JOHN J. HAN, CHAIR OF THE HUMANITIES DIVISION

Professor of English and Creative Writing; Chair of the Humanities Division; Editor of Intégrité, Faith & Research Conference Proceedings, Cantos, Fireflies’ Light, and The Right Words

Office Location
Main Campus
FLD 337

Contact information:
john.han@mobap.edu
314-392-2311

John J. Han specializes in twentieth-century American literature (esp. John Steinbeck and Flannery O’Connor), Christianity and literature, and poetry writing.  His competency areas include Asian American literature, world literature, haiku poetics, Ozarks literature, psychology and literature, and popular literature.  Since 1986, he has taught a variety of college English courses, including American literature, multicultural literature, Asian literature in translation, and creative writing.  In addition to delivering conference presentations and invited lectures, he dedicates his time to poetry writing, translation, and editorial work.

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in English, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE
M.A. in English, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
M.Ed. in English Education, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
B.A. in English Language and Literature, Kookmin University, Seoul, Korea

PUBLICATIONS

Selected Books:
Editor, dawn returns: The Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2022 (Haiku Society of America, 2022)

Translator, The Wind-Soaked Bamboo: Chinese Poems from Premodern Korea (Cyberwit, 2022)

Reteller, Spousal Competition and Other Tales from Korea (Cyberwit, 2021)

Author, On the Road Again: Photo Essays on Famous Literary Sites in Japan (Cyberwit, 2020)

Author, Evening Glow: Haiku, Senryu, and Other Poems (Cyberwit, 2020).

Translator, Chuku: Confucian Teachings in Five Characters (Cyberwit, 2019)

Author, Autumn Butterfly: Haiku, Senryu, and Other Poems (Cyberwit, 2019)

Author, More Thunder Thighs: Haiku Musings on the English Language (Cyberwit, 2018)

Co-Editor (with C. Triplett and A. Anthony), Worlds Gone Awry: Essays on Dystopian Fiction (McFarland, 2018)

Translator, My Wife Is Smiling and Other Poems by Oh Se Ju (Cyberwit, 2018)

Translator, Like Dew on the Grass: Chinese Poems of King Yeonsan (Cyberwit, 2017)

Author, And Yet, And Yet—: Haiku and Other Poems (Cyberwit, 2017)

Translator, Like the Wind, Like the Water: Sijo Poems (Cyberwit, 2016)

Author, Returning Home: Haiku and Other Succinct Poems (Cyberwit, 2016)

Author, Maple-Colored Moon: Seasonal Haiku (Cyberwit, 2016)

Translator, Eating Alone and Other Poems by Song Su-kwon (Cyberwit, 2015)

Co-Editor (with C. Triplett), The Final Crossing: Death and Dying in Literature (Peter Lang, 2015)

Editor, Wise Blood: A Re-Consideration (Rodopi, 2011)

Author, Thunder Thighs: Haiku Musings on the English Language (Fountain City Pub., 2010)

Author, Chopsticks and Fork: A Senryu Collection (Fountain City Pub., 2010)

Author, Little Guy Haiku: Life with Bailey, a Maltese (America Star Books, 2009)

Translator, Healing Prayer, by Reginald Cherry (Seoul: Agape, 2001)

Critical Essays:
More than 90 critical essays published in journals and essay collections, including Literature and Belief, The Steinbeck Review, Steinbeck Studies, John Steinbeck and His Contemporaries, The Moral Philosophy of John Steinbeck, Critical Insights: The Pearl, Kansas English, Mark Twain Studies, Journal of Transnational American Studies, Journal of Ethnic American Literature, Elder Mountain: A Journal of Ozarks Studies, Philological Review, POMPA: Publications of the Mississippi Philological Association, Intégrité, Journal of Bunka Gakuen University, Journal of Humanities, and Research in the Humanities.

