Harding School of Theology Faculty

Faculty

Peter Rice
Peter Rice, B.S., M.Div., Ph.D.
Dean of Harding School of Theology
Associate Professor of New Testament
About Peter Rice
Degrees
Ph.D., Religion (New Testament), Baylor University, 2014
MSIS, Harding University (in progress)
M.Div., Abilene Christian University (2009)
B.S. Psychology and Vocational Ministry, Oklahoma Christian University (2004)
Research
Behold, Your House Is Left to You: The Theological and Narrative Place of the Jerusalem Temple in Luke’s Gospel, Pickwick Publications, 2016.
“The Rhetoric of Luke’s Passion: Luke’s Use of Common-place to Amplify the Guilt of Jerusalem’s Leaders in Jesus’ Death,” Biblical Interpretation 21.3 (2013): 355-76
“Pure Heart Vision: A New Mission for Disciples of Jesus: Insights from John 13–17,” Harding University Lectureship—Fall 2016
Panelist for Michael Sandel’s What Money Can’t Buy, Christian Scholars Conference (Lipscomb University)—June 2015
“Modifying Mark’s Passion: Luke’s Use of Rhetoric to Amplify the Guilt of the Jewish Leaders,” National Society of Biblical Literature Meeting (San Francisco)—November 2011
“The Samuel Childhood Cycle in Luke 1-2,” Christian Scholars Conference (Pepperdine University)—June 2011
More Information


Book Reviews

Craig Keener, Acts: An Exegetical Commentary, in Stone-Campbell Journal 16.1 (2013)

Ministry Involvement

Bible Class Teacher and Fill-in Preacher, Cloverdale Church of Christ, Searcy, AR (2014–present)

Foster Parent, Searcy Children’s Homes/Sparrow’s Promise, Searcy, AR (full-care, assisting: 2014–2017, 2022–present)

Steve Cloer
Steve Cloer, B.A., M.Div., D.Min.
Associate Professor of Ministry
Director of the Center for Church and City Engagement
About Steve Cloer
Degrees
D.Min., Congregational Mission and Leadership, Luther Seminary, 2015
M.Div., Harding School of Theology, 2006
B.A., Bible, Mathematics, Harding University, 2002
Research
“Missional Leadership Formation: Reframing the Doctor of Ministry Degree,” Journal of Christian Ministry 12 (2023).
“The Missional Catalyst: Reimagining the Role of the Minister,” Missio Dei Journal 10:2 (Summer-Fall 2019)
“God’s on the Move! Insights for Preaching through Ezekiel,” Preaching: The Professional Journal for Ministry Leaders 34:1 (Fall 2018): 34-37
“God Becomes the Good Shepherd (Ezek. 34:11-16),” Preaching: The Professional Journal for Ministry Leaders 34:1 (Fall 2018): 40-42.
“Missional Partnership: Reframing the Concept of “Placing Membership,”” Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry 4:1 (2018): 1-19.
The Minister-Elder Relationship Within ‘Churches that Work,’” Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry 2:2 (2016): 1-15.
“The Elder-Evangelist Relationship Through the Stone-Campbell Movement.” Restoration Quarterly 58:4 (2016): 229-239.
“A Light to the City: The Missional Journey of Southside Church of Christ,” Missio Dei Journal 3:2 (August 2012).
More Information
Ministry Involvement
  • Preaching Minister, Southside Church of Christ, Fort Worth, TX; 2006-2021
  • Campus Minister Apprentice, Highland St. Church of Christ, Memphis, TN; 2003-2006
  • Associate Minister, Cave City Church of Christ, Cave City, AR; 2002-2003

Steve Cloer, assistant professor of ministry, teaches courses in congregational ministry, mission, and leadership. He also directs the Doctor of Ministry program. His research and writing interests include missional theology, church leadership, ministry in urban contexts, and racial reconciliation. Steve has served in youth ministry, campus ministry, and preaching ministry. Most recently, Steve was the preacher for Southside Church of Christ in Fort Worth, TX for 15 years. This historic congregation was located two miles south of downtown. For most of his time there, Steve and his family lived in an urban neighborhood near the Southside church building. Steve and his wife, Lindsay, have three children, Joshua, Lydia, and Bethany. Steve enjoys sports, outdoor adventures, spending time with family, and cheering for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

 

