PTS Out and About

Name	Dates(s)	Location	Event Description
Roger Owens	July 30-Aug. 4	Richmond, Va.	Presenting five lectures on spiritual disciplines during the Virginia Five-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation
Karen Rohrer	Aug. 7-10	St. Pete Beach, Fla.	Representing PTS at the Living, Dying, Rising Conference (1001 New Worshiping Communities)
Hunter Farrell	Aug. 17-Sept. 1	Payap University and Silliman University	Exploring new global partnerships
Edwin van Driel	Aug. 20	Clinton, Pa.	Preaching at Hebron PC
Roger Owens	Sept. 10	Greenville, N.C.	Speaking and preaching on spirituality and prayer at Jarvis Memorial UMC
Leanna Fuller	Sept. 20 and 27	Bethel Park, Pa.	Teaching on Christian spirituality at Christ UMC
Hunter Farrell	Sept. 23	Redstone Presbytery	Preaching at the Presbytery meeting
Leanna Fuller	Sept. 23	Zelienople, Pa.	Leading fall spiritual retreat for Calvin PC
Roger Owens	Sept. 23	Upper St. Clair, Pa.	Leading day-long workshop on spiritual gifts at Westminster PC
Carolyn Cranston	Sept. 29	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Representing PTS at the Pittsburgh Youth Workers Conference
Roger Owens	Oct. 1-6	Salter Path, N.C.	Presenting five lectures on prayer and the spiritual life at Trinity Center for the North Carolina Five-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation
Hunter Farrell	Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 19	Sewickley, Pa.	Teaching at Sewickley PC
Roger Owens	Oct. 1-6	Salter Path, N.C.	Presenting five lectures on spirituality at the North Carolina Five-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation
Hunter Farrell	Oct. 1	Fox Chapel, Pa.	Preaching at Fox Chapel PC
Edwin van Driel	Oct. 2	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Preaching at Concord PC
Kimberly Gonxhe	Oct. 4-7	Detroit, Mich.	Representing PTS at the Christian Community Development Association
Ken Woo	Oct. 5-8	Herndon, Va.	Teaching “Calvin’s Theology in Context” Course at Grace Christian Church
David Esterline	Oct. 8	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Preaching at East Liberty PC
Roger Owens	Oct. 8-13	Cedar Fall, Iowa	Presenting five lectures on spirituality for sustaining ministry at the Iowa Five-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation
Ken Woo	Oct. 13-14	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Speaking at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Lecture Weekend
Ken Woo	Oct. 18-19	Philadelphia, Pa.	Participating in RCA City Classis Meeting
Hunter Farrell	Oct. 20	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Speaking at Beverly Heights PC Mission Conference
Ken Woo	Oct. 25-27	Milwaukee, Wis.	Participating in Sixteenth Century Society Conference
Edwin van Driel	Oct. 29	Glenshaw, Pa.	Preaching for the Reformation 500 Celebration at Glenshaw PC
Leanna Fuller	Oct. 29 and Nov. 5	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Teaching an Adult Sunday School Class at Southminster PC
David Esterline	Oct. 29-Nov. 2	China	FTESEA Board Meeting
Edwin van Driel	Nov. 4	Meadville, Pa.	Lecturing at First PC on "Rethinking Church"
Edwin van Driel	Nov. 5	Meadville, Pa.	Preaching at First PC
Heather Vacek	Nov. 15-17	Providence, R.I.	Presenting “Madness: Twentieth-Century Christian Responses” at the Evangelical Theological Society Meeting
Angela Hancock	Dec. 24	Oakmont, Pa.	Preaching at Oakmont PC
Heather Vacek	Jan. 4-7	Washington, D.C.	Participating in the American Society of Church History meetings
Ken Woo	Jan. 25-28	Corpus Christi, Texas	Participating in the Wabash Center Teaching and Learning Workshop for Early Career Religion Faculty of Asian and Pacific Islander Descent
David Esterline	Jan. 25-28	San Francisco, Calif.	Attending Committee on Theological Education Board Chairs/Presidents meeting at San Francisco Theological Seminary
Ken Woo	Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25	Oakmont, Pa.	Teaching Adult Seminar Series
Roger Owens	Feb. 18-23	Pottsboro, Texas	Presenting five lectures on prayer and the spiritual life for the Texas Five-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation
Heather Vacek	April 18-22	Corpus Christi, Texas	Participating in Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion 2017-18 Colloquy for Theological Deans
Carolyn Cranston	June 16-23	St. Louis, Mo.	Representing PTS at the PCUSA General Assembly June 19, Reception June 20, Luncheon

 

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 (Gagnon, 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)
• Human Trafficking (Gonxhe)
• Religion and Social Movements (D. Smith)
• 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)
• Jesus in John’s Gospel (Gagnon)
• New Testament Letters (Gagnon)
• The Old Testament in the New (Ferda)
• Provocative Parables of Jesus (Hancock)
• Reading Mark as Story (Gagnon, 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)
• Sexual Issues in the Bible (Gagnon)
• 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)
• Christianity and U.S. Foreign Policy (D. Smith)
• Community Organizing (Wells)
• Educational Diversity (Esterline)
• 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)
• 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)

Social Justice

• Addressing Socio-cultural Systems of Injustice (Gonxhe)
• Christian Responses to Persecution (Woo)
• Global Gender Justice (Gonxhe)
• Justice for the Poor and Marginalized (Gonxhe)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• History of Biblical Interpretation (Woo, Ferda)
• The Idea of Scripture in Ancient Israel (Tuell)
• Liberation Theology (Farrell, Wells)
• 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)
• Theology of the Apostle Paul (Gagnon)

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 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
Co-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

Robert A. J. Gagnon
Associate Professor of New Testament
gagnon@pts.edu
412-924-1416

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

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