Reference Entries:
Sixty-seven reference entries published in various compendiums: New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement, Dictionary of Literary Characters, The Encyclopedia of Christian Literature, Conflicts in American History, Encyclopedia of American Popular Fiction, The Facts On File Companion to the World Novel (1900 to the Present), Encyclopedia of the Reconstruction Era, The Encyclopedia of Africa and the Americas, The Encyclopedia of American Race Riots, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore, Irish Women Writers, American History through Literature (1870-1920), The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature, Encyclopedia of Catholic Literature, Writers of the American Renaissance, Asian American Playwrights, Catholic Women Writers, Asian American Autobiographers, Asian American Novelists, Feminist Writers, and New Immigrant Literatures in the United States.

Poems:
More than 2,000 poems published in journals and anthologies worldwide, including Akitsu Quarterly, Asahi Shimbun, cattails, Cave Region Review, Chrysanthemum, Elder Mountain, Failed Haiku, the Fib Review, Four and Twenty, Frogpond, Geppo, A Hundred Gourds, Kansas English, kernels, The Laurel Review, Mainichi Shimbun, Mariposa, Modern Haiku, Nepali Art and Literature, POMPA, Prune Juice, The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku, The Ribbons, Sacred in Contemporary Haiku, Simply Haiku, South by Southeast, Steinbeck Studies, Taj Mahal Review, Under the Basho, Valley Voices, A Vast Sky: An Anthology of Contemporary World Haiku, and World Haiku Review.

Translations and Book Reviews:
Translator of hundreds of poems (Korean to English, Chinese to English and Korean, and English to Korean) and author of more than 100 book reviews published in such journals as Cantos, Christianity and Literature, Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Frogpond, Intégrité, OzarksWatch Magazine, Steinbeck Studies, and Valley Voices.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:

Numerous papers presented at conferences, including the Cultural Legacy of The Grapes of Wrath: A Conference (CSU Bakersfield), the Annual Conference of the Steinbeck Society of Japan, the International Steinbeck Conference (SJSU), the “A Celebration of the Legacy of Flannery O’Connor” Conference (GCSU), Flannery O’Connor in the Age of Terrorism: An Academic Conference on Violence and Grace (GVSU), Flannery O’Connor and the Christian Mystery: A 70^th Birthday Symposium (BYU), the Annual St. Borromeo Conference on Catholicism in Literature (UALR), the Annual Southern Women Writers Conference (Berry College), the Dakotas Conference on Earlier British Literature (SDSU), the Annual Ozarks Studies Symposium (MSU-West Plains), the Christ in Contemporary Cultures: A Cultural Studies Conference (Gordon College), the Internationalization of Higher Education Conference (Qingdao U, China), the International Conference on the Asian Humanities (Chungbuk National U, South Korea), the International William Tyndale Society Conference (Regent U), the Baylor Conference on Christianity & the Soul of the University, and the Creighton Conference on Language and Literature.

PEER REVIEWER FOR:
Steinbeck Studies

AD HOC PEER REVIEWER FOR:
Flannery O’Connor Review; MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States; International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences; Faith and Scholarship; Teaching English Literature; Bloomsbury Academic Publishing

AWARDS/RECOGNITION:
Pushcart-nominated poet, Valley Voices: A Literary Review, 2021

International travel grants from the Research Agency of the Republic of Slovenia (ARRS), 2017-2020 and 2022-24

Winner, Oghma Creative Media’s Haiku Contest, April 2013

Finalist, St. Louis Writers Guild’s 2011 Deane Wagner Poetry Contest, July 2011

Cave Region Review’s Featured Poet of the Year 2012

Simply Haiku’s “Top Ten List” of the World’s Finest Living English Language Haiku Poets for 2011 (ranked 6th)

MBU Employee of the Month, Nov. 2006 and Sept. 2016

Grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc., June 2004

2001 Parkway Distinguished Teaching Award, St. Louis, MO, April 2001

2000 Emerson Electric Excellence in Teaching Award, St. Louis, MO, Dec. 2000

One of 12 nominees for the 1999 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation award at UNL

Certificate of Recognition for Contributions to Students, UNL, Feb. 1995

Regents Fellowship, Graduate College, UNL, 1993-94.

ONLINE TEACHING CERTIFICATES:

Certificate of Successful Completion of Independent Applying the QM Rubric (APPQMR): (Statewide Systems), June 2022

Certificate in Advanced Online Teaching, LERN (Learning Resources Network), April 2007.