Lance R. Hawley
Lance R. Hawley, B.A., M.Div., M.A., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Old Testament
About Lance R. Hawley
Degrees
Ph.D., Hebrew Bible, University of Wisconsin, 2016
M.A., Hebrew Bible, University of Wisconsin, 2012
M.Div., Harding University Graduate School of Religion, 2003
B.A., Biblical Studies, York College, 1999
Research
Metaphor Competition in the Book of Job. Journal of Ancient Judaism Supplements 26. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018.
“Job.” In Adaptable for Life: The Message of the Old Testament for Contemporary Readers. Eds. Kilnam Cha, Melinda Thompson, and Kevin Youngblood. Wipf & Stock/Cascade Books. Forthcoming
“Life in Job.” In Biblical Theology of Life in the Old Testament. Reformed Theology in Africa Series 5. Eds. A.J. Coetsee and F.P. Viljoen, 195-215. Cape Town: AOSIS, 2021.
“The Rhetoric of Condemnation in the Book of Job.” Journal of Biblical Literature 139 (2020): 459-478.
“The Agenda of Priestly Taxonomy: The Conceptualization of מאֵ טָ and קץֶ שֶׁ in Leviticus 11.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 77 (2015): 231-249.
“Linguistic Markers of Polar Interrogatives in Biblical Hebrew.” Hebrew Studies 56 (2015): 7-22.
More Information

Select Presentations

  • “The Rhetoric of Condemnation in the Book of Job,” Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, Fall 2017
  • “The ‘Low-life’ Mockers of Job: Job 30:1-8 as an Extended Animal Metaphor,” Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, Fall 2015
  • “Metaphor Coherence and Competition in the Joban Discourse: ‘Proverbs of Ashes’ in Its Conceptual Context,” Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, Fall 2014

Research Interests

Hebrew Bible, Wisdom Literature, Poetry

Ministry Involvement

Shepherd, Sycamore View Church of Christ, Memphis, TN.

Past ministry involvement includes mission work in Wisconsin.

Matthew D. Love
Matthew D. Love, B.A., M.Div., Ph.D. candidate
Instructor of Preaching and Ministry
About Matthew D. Love
Degrees
Ph.D. candidate (Preaching), Baylor University
M.Div., Harding School of Theology, 2019
B.A., Bible (Missions), Harding University, 2012
Research
Dissertation: “Preaching to Bring the Heart Home: The Language of Emotions in the Sermons of Effective Preachers” (forthcoming)
“‘Christ Is Speaking’: The Psalms as the Grammar of Augustine’s Sermons," Religions 15, no. 4: 414. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15040414
“Preaching in Place: Reflections on the Sermons of Oscar Romero, Dislocated Pulpits, and the Dangers of an Incarnate Word,” Homiletic 28, no. 2 (2023): 16–32
More Information

Presentations

  • “Teaching Preaching via Rhetorical Criticism,” Evangelical Homiletics Society Conference, 2024, Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster, PA (forthcoming)

  • “‘Christ is Speaking’: The Psalms as the Grammar of Augustine’s Sermons,” Academy of Homiletics Conference, 2023, Emory University, Atlanta, GA

  • “Preaching Colossians,” Neller Preaching Lectures, 2023, Harding University, Searcy, AR

  • “Preaching in Place: Reflections on the Sermons of Oscar Romero, Dislocated Pulpits, and the Dangers of an Incarnate Word,” Christian Scholars’ Conference, 2023, Houston, TX

  • “Preaching with Beautiful Words: George Herbert and the Beautiful Sermon,” Christian Scholars’ Conference, 2023, Houston, TX

Ministry Involvement

  • Preaching Minister, Beebe Church of Christ, Beebe, AR, 2015–Present
  • Youth Minister, Beebe Church of Christ, Beebe, AR, 2010–2015 
Jeff Peterson
Jeff Peterson, B.A., M.A., M.Div., Ph.D.
Professor of New Testament
About Jeff Peterson
Facts
Jeff Peterson grew up near Houston and graduated from Galena Park High School. He earned a B.A. and M.A. from Abilene Christian University, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in New Testament studies from Yale University. He taught New Testament and theology for 28 years at Austin Graduate School of Theology (earlier known as the Institute for Christian Studies) and more recently at Lipscomb University. Peterson has served several churches as interim pulpit minister and in 2023-24 was the preaching minister for the University Avenue Church of Christ in Austin, Texas. He has authored numerous popular and scholarly works and served as president and as coordinator of the Society of Biblical Literature, Southwest Region.
Keith Stanglin
Keith Stanglin, B.A., M.Div., Ph.D.
Professor of Historical Theology
About Keith Stanglin
Degrees
Ph.D., Calvin Theological Seminary, 2005
M.Div., Harding School of Theology, 2001
B.A., Oklahoma Christian University, 1998
More Information

Keith Stanglin, Professor of Historical Theology, teaches courses in the history of Christianity and theology. He specializes in Reformation and post-Reformation theology, the history of biblical interpretation, moral theology, and Arminianism. A prolific author, Keith has written or edited eleven books and numerous articles for both scholarly and popular audiences.

