justice and Social Work (E. Davenport)
• Social Justice and the Teachings of Jesus (Ferda)
• Violence against Women and Girls (Gonxhe, Riggle Young)
• World Mission and Justice (Farrell)

Spirituality

• Christian Spirituality (Owens)
• Discipleship in the New Testament (Ferda)
• False Self and True Self in Christian Spirituality (Owens)
• Prayer (Owens)
• Reformed Spirituality (Cole-Turner)
• Spiritual Formation (Owens, Ferda)
• Spirituality for Christian Leadership (Owens)
• Spirituality and the Holy Trinity (Humphrey)

Theological Education

• Continuing Education for Christian Leaders (Esterline, Blier)
• Cross-cultural Theological Education (Esterline)
• Global and Ecumenical Theological Education (Esterline)
• Theological Education for Adults/Young Adults (Blier)
• Theological Education for Youth (Hagley, D. Davenport, E. Davenport)

Theological Themes

• Asian-American History and Theological Perspectives (Woo)
• Biblical Interpretation/Hermeneutics (Hancock, Ferda)
• Biblical Theology (Humphrey, Ferda)
• Black Theology (Wells, Riggle Young)
• C. S. Lewis and Theology (Humphrey)
• Christ and the Incarnation (van Driel)
• Early African Historical Theologies (Wells)
• Ecclesiology and What It Means to “Be” Church (van Driel)
• Eschatology (van Driel, Ferda, K. Smith)
• Feminist Theology (Riggle Young)
• History of Biblical Interpretation (Woo, Ferda)
• The Idea of Scripture in Ancient Israel (Tuell)
• Liberation Theology (Farrell, Wells, Riggle Young)
• Practical Theodicy: What Do Christians Do when Bad Things Happen? (Hancock)
• Prayer in the Trinity: Recovering a Theology of Prayer (Cole-Turner)
• Reformation Theology (Wells, Woo)
• The Significance of the Hebrew Bible as Scripture for Christians and Jews (Tuell)
• Theologies of Disability and Suffering (Vacek)

Worship

• Artistic Languages of Worship (Hancock)
• Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Hancock)
• Black Preaching (Wells)
• Children and Youth in Worship (E. Davenport)
• Christian Worship and the Sacraments (Burgess)
• Church Planting and Revitalization (Rohrer)
• Congregational Song (van Driel, K. Smith)
• Exploring Christian Worship (Hancock, K. Smith)
• How to Listen to a Sermon (Hancock)
• Nurturing Missional Mindset through Global Worship Music (K. Smith)
• Prayer (Cole-Turner, Hancock, Owens, K. Smith)
• Taizé-style Worship (K. Smith)
• Worship in the Bible and the History of the Church (Humphrey)

Youth Focus

• Children and Youth in Worship (E. Davenport)
• Mentoring (D. Davenport, E. Davenport)
• Theological Education for Youth (Hagley, D. Davenport, E. Davenport)
• Violence against Women and Girls (Gonxhe)
• Youth Culture (D. Davenport, E. Davenport)
• Youth Ministry (Blier, Hagley, D. Davenport, E. Davenport)

Helen Blier
Director of Continuing Education
hblier@pts.edu
412-924-1346

Cathy Brall
Director of Field Education
cbrall@pts.edu
412-924-1404

John P. Burgess
James Henry Snowden Professor of Systematic Theology
jburgess@pts.edu
412-924-1430

Ronald Cole-Turner
H. Parker Sharp Professor of Theology and Ethics
coleturn@pts.edu
412-924-1426

Jerome F. D. Creach
Robert C. Holland Professor of Old Testament
jcreach@pts.edu
412-924-1428

Derek Davenport
Director of the Miller Summer Youth Institute
ddavenport@pts.edu
412-924-1385

Erin Davenport
Director of the Miller Summer Youth Institute
edavenport@pts.edu

David Esterline
President, Professor of Cross-cultural Theological Education
desterline@pts.edu
412-924-1366

Hunter Farrell
Director of the World Mission Initiative
hfarrell@pts.edu
412-924-1402

Leanna K. Fuller
Associate Professor of Pastoral Care
lfuller@pts.edu
412-924-1459

Kimberly Gonxhe
Director of the Metro-Urban Institute
kgonxhe@pts.edu
412-924-1368

Scott J. Hagley
Assistant Professor of Missiology
shagley@pts.edu
412-924-1399

Angela Dienhart Hancock
Associate Professor of Homiletics and Worship
ahancock@pts.edu
412-924-1451

Jennifer Hipple
Associate Curator of the Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology
jhipple@pts.edu
412-924-1395

Edith M. Humphrey
William F. Orr Professor of New Testament
ehumphrey@pts.edu
412-924-1424

L. Roger Owens
Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality and Ministry
lowens@pts.edu
412-924-1458

Tracy Riggle Young
Director of Enrollment and Retention
triggleyoung@pts.edu
412-924-1423

Karen Rohrer
Director of the Church Planting Initiative
krohrer@pts.edu
412-924-1412

Kendra Buckwalter Smith
Director of the Worship Program
ksmith@pts.edu
412-924-1419

R. Drew Smith
Professor of Urban Ministry
rsmith@pts.edu
412-924-1457

Michelle Spomer
Donald G. Miller Librarian and Director of the Clifford E. Barbour Library
mspomer@pts.edu
412-924-1408

Ron E. Tappy
G. Albert Shoemaker Professor of Bible and Archaeology
rtappy@pts.edu
412-924-1427

Steven Tuell
James A. Kelso Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament
stuell@pts.edu
412-924-1407

Heather Vacek
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty and Associate Professor of Church History
hvacek@pts.edu
412-924-1453

Edwin Chr. van Driel
Directors' Bicentennial Associate Professor of Theology
evandriel@pts.edu
412-924-1425

Brian Wells
Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program
bwells@pts.edu
412-924-1421

Kenneth Woo
Assistant Professor of Church History
kwoo@pts.edu
412-924-1350