Matthew Easter, Associate Professor of Bible; Director of Christian Studies

Office Location
Main Campus
FLD 339

Contact information:
Matthew.Easter@mobap.edu
314-392-2312

Dr. Matthew Easter is Director of Christian Studies and Associate Professor of Bible at Missouri Baptist University. A St. Louis native, Easter is committed to the local community and the life of the university and strives to help students grow into everything God calls them to be. Matt is active in the academic world through publishing and presenting research. His areas of specialization include the book of Hebrews, and faith, discipleship, and the church in the New Testament; he has presented on these and other topics at conferences around the world. His first book, Faith and the Faithfulness of Jesus in Hebrews, was published in 2014 by Cambridge University Press. He also serves as interim pastor for local churches in need. He and his wife Andrea have three children: Evelyn, Eliana, and John.

Education
Ph.D., University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, 2012
M.Div., with a Certificate of Baptist Studies, Duke University Divinity School, Durham, NC, 2008
B.A., Biblical Studies and Accounting, Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar, MO, 2005

Selected Publications and Presentations
Book

Faith and the Faithfulness of Jesus in Hebrews. Society of New Testament Studies Monograph Series. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

“Faith in the God Who Resurrects: The Theocentric Faith of Hebrews.” New Testament Studies 63.1 (2017).

“How Donald McGavran has Impacted One Urban Church Plant and Indirectly Influenced Thousands of Other Churches: An Analysis of The Journey Church of the City.” Great Commission Research Journal (co-written with Nelson Searcy) (2016).

“ ‘Certainly this Man was Righteous’: Highlighting a Messianic Reading of the Centurion’s Confession in Luke 23:47.” Tyndale Bulletin 63.1 (2012).

“The Pistis Christou Debate: Main Arguments and Responses in Summary.” Currents in Biblical Research 9.1 (2010).

Essays

“Hebrews 11:1-22 and 2 Maccabees” in Hebrews in Context (edited by Ben Blackwell, John Goodrich, and Jason Maston). Zondervan. [Forthcoming]

“The Faith/Faithfulness of Christ Debate” in The Pauline Mind (edited by David Yoon and Stanley Porter). Routledge. [Forthcoming]

“Faith in Christ” in The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. 2^nd Edition.  Downers Grove, IL: IVP [Forthcoming]

“‘I Have No Husband’: Toward an Empathetic Reading of the Samaritan Woman in John 4.” Intégrité: A Faith and Learning Journal 21.1 (2022).

“Robot Butts and Hazelnuts: Divine Interactions with the Miniverse in Julian of Norwich and Futurama.” Intégrité: A Faith and Learning Journal 20.1 (2021).

“‘My Heart is Restless until it Rests in Dee’: Rickety Cricket as the Augustinian Antitype in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Intégrité: A Faith and Learning Journal 18.1 (2019).

“Faith and Learning in Discussion with the Apostle Paul.” Intégrité: A Faith and Learning Journal 16.2 (2017).

“How to Engage Students of Different Perspectives: Lessons from Acts 17:16-34.” Intégrité: A Faith and Learning Journal 16.2 (2017).

“Baptist Identity and the Baptist University.” Intégrité: A Faith and Learning Journal 15.2 (2016).

“The Anabaptist Vision of the Church and Faith in the Epistle to the Hebrews.” In Ears that Hear: Explorations in Theological Interpretation of the Bible. Edited by Joel B. Green and Tim Meadowcroft.  Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2013.

“Paul and Faith: A Christocentric Construal.” Refresh: A Journal of Contemplative Spirituality 9.1 (2009).

Conference Presentations

“‘I Have No Husband’: Toward an Empathetic Reading of the Samaritan Woman in John 4.” MBU Faith and Research Symposium. St. Louis, MO. April 2022.

“Robot Butts and Hazelnuts: Divine Interactions with the Miniverse in Julian of Norwich and ‘Futurama.’” Annual Midwest Faith & Learning Symposium. St. Louis, MO. April 2021.

