News - McMaster Divinity College

Wendy Porter was guest soloist in the morning services at Oakridge Presbyterian Church in London, Ontario this Sunday, November 20, 2011, and did an evening Advent Concert for their seasonal women's event at the same church in the evening. http://www.oakridge.london.on.ca/adult/Carols.gif
On Sunday, November 6, the Rev. Dr. Michael Knowles, holder of the College's Hurlburt Chair of Preaching, preached at the induction service for Michelet Dorméus (M. Div., 2010), who takes up his new ministry at historic First Baptist Church, Windsor.
On November 6, 2011, Dr. Paul Evans preached at Hosanna Evangelical Free Church, Mississauga.
On November 6, 2011, Dr. Lee Beach preached at Valleyview Alliance Church, Newmarket.
On October 23, 2011, Dr. Stanley Porter preached and Dr. Wendy Porter led the worship at Binbrook Baptist Church's anniversary service.
We were blessed with a very enriching Gladstone Conference "Preaching for a Change" on October 28, 2011, with well over 100 attendees. The keynote speaker was Dr. Kent Edwards, Professor of Preaching & Leadership at Talbot School of Theology/BIOLA University.

On October 16, 2011, Dr. Lee Beach preached at Logos Baptist Church in Mississauga.
Dr. Phil C. Zylla led a retreat for the diaconate of McNeil Baptist Church, Hamilton, on the theme of Spiritual Formation of the Congregation, Saturday, October 22, 2011.
On October 2, 2011, Dr. Paul Evans preached at Hosanna Evangelical Free Church in Mississauga.
Dr. Wendy Porter led worship at the Baptist Women’s Retreat at Elim (north of Peterborough) from Friday to Sunday, September 15 – 17, 2011.
On September 25, 2011, Dr. Lee Beach preached at the Scarborough Vietnamese Alliance Church.
The full Common English Bible (CEB) with Apocrypha and National Geographic maps has now been released as a thinline Bible bound in leather in a portable size. Dr. Cynthia Westfall was Associate Greek Editor and one of the translators of the New Testament, and Dr. Mark Boda was one of the translators of the Old Testament.
On July 6, 2011, Dr. Cynthia Long Westfall read a paper co-authored with Bryan Dyer entitled, “Scared to Death: Clues to the Circumstance of the First Readers of the Book of Hebrews,” at the Society of Biblical Literature International Conference in London, UK.
Dr. Lee Beach preached at Logos Baptist Church (Mississauga) on Sunday, May 15. He also preached at Cobourg Alliance Church (Cobourg, ON) on May 29 and June 5 doing a mini-series entitled "Jesus Remixed."
On May 29, 2011, Dr. Michael Knowles read a paper entitled “Sowing Seeds: A Parabolic Homiletic,” for the annual meeting of the Canadian Evangelical Theological Society, part of Congress 2011 of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Between May 29 and 31 he attended the annual meeting of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies, which is also part of Congress 2011.
On May 30, Dr. Paul Evans read a paper entitled “History in the Eye of the Beholder: Assessing Allegations of Racism in Modern Historical Reconstructions of Ancient Israel” for the “Ancient Historiography” seminar of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies. Divinity College doctoral students are also well represented at the CSBS annual meeting. During the same session in which Dr. Evans presents his research, Anna Lee read a paper entitled “Old Testament Historiography: A New Perspective on Methodological Approach,” while later the same day Tony Pyles presented a study entitled “Crudity, Prudery, and Treachery: Translating Sex in the Song of Songs” in the “Hebrew Bible” session, and Sharon Baines read “The Cohesiveness of 2 Chronicles 33:1–36:23 as a Literary Unit Concluding the Chronicler’s History” at a second session of the “Ancient Historiography” seminar. On the following day, May 31, Esther (Xiaxia) Xue presented her research on “A Narrative Analysis of the Longer Ending of Mark: Encounter with the Risen Jesus,” for the “New Testament” session.
On May 17, 2011, McMaster Divinity College conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity honoris causa upon David Mainse, founder of Crossroads Christian Communications Inc. Dr. Stanley Porter noted in his citation that this degree was awarded for “his significant contribution to Christian witness and mission throughout Canada and the world. His dedication and commitment to the work of the church, his contribution to society, and his effective communication of the Gospel make him a worthy recipient.” During his ongoing Thank You Canada tour, Dr. Mainse is gathering information for McMaster Divinity College on key requirements pastors in Canada see as necessary to prepare the next generation of Christian leaders. These findings will greatly aid us in our mission of preparing men and women for leadership in the church, academy, and society.
Dr. Cynthia Long Westfall delivered a paper co-authored with Bryan Dyer entitled, “The Intertextual Relationships in 2 Peter & Jude: Exploring the Issue of Canon and Sources,” at the Evangelical Theological Society Midwest, Cincinatti, OH, on March 26, 2011.
On March 25, 2011 Nathan Hui, MacDiv Ph.D. student, delivered a paper at the Evangelical Theological Society Midwest, Cincinatti, OH on “The Mission of the Jerusalem Apostles: The Canonical Function of James, Peter, Jude, and John.”
Congratulations to Dr. Phil C. Zylla on the publication of his recent book Virtue as Consent to Being: A Pastoral-Theological Perspective on Jonathan Edwards's Construct of Virtue.
Dr. Gordon Heath attended the 2011 Lilly Conference on Theological Research for Grant Recipients in Pittsburgh from February 25-27, 2011.
We are pleased to announce that Rev. Dr. Gary Walsh has joined McMaster Divinity College as the Director of Church Relations. Click for details.