Keith is the Executive Director of the Center for Christian Studies in Austin, Texas and the editor of the Journal of Christian Studies. He has served churches in a number of ministry roles, most recently as an interim preaching minister.

Select Publications
The Catholic Arminius: Theological Influences and Contexts in Early Modern Protestantism.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, under contract.


Super-Abundant Grace: Reflections on Romans. Eugene: Cascade, 2022.
Ethics beyond Rules: How Christ’s Call to Love Informs Our Moral Choices. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan Reflective, 2021.


After Arminius: A Historical Introduction to Arminian Theology. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2021. (Co-authored with Tom McCall.)


The Letter and Spirit of Biblical Interpretation: From the Early Church to Modern Practice.
Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018.


The Reformation to the Modern Church: A Reader in Christian Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 2014.


Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. (Co-authored with
Tom McCall.)


The Missing Public Disputations of Jacobus Arminius: Introduction, Text, and Notes. Brill’s Series
in Church History, vol. 47. Leiden: Brill, 2010.


Arminius, Arminianism, and Europe: Jacobus Arminius (1559/60–1609). Brill’s Series in Church
History, vol. 39. Leiden: Brill, 2009. (Co-edited with Th. Marius van Leeuwen and Marijke
Tolsma.)


Arminius on the Assurance of Salvation: The Context, Roots, and Shape of the Leiden Debate,
1603–1609. Brill’s Series in Church History, vol. 27. Leiden: Brill, 2007.


Research Interests
Reformation and post-Reformation theology, the history of biblical interpretation, moral theology,
Arminianism


Ministry Involvement
Executive Director of the Center for Christian Studies in Austin, Texas and the editor of the
Journal of Christian Studies. Has served churches in a number of ministry roles, most recently as
an interim preaching minister.

Whitney Hammes
Whitney Hammes, B.M.E., MSLS
Assistant Professor
Theological Librarian
About Whitney Hammes
Degrees
M.A. in Old Testament, Harding School of Theology, in progress MSLS, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, 2013 BME in music education, Harding University, 2010
Facts
Whitney Hammes is theological instruction librarian for HST and the College of Bible and Ministry. She has worked in the Brackett Library at Harding University for 11 years, most recently serving as the instruction and outreach librarian.

Staff

Rebecca McCown
Rebecca McCown
Advising and Accreditation Specialist
Gregory Muse
Gregory Muse
Major Gift Officer, Advancement
Christopher Jackson
Christopher Jackson
Admissions Counselor
Tyler Burdette
Tyler Burdette
Administrative Assistant

Adjunct Faculty

CARISSE MICKEY BERRYHILL, B.A., B.A., M.A., M.S., M.A., Ph.D.                                                            Ph.D. (English), Florida State University

ALLEN BLACK, B.A., M.Th., Ph.D.                                                                                                          Ph.D. (New Testament), Emory University

KEVIN BURR, B.A., M.S.E., M.Div., Ph.D.                                                                                               Ph.D. (New Testament), Asbury Theological Seminary

SCOTT LAIRD, B.Sc., M.A.C.M, D.Min.                                                                                                 D.Min. (Ministry and Leadership), Harding School of Theology

ETHAN LASTER, B.A., M.Div., M.A.                                                                                                             Ph.D. Candidate (Theological Studies), Saint Louis University

DAVID MAHFOOD, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.                                                                                                     Ph.D. (Systematic Theology), Southern Methodist University

RILEY PATE, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., LPC-S, LMFT-S                                                                                             Ph.D. (Counselor Education and Supervision), Regent University

MARK E. POWELL, B.A., M.Div., Ph.D.                                                                                                   Ph.D. (Systematic Theology), Southern Methodist University

KEVIN YOUNGBLOOD, B.A., M.A.R., M.Div., Ph.D.                                                                                  Ph.D. (Old Testament), Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Faculty Emeriti

Allen Black, B.A., M.Th., Ph.D.                                                                                                        Professor of New Testament Emeritus

Dave Bland, B.A., M.Div., D.Min., Ph.D.                                                                                           Professor of Homiletics Emeritus

Evertt W. Huffard, A.A., B.A., M.A., M.Th., Ph.D.                                                                              Professor of Missions and Leadership Emeritus

Don Meredith, B.A., M.Th., M.S. in L.S.                                                                                           Professor of Library Science Emeritus

Richard Oster, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.                                                                                                      Professor of New Testament Emeritus

 

Contact Information



Mailing address:
Harding University
Harding School of Theology
HU 12280
Searcy, AR 72149-5615