“Review and Response to James P. Ware, Paul’s Theology in Context: Creation, Incarnation, Covenant & Kingdom (Part 2: Incarnation).” Central States Regional Society of Biblical Literature Meeting. New Testament III Section. St. Louis, MO. March 2019.

“‘My Heart is Restless until it Rests in Dee’: Rickety Cricket as the Augustinian Antitype in ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.’” Annual Midwest Faith & Learning Symposium.  St. Louis, MO. March 2019.

“‘Unholy like Esau’: Exploring Esau’s Sexual Immorality as a Community-Abandoning Act.” Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting. Hebrews Section. Denver, CO. November 2018.

“Saved by the Incarnate Christ: The Intersection of Christology and Theosis in the Eastern Church Fathers.” Graduate and Faculty Research Symposium. Missouri Baptist University; St. Louis, MO. April 2018.

“‘Root of Bitterness Defiling Many’”: An Intertextual Reading of Sexually Immoral Esau in Hebrews 12:15-17.” Central States Regional Society of Biblical Literature Meeting. New Testament III Section. Columbia, MO. March 2018.

“Esau as Prototypical Defector from the Community of Faith in Hebrews 12:16-17.” Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. Providence, RI. November 2017.

“Faith in the God Who Resurrects: The Theocentric Faith of Hebrews.” Central States Regional Society of Biblical Literature Meeting. New Testament III Section. St. Louis. March 2016.

“Jesus’ Coming to the Deceased Faithful: An Alternative to a Parousia Reading of Hebrews 9:28 and 10:37.” Central States Regional Society of Biblical Literature Meeting. New Testament III Section. St. Louis. March 2012.

“Hebrews 11:3 and the Hope of Resurrection.” Aotearoa-New Zealand Association of Biblical Studies (ANZABS) Conference. Christchurch. December 2011.

“The Anabaptist Vision of the Church and Faith in the Epistle to the Hebrews.” Colloquium on Theological Interpretation. Laidlaw College; Auckland. August 2011.

“Hebrews, Resurrection, and Shared Destinies.” Symposium on the Resurrection. University of Otago; Dunedin. May 2011.

“We Must Pay Much Closer Attention: Drifting Away as the Default Human Story of Unfaithfulness in Hebrews 2:1-4.” Aotearoa-New Zealand Association of Biblical Studies (ANZABS) Conference. Dunedin. December 2009.

“‘Certainly this Man was Righteous’: Highlighting a Messianic Reading of the Centurion’s Confession in Luke 23:47.” International Society of Biblical Literature Meeting. Synoptic Gospels Section. Rome. July 2009.

“Toward a Narratival Reading of Πίστις in the Epistle to the Hebrews.” International Society of Biblical Literature Meeting. Methods in New Testament Studies Section. Rome. July 2009.

Instructor of English/Director of Records

Office Location

Main Campus

Office of Records

Contact information:

thea.abraham@mobap.edu

314-306-2149

Writing is a vital part of academia. In my classroom, I encourage my students to find strategies that will work for them inside and outside of the course. Through many activities, I provide a fun and fast paced atmosphere where students are able to practice their writing process. For me, writing is a life line. Without the space to vent, to empathize, to reflect, and to dream, I would not survive. People must write for many reasons. I seek to pass on my passion for words to my students, enabling them to become stronger writers.

Education
M.A. in English with a Composition Emphasis, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Graduate Certificate in Writing, University of Missouri-St. Louis
M.S. in Education in Classroom Teaching, Missouri Baptist University
Undergraduate Writing Certificate, Missouri Baptist University
B.A. in English, Missouri Baptist University

Awards/Recognition
Gateway Writing Project Fellow 2011
Sigma Tae Delta member 2003
Cum Laude 2003

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs; Professor of Bible

Office Location

Main Campus

Student Development office

Contact information:

andy.chambers@mobap.edu

Dr. Andy Chambers, a native of St. Louis native, holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri – Rolla, and a Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. He and his wife, Diana, have four children, Amanda, Bethany, Eric, and Michael.

