Dr. Joel Elowsky. Photo: Harold Rau
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Looking TO THE future NEW ADVANCED STUDIES DEAN BY SARAH MANEY
Dr. Joel Elowsky, professor of Historical Theology, began his education in a two-room grade school in the rural town of Lowden, Iowa. “Kindergarten through fourth grade were in one room, and fifth through eighth grade were in the other one,” Elowsky said. “I came from a large family, so my siblings populated a lot of the grades.” By the time he reached high school, he was thinking about ministry, a decision he didn’t take lightly. He pursued the pre-seminary program at Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich., with a focus on the biblical languages of Greek and Hebrew, which added to his growing knowledge of Latin and German. After earning his undergraduate degree, Elowsky was tired of school. So he decided to take a gap year and backpack throughout Europe. With his hard-earned savings, he purchased a Eurail Pass and stayed in youth hostels — and ended up “going to school anyway,” taking courses at Westfield House in Cambridge, England. Elowsky continued his education at Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada (where he would later meet his wife, Joy, who lived across the border in Niagara Falls, N.Y.), and finished his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) (’90) at Concordia Seminary and Master of 16
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Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) (’92). After serving as a mission developer in southern New Jersey for nine years, Elowsky continued his studies at Drew University, N.J., where he obtained his Master of Philosophy (’08) and Ph.D. (’09) — all the while writing, managing and editing the 29-volume Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (ACCS) series and the five-volume Ancient Christian Doctrine (ACD) series with InterVarsity Press (IVP). He served as the volume editor of two volumes on the Gospel of John (ACCS) and another volume on the Holy Spirit (ACD). Elowsky continues to edit individual volumes for another series with IVP, Ancient Christian Texts (16 volumes so far). And that’s just the tip of his bibliographic iceberg. Much of his work specializes in early church studies, the history of exegesis, mission work and African Christianity. His translation of Athanasius’ Letter to Marcellinus was used in the Africa Study Bible. In 2019, he was a consultant for the “60 Minutes” segment on the churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia. Today, Elowsky, a faculty member since 2014, serves as professor of Historical Theology, director of the Center for the Study of Early Christian Texts, coordinator of International Seminary Exchange Programs and, as of July 1, dean of Advanced Studies.
