Center for Preaching

Dr. Devin Swindle is Associate Professor of Bible and Ministry at Harding, and he serves as the Preaching Minister for the Highway Church of Christ in Judsonia, Arkansas. Devin is also the director of Harding's Kerusso Experience, a preacher training camp for ninth through twelfth grade boys. Devin is a graduate of Harding University and Harding School of Theology. He and his wife Rachel have been married for eighteen years, and they are parents of four sons. When he is not directing Kerusso, Devin and his family love to hike, watch movies, and cheer on the eleven-time World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. Devin has been preaching since he was eight years old. He firmly believes that he was called by God to preach, and train up other young men to answer that call as well.​ On Wednesday morning, Dr. Swindle will speak during our morning keynote session on the topic of ​"Holy Bodies : Developing A Healthy Sexuality" from I Thess. 4:1-10.

Matthew Love is the preaching minister at Beebe Church of Christ in Beebe, Arkansas. He came to Harding from Southeastern Ohio to study Bible. After his time in Searcy, he earned a Master of Divinity from Harding School of Theology. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in preaching at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He previously served as youth minister at Beebe for five years before transitioning into the pulpit ten years ago. In August 2024, he began teaching full-time at Harding School of Theology, teaching courses in Preaching and Ministry.

Dr. Dave L. Bland was born and raised on a farm in northern Colorado. He married his wife, Nancy Cochran Bland, in 1976. They have three sons and six grandchildren. Dave has preached in congregations across the country, including the Eastside Church of Christ in Portland, Oregon and the White Station Church of Christ in Memphis, Tennessee. He first taught courses at Columbia Christian College in Portland for fourteen years. In 1993, he moved to Memphis to begin work at Harding School of Theology as Professor of Preaching, where he taught for thirty years. Dave is the author of several books, including Proverbs and the Formation of Character (Cascade) and Creation, Character, and Wisdom: Rethinking the Roots of Environmental Ethics (Wipf & Stock). He is now retired Professor Emeritus at HST and serves the White Station church as an elder. He lives on an 80-acre farm in Somerville, Tennessee.

Dr. Phil Thompson was a member of Harding’s College of Bible and Ministry faculty from 2001-2022. Throughout his career at Harding, he served as director for the Center for Preaching and as assistant director of the Kerusso Experience, a preaching and ministry camp. He taught courses in ethics, bioethics, preaching, and both Old and New Testaments. He has also been a keynote speaker for Harding’s Lectureship and Preachers Conference. He received Harding University’s Teacher Achievement Award in 2010.

In addition to his teaching roles, Dr. Thompson has served as preaching minister for churches in Virginia, Tennessee and Arkansas and is currently serving the Rose Bud Church of Christ in Rose Bud, Arkansas, a position he has held since 2007. He has also participated in short-term missions in India, Bangladesh, Russia, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Germany, Anguilla and Jamaica.

Dr. Thompson holds a bachelor’s degree from Harding University, as well as a Master of Theology, a Master of Arts in ethics, and a Doctor of Ministry in preaching, all from Harding School of Theology. In addition, he earned a Master of Arts in bioethics from Trinity International University.

He and his wife of 50 years, Liz Dyer Thompson, have three children and four grandchildren.