Education
Ph.D., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
M.Div., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Awards/Recognition
Recipient of the Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching (1998) and the Parkway Baptist Distinguished Professor Award (1999)
Publications
Exemplary Life: A Theology of Church Life in Acts. Nashville: Broadman and Holman Academic, 2012.
In Lifeway’s Biblical Illustrator: “Jesus’ Role as Apostle,” (Summer 1996): 46-49; “Chastening,” (Summer 1997): 41-42; “Jews in Asia Minor,” (Winter 2000): 78-80; “Time in John’s Gospel,” (2002): 43-46; “Myths, Genealogies and Old Wives Tales,” (Fall 2006): 50-54; “The Heart: A New Testament Understanding,” (Summer 2014): forthcoming.
In Lifeway’s Life and Work Pursuits: “Understanding the Gospel from Matthew’s Angle,” (January-March 1997): 3-4; “Understanding the Gospel from John’s Angle,” (September-November 1997): 3-4; “Answering Questions about Spiritual Growth,” (September-November 1998): 2-3; “The Bible Intersects Life,” (January-March 1998): 13; “What’s Right and What’s Wrong?” (Summer 2000): 98-105.
In Lifeway’s Advanced Bible Study Commentary: “Managing God’s Assets,” Five Bible studies on stewardship (Winter 2000): 46-90; “Following Jesus,” Three Bible studies on discipleship (Winter 2001): 25-49; “What Does Jesus Do for Us?” Six Bible studies on the Gospel of John (Spring 2007): 8-67; “Living for Another World in This World,” Five Bible studies on Daniel (Fall 2007): 9-58; “Living 3:16 in a 9/11 World,” Five Bible studies on the 3:16 verses of the New Testament (Fall 2007): 9-57; “Life at Its Best,” Five Bible studies on Hebrews (Summer 2008): 92-138; “Gospel Crossroads,” Four Bible studies on the doctrine of Christ (Spring 2009): 57-92; “Profiles in Character,” Five biographical Bible studies (Spring 2009): 93-138; “Finding and Following God’s Will,” Five Bible studies on knowing and doing the will of God (Summer 2009): 90-137; “The Battle for the Mind,” Five Bible studies on the Christian world-view (Winter 2010): 97-137; “Wrestling with Life’s Mysteries,” Five Bible studies on Ecclesiastes (Winter 2010): 46-96.
In Lifeway’s Explore the Bible: “Move Forward Please,” Thirteen Bible studies on Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon (Spring 2011): 12-114.
In The Pathway (state paper of the Missouri Baptist Convention): Weekly writer for Lifeway’s Bible Studies for Life curriculum (2003-10), approximately 400 lessons; “Jeremiah 6:16: Ancient Paths, Rest for the Soul,” (October 28, 2002): 14; “Da Vinci Code Fiction in a Post-Truth Society,” (May 19, 2006): 8-9; “Pilate between a Rock, a Hard Place,” (April 8, 2007): 16.
In SBC Life: Journal of the Southern Baptist Convention: “Sin and Providence in The Lord of the Rings,” (December 2003): 8-9; “The Church—Healthy Body Life: Luke’s Vision for Church Life in Acts,” (December 2011): 12-13.
In Word and Way: Weekly Sunday School lesson writer for Lifeway’s Family Bible Series (August-November 1999): 11.
In Intégrité: A Faith and Learning Journal: “A View from the Other Side: Observations on the Work of the ‘Rhodes Consultation on the Future of the Church Related College’ with Suggestions for Evangelicals,” (Fall 2002): 4-19; “The Promise and Peril of Postmodernism for Ministry Today,” (Fall 2003): 53-69.
In MBU Magazine: “Vocation: A Calling to Career as a Call to God,” (Winter 2003): 9-10.
In Cantos: A Literary and Arts Journal: “Diversity and the Gospel,” (2013): 74-75

Contact Information:

Office Location: Main Campus
Spartan Village 503, Suite 302

Contact information:
Aaron.Lumpkin@mobap.edu
314-392-2251

Dr. Aaron Lumpkin serves as Associate Vice President for Spiritual Formation and Assistant Professor of Theology at Missouri Baptist University. He has served in pastoral ministry and Christian higher education for nearly a decade. Currently, he serves as a pastor of the Church of the Redeemer in St. Louis. Aaron is the co-author of The Sum and Substance of the Gospel: The Christ-Centered Piety of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He has written other publications with The Gospel Coalition and various academic journals. His research interests include early American Christianity, Baptist History, and Christian higher education. He and his wife, Sara, have five children.

