Beyond the Classroom: Faculty

News and Updates

Dr. Bill Brown

• Published “From Rebuke to Testimony to Proverb: Wisdom’s Many Pedagogies,” in The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Wisdom Literature. Edited by Katharine J. Dell and Suzanna R. Millar and Arthur Jan Keefer (Cambridge University Press, 2022).

• Published “Creation in the Old Testament,” in St. Andrews Encyclopedia of Theology (SAET) Edited by Brendan N. Wolfe et al. 2022.

• Preached at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church: “God and the Politics of ‘Fear’”

• Published “Astrobiology and the Future of Faith,” campus-wide lecture at Manchester University, October 31

Dr. Kelly Campbell

• Published as Co-author with Kris Veldheer, “The Dramatic Shifts in Theological Education: A Grounded Theory Approach,” in Borderlands of Theological Education. Eds. Joshua Davis and Deirdre Good; Lexington Books, 2022.

Dr. Kathy Dawson

• Awarded a planning grant of $50,000 by the Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children through Worship and Prayer Initiative—“Wonder of Worship”

Dr. Marcia Riggs

• Co-led a hybrid 8-session Wabash Workshop for Faculty of the African Diaspora

• Was honored on campus with portrait unveiling, painted by artist Charmaine Minniefield. See page 26 for story.

Dr. Mark Douglas

• Published “Science, Religion, and SCOTUS,” in SciTech (October), newsletter of the Presbyterian Association for Science, Technology, and the Christian Faith

• Preached at Druid Hills PC

• Preached at Green Valley PC in Henderson, NV

• Presented as a panelist at President Aloyo’s Inauguration Symposium

• Elected to the Board of the Niebuhr Society

• Featured in “Theology Matters” podcast on How to Deal with War in a Warming World by the Center for Theological Inquiry

Dr. Tim Hartman

• Selected to participate in the 2023 Online Teaching and Learning Workshop for “On Becoming a White Antiracist,” Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion

Dr. Christine Hong

• Keynote Speaker at Faith Forum hosted by Ebenezer Baptist and St Luke’s Episcopal called, “How can we be the village in raising our children?”

• Keynoter Speaker at NCCC Christian Unity Gathering, “The Challenge of Change: Serving a Never Changing Christ in An Ever-Changing World”

• Serves as the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer for the Religious Education Association

• Spoke with the Mercer Faculty about anti-colonial pedagogy and her book, Decolonial Futures: Intercultural and Interreligious Intelligence for Theological Education (Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies in Religion and Theology)

Dr. Martha Moore-Keish

• Published “Confessing Church: Why do we keep doing these prayers of confession?” Call to Worship 55.4 (spring 2022).

• Taught and preached at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, NE in celebration of pastor Chris Peters’ (MDiv ’14) service

• Participated in Lauren Scott’s ordination at her home church, Trinity Presbyterian in Pensacola, FL

• Preached for Michael Sanchez’s installation at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, Dunwoody

• Taught (with Brennan Breed) the “Biblical and Theological Foundations” class for Compass Points certification program

• Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Tallahassee, FL

• Participated in the first Wabash Center Blog Writers Workshop

Dr. Jake Myers

• Published Stand-Up Preaching: Homiletical Insights from Contemporary Comedians (Cascade, 2022)

• Presented at the Academy of Homiletics in Louisville, KY

• Awarded a $20,000 scholar-researcher grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship to develop preaching resources for multivocational pastors

• Published “Eclipsing Mimesis: A Theological Case for Hans Frei’s ‘Special Hermeneutics,’” in Westminster Theological Journal

• Preached for CreatureKind

Dr. Raj Nadella

• Published an article in Black Scholars Matter: Visions, Struggles, and Hopes in Africana Biblical Studies (Eds. Gay Byron and Hugh Page). The volume builds upon an SBL symposium with the same title that Raj co-organized in 2020, along with Tat-Siong Benny Liew and Kimberly Russaw.

• Spoke at a event organized by the Westar Institute as part of its Christ Seminar. The Christ Seminar is a collaborative of theologians, biblical scholars, activists, and artists engaging Christologies of the People.

Dr. Lisa Weaver

• Published “Songs of Labour and Prayers of Freedom,” Comment: Public Theology for the Common Good 40/4 (2022): 66-74.

• Preached at Ebenezer Baptist Church

Dr. Mindy McGarrah Sharp

• Presented in a session on Decolonizing Listening in Pastoral Care at the “Post-Imperial Futures” conference, Meadville Lombard Theological School

• Published “Mapping with Care: Constructing a Christian Theology of Pastoral Care in a Postcolonial, Interfaith World,” Journal of Pastoral Theology

Dr. Mitzi Smith

• Published “If Rachel Does Not Weep, Who Will?: A Pro-Choice Quality of Life Womanist Reading of Matthew 2,” Currents in Theology and Mission 49 (2022).

• Launched “Beyond the Womanist Classroom” podcast (Wabash small grant): prerecorded 7 episodes and counting.

Dr. Jeffery Tribble

• Served as preacher for Christian Education Sunday at Faith A.M.E. Zion Church, Atlanta

• Served as instructor for AME Zion Church Course of Studies and presented report of the Committee on Conference Studies to the 155th Session of the Georgia Annual Conference

Dr. William Yoo

See story on Dr. Yoo’s book presentation on campus on pg. 30

• Led a workshop on the history and legacy of slavery within American Presbyterianism for the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board of Directors, Stony Point Conference Center, NY

• His book, American Missionaries, Korean Protestants, and the Changing Shape of World Christianity, 1884-1965 (Routledge, 2017) was published again and is now available in paperback

Drs. Mitzi Smith, Marcia Riggs, and Lisa Weaver

• Awarded a $10,000 Wabash Small Project Grant for their project “Considering and Constructing African Rituals to Enhance Africana Pedagogical Goals: A Collaboration Toward Justice and Transformation”

Korean Lay Leadership Seminar

The Korean Lay Leadership Seminar was held at Columbia in November 2022. The conference was organized by Dr. Sue Kim Park, Associate Dean for Contextual Education and International Partnerships; Assistant Professor of Contextual Theology. Those attending the seminar had the opportunity to hear from Columbia faculty members Dr. Christine Hong, Dr. Mindy McGarrah Sharp, Dr. Raj Nadella, Dr. Martha Moore-Keish, and Dr. William Yoo.

American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting

In November 2022, the American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature (AAR/SBL) met in Denver, CO. Eight of Columbia’s faculty were played an active role in that meeting:

Bill Brown, respondent to the SBL A.R. Pete Diamond Award for Integrative Scholarship; and panel review of his book, Deep Calls to Deep: The Psalms in Dialogue amid Disruption (Abingdon, 2021), on Mon, 9-11:30am

Christine Hong, panelist, Korean Biblical Colloquium

Raj Nadella served as a panelist for the SBL Womanist Interpretation Section

Mindy McGarrah Sharp, panelist, Women and Religion Unit

Mitzi Smith, presiding SBL Womanist Interpretation Section, panelist, SBL Recovering Female Interpreters of the Bible Section, presenter, SBL Womanist Interpretation Section

Rebecca Spurrier, presiding, Ecclesial Practices Unit; and panel review of her book, The Disabled Church (Fordham University Press, 2019)

Jeffery Tribble, panelist, Theology and Ethnography Workshop

Chanequa Walker-Barnes, respondent, Womanist Approaches to Religion and Society Unit

Common Table Community Gatherings featured good food and even better conversations. Throughout the last year, students, faculty, and staff gathered regularly to share themed meals and discover the things we all have in common. Meals were supplied by the Office of Enrollment Management and Vocational Outreach.