Education

Ph.D., Historical Theology, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC, 2020

M.Div., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC, 2013

B.A., Pastoral Leadership and Biblical Exposition, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA, 2010

Selected Publications

Books

Finn, Nathan A. and Aaron L. Lumpkin, eds. The Sum and Substance of the Gospel: The Christ-Centered Piety of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Reformation Heritage Books, 2020.

Book Reviews

Crawford Gribben. Survival and Resistance in Evangelical America: Christian Reconstruction in the Pacific Northwest. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021. For Southeastern Theological Review. Forthcoming.

Breimaier, Thomas. “Want to Be Like Spurgeon? Stay Tethered to the Cross. Review of Tethered to the Cross: The Life and Preaching of Charles H. Spurgeon. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2020. For The Gospel Coalition, January 22, 2021.

Caldwell III. Robert W. Theologies of the American Revivalists: From Whitefield to Finney. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2017. For Southeastern Theological Review, 10.1 (Spring 2019): 152-54.

Sweeney, Douglas. Edwards the Exegete: Biblical Interpretation and Anglo-Protestant Culture on the Edge of the Enlightenment. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. For Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry, 14.1 (Spring 2017): 92–94.

Weaver, G. Stephen Jr., and Ian Hugh Clary, eds. The Pure Flame of Devotion: The History of Christian Spirituality. Dundas, Ontario: Joshua, 2013. For Themelios, 39.2 (July 2014): 351-53.

Encyclopedia Articles

“Wesley, John.” In Encyclopedia of the Atlantic World, 1400-1900: Europe, Africa, and the Americas in An Age of Exploration, Trade, and Empires. ABC-CLIO, 2017.

Articles

“Making and Keeping Friends in Ministry.” Sola Ecclesia, June 6, 2022.

“How a Jail Became a Seminary.” Sola Ecclesia, March 28, 2022.

“How Calvin Defined Friendship.” Sola Ecclesia, March 7, 2022.

“Spurgeon, Atonement, and Your Life in Christ.” Credo Blog, September 23, 2020.

“Charles Spurgeon and the Ministry of Church Planting.” The Gospel Coalition, July 14, 2020.

“Why Charles Spurgeon Remains Popular.” The Gospel Coalition, May 19, 2020. Co-authored with Nathan Finn.

“Hospitality: A Mark of Christian Higher Education.” Intégrité 17.2 (Fall 2018): 44-49.

Selected Presentations

“Hospitality: A Mark of Christian Higher Education.” Delivered at the National Association of Baptist Enrollment Professionals Annual Conference in St. Louis, MO. Wednesday, July 18, 2018.

Office Location: 

Main Campus

FLD 338

Contact Information: 

curtis.mcclain@mobap.edu

Dr. Curtis McClain is a professor of Bible, a program which offers two certificates, an associate degree, two majors toward a baccalaureate degree, nine minors, and an M.A. in Christian Ministry. He comes from a rich heritage of ministry in Southern Baptist life. During college and seminary days, he worked in two youth ministries, participated in mission trips to Mexico and Wyoming, pastored two churches, and taught in a school for children with learning difficulties. He came to MBU near the end of seminary training. While serving MBU, he has been the interim pastor of nine churches, participated in mission trips to Latvia, Australia, and Africa. In addition, he has been to Israel twice.

Education
Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary
Memphis, TN
PH.D. (BIBLICAL LANGUAGES) – 1995

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Fort Worth, TX
M.DIV. – 1980

Howard Payne University
Brownwood, TX
B.A. CUM LAUDE (GREEK/BIBLE) – 1977

Awards/Recognition
MARQUIS’ WHO’S WHO IN AMERICA
INTERNATIONAL WHO’S WHO – 2000
LEXINGTON WHO’S WHO REGISTRY – 2000/2001 MILLENNIUM EDITION
WHO’S WHO AMONG AMERICA’S TEACHERS – 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000—2002
PARKWAY DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR – 1991
OUTSTANDING YOUNG MEN OF AMERICA – 1985
WHO’S WHO IN AMERICAN COLLEGES ANDS SCHOOLS – 1977

Publications
“Exalting Jesus in the Death of a Loved One.” Chp. 4, Reason for the Season. Edited by Roger Duke and Bob Agee. NP: Founders Press, 2010. (Paper)
“Uniting Hearts, Minds with the Truth of God’s Word.” Pathway 1:20 (Nov. 4, 2003):5.
“Forgetting the God We Confess: The Ever-Present Danger Each Christian Faces in This World.” Integrete 1(2002):
New Testament Reviewer, Holman Christian Standard Bible,“Philemon.”
“The Raz-Pesher Motiff in the New Testament.” A paper presented at the Midwest Conference of the Evangelical Theological Society in February 1998.
“The Missionary Attributes of God.” Mid-America Theological Journal 22 (1998):69-79.
“On Schedule, As Planned.” MetroVoice April 1996.
“Total Commitment: Studies in Colossians.” Pursuits July-September 1995, Life and Work Series, Teacher’s Edition.
“The Raz-Pesher Motif.” A paper presented at the National Conference of the Evangelical Theological Society in November 1994.
“Irrelevant or Immaterial.” MetroVoice April 1994.
“The Certainty of Salvation (Matthew 7:13-29).” Mid-America Theological Journal 16 (1992):83-94.
“Isaiah’s Servant Songs.” Mid-America Theological Journal15 (1991):87-101.

Associate Professor of English

Office Location:
Main Campus
FLD 344

Contact information:
julie.ooms@mobap.edu

Julie Ooms is an Associate Professor of English at MBU, where she teaches courses in composition, world literature, and American literature. She has published articles on several different 20th century American writers, and presented conference papers on American war literature, dystopian literature, composition and rhetoric, and even comic books. Writing is, for her, first and foremost a way to communicate and forge connections between different people across time, space, and experience. In her teaching and interacting with students, she seeks to help them find connections between themselves and the writers of the past, and actively connect with others as they assume the responsibility of being readers, writers, and researchers.

Education

PhD in English, Baylor University, August 2014

BA in English, Dordt College, May 2008 

Awards / Recognition

Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award, 2020

Discussion Fellow on the intersection of the doctrine of creation and modern science, St. Louis Regional Discussion Fellowship through the Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2019-2022.

Seminar Participant, Virgil and the Modern Christian Imagination, Samford University TCIT – July 10-14, 2017

Seminar Participant, Teaching Dante’s Divine Comedy, Samford University TCIT – May 31-June 5, 2015 

Academic Articles:

“‘A private holy spirit in small letters’: Sylvia Plath’s Secular-Age Religion.” Renascence 73.3(Summer 2021): 169-189.

“Three Things My Students Have Taught Me about Reading Dante.” Religions 10.3(2019).

“‘Paula’s snowsuit was smeared wet and black with oil’: Sylvia Plath on Children’s Capacity for Love and War’s Influence of Hate.” Plath Profiles 9(Summer 2017): 17-24.

“‘Some quick, however slight, therapy’: Neighborliness and Rebuilding Community after War in J.D. Salinger’s War Stories.” Christian Scholars’ Review 46.1(2016): 43-63.

“‘I don’t know who you are…but I love you’: Neighborly Love as Essential, Deformed, and Failed in V for Vendetta.” Integrite 14.1(Spring 2015): 10-27.   

“‘Battles are always fought among human beings, not purposes’: Tim O’Brien’s Fiction as a Response to the Crisis of Modernity.” Renascence 66.1(Winter 2014): 25-45.

“‘I’m willing to let you know me if you’ll do the same’: Sylvia Plath’s Redemption of Bill the Veteran in ‘Brief Encounter.’” Plath Profiles 7(Autumn 2014): 33-40.

“‘I mean you didn’t really know Walt’: Walt Glass as Salinger’s Way of Keeping His “Oath” about Telling War Stories.” Journal of the Short Story in English 62(Spring 2014): 67-78.

“‘Take care with whom you break bread’: The Sacramental Meal in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses.” Beyond Borders: Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses.  Ed. by Rick Wallach.  Miami: The Cormac McCarthy Society, 2014. 213-223.

Popular Articles:

“The Promise and Paradox of Christian Higher Education.” Christianity Today, May/June 2020, 79-85.

“Ten Books to Read the Summer before College.” Christian College Guide 2019-2020, 2019.

“How Counseling Services at Christian Colleges are Meeting the Mental-Health Needs of Students.” Christianity Today, March 2018, 74-84.

“Ten Books to Read the Summer before College.” Christian College Guide 2018-2019, 2018, 48-49.

“What Freshmen Fear.” Christian College Guide, 2017, 16-19.

“Beyond Otherness is Where Friendship Begins.” Christ and Pop Culture, 15 May 2017.

“Hamilton and Trump: Making America Great through Self-Promotion?” Christ and Pop Culture, 11 March 2016.

“Jessica Jones: The Hell of Losing Control.” Christ and Pop Culture, 16 December 2015.

“‘Daredevil,’ Hell’s Kitchen, and the Good Samaritan.” Christ and Pop Culture, 28 May 2015.

Julie Steinbeck, Director of First-Year Composition and Instructor of English

Office Location
Main Campus
FLD 336

Contact Information
Julie.Steinbeck@mobap.edu

314-485-8436

During and after her education at Truman State University, Julie has served as a tutor, a substitute teacher, and adjunct faculty at Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City and at Missouri Baptist University. A St. Charles, MO, native, she recently returned to the St. Louis area after living in Kansas City for several years with her husband, Will, and her daughter, Maria. Julie loves showing students how writing well impacts their college days and future careers; she uses that interest to ensure students get a strong start in their academic writing.

Education

M.A.E., Secondary English, Truman State University, 2015

B.A., English, Truman State University, 2013

Joe Braden
Instructor, Humanities Division
joseph.braden@mobap.edu

Michael Carper
Instructor, Humanities Division
michael.carper@mobap.edu

Daniel Carr
Instructor, Humanities Division
daniel.carr@mobap.edu

Kevin Carrothers
Instructor, Humanities Division
kevin.carrothers@mobap.edu

Bryce Chapman
Vice President for Enrollment, Marketing and University Communications and; Instructor, Humanities Division
bryce.chapman@mobap.edu

Jennifer Davenport
Instructor, Humanities Division
jennifer.davenport@mobap.edu

Joan Dudley
Instructor, Humanities Division
joan.dudley@mobap.edu

Rebecca Duke
Instructor, Humanities Division
rebecca.duke@mobap.edu

Jeremiah Greever
Instructor, Humanities Division
Jeremiah.Greever@mobap.edu

Mark Grossman
Instructor, Humanities Division
mark.grossman@mobap.edu

Jon Hessel
Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students; Instructor, Humanities Division
jon.hessel@mobap.edu

Mike Hubbard
Instructor, Humanities Division
mike.hubbard@mobap.edu

Jeanette Landon
Instructor, Humanities Division
jeanette.landon@mobap.edu

Bradfor Laubinger
Instructor, Humanities Division
bradford.laubinger@mobap.edu

Douglas Lay
Instructor, Humanities Division
douglas.lay@mobap.edu

Darrell Missey
Instructor, Humanities Division
darrell.missey@mobap.edu

Paula Nunning
Instructor, Humanities Division
paula.nunning@mobap.edu

Richard Rhea
Instructor, Humanities Division
Richard.Rhea@mobap.edu

Cristin Sattler
Instructor, Humanities Division
cristin.sattler@mobap.edu

Milton Schaper
Instructor, Humanities Division
milton.schaper@mobap.edu

Evan Skelton
Instructor, Humanities Division
evan.skelton@mobap.edu

Carlos Smith
Instructor, Humanities Division
carlos.smith@mobap.edu

Andrew Tucker
Instructor, Humanities Division
andrew.tucker@mobap.edu

Joshua Wilson
Instructor, Humanities Division
joshua.wilson@mobap.edu