Congratulations to Dr. Gordon Heath and Jim Dvorak (Ph.D. (Cand.)) on the publication of their recent book Baptism: Historical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspectives.
Congratulations to Beth Stovell who has been appointed Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies in the School of Theology and Ministry at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida, beginning August 2011.
Congratulations to Dr. Phil C. Zylla on the publication of his recent book Virtue as Consent to Being: A Pastoral-Theological Perspective on Jonathan Edwards's Construct of Virtue.
Congratulations to Dr. Steve Studebaker on the publication of his recent book Pentecostalism and Globalization: The Impact of Globalization on Pentecostal Theology and Ministry.
From November 16-23, 2010, Drs. Stanley Porter, Phil Zylla, Mark Boda, Paul Evans, and Cynthia Long Westfall participated in the ETS and SBL conferences in Atlanta, Georgia.
From October 27 to November 11, 2010, Drs. Stanley Porter and Phil Zylla visited seminaries and universities in Korea, Hong Kong and Hawaii. While there, Dr. Porter gave papers at Chongshin Seminary, the Korean Evangelical Society of New Testament Study Conference and Westminster Seminary in Korea as well as Evangel Seminary in Hong Kong.
On October 25-27, 2010, Drs. Stanley Porter, Lee Beach, and James Peterson spoke at the Reignite conference for CBOQ pastors being held at Nottawasaga Resort. Dr. Porter’s topic on Monday evening was “The Early Church and Today’s Church” Insights from the Book of Acts, Dr. Beach’s topic on Tuesday morning was “Leaving, Seeking, Emerging: The Church in Canadian Culture”, and Dr. Peterson’s topic on Wednesday morning was “Key Issues in Theology and Ethics Today”.
Dr. Gordon Heath delivered a lecture on “The Great Association in the Sky”; Maritime Baptists and the War of 1812 on October 20, 2010 at the Public Archives of Nova Scotia.
On September 22, 1960, the new building and chapel of McMaster Divinity College was dedicated. On the actual 50th anniversary of this date, we, along with many alumni and guests, rededicated the chapel. Dr. Wendy Porter wrote a song, May This Always Be a Place, especially for the chapel service. Dr. Stanley Porter delivered the sermon entitled "Pillars of Worship."
McMaster Divinity College bells ring for the first time in 20 years. Read more . . .
Congratulations to Dr. Stanley E. Porter on the publication of his recent book, Inking the Deal: A guide for Successful Academic Publishing.
MacDiv is saddened by the loss of our beloved colleague, Dr. Clark Pinnock, Professor Emeritus. Read more . . .
We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Lee Beach has been appointed Assistant Professor of Christian Ministry as of July 1, 2010. Dr. Beach will be teaching Ministry Studies courses as well as directing our Ministry Formation program.
Congratulations to Dr. Paul Evans as the winner of the R.B.Y. Scott Award for his book entitled The Invasion of Sennacherib in the Book of Kings: A Source-Critical and Rhetorical Study of 2 Kings 18-19.
Congratulations to Dr. Mark Boda on the publication of his recent book, From the Foundations to the Crenellations: Temple Rebuilding Texts in the Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible (AOAT 366).
Congratulations to Dr. Andrew Gabriel, Ph.D. graduate 2010, for his full-time appointment to the faculty of Horizon College & Seminary in Saskatchewan.
Dr. Phil Zylla gave a workshop entitled “Academic Leadership and the Varieties of Theological Schools: Developing Vision and Serving Missions” for the Canadian schools division at the ATS Chief Academic Officers Seminar held in Montreal on June 22, 2010.
Congratulations to Francis Pang, Ph.D. student in New Testament studies, on winning the Best Student Paper Award at the Society of Biblical Literature Regional Meeting (Eastern Great Lakes Region) for his paper entitled “Matthew's Atomistic Use of Scripture: An Analysis of Matthew 4:15-16.”
Congratulations to Bryan Dyer, Ph.D. student in New Testament studies, on winning the Graduate Student Paper Competition at the 2010 Midwest Regional meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society for his paper entitled "A Great Conflict Full of Suffering: An Analysis of Suffering in the Epistle to the Hebrews in Light of Feminist Concerns."
Congratulations to Dr. Gordon Heath who has received an ATS Lilly Theology Research Grant, one of only 20 granted in North America this year. These grants are designed to encourage high quality research across the theological disciplines.
Congratulations to Dr. Mark Boda on the publication of his recent book, 1-2 Chronicles, in the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary series, published by Tyndale House Publishers.

Dr. Wendy Porter was the Harp Professor in Residence at the Anderson University School of Theology in Anderson, Indiana, from April 11-15, 2010.
Dr. Stanley Porter presented a paper entitled “What Do We Know and How Do We Know It? Reconstructing Christianity from Its Manuscripts” at The Scrolls and the Scriptures conference held at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO from April 1-3, 2010.
Dr. Paul Evans was formally installed as Assistant Professor of Old Testament on March 24th at 1:30 pm in the MacDiv Chapel.

MacDiv is pleased to announce that Dr. Gordon Heath has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Christian History.

MacDiv is pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Knowles has been promoted to the rank of Professor.

Congratulations to Dr. Michael P. Knowles on the release of his latest book We Preach Not Ourselves: Paul on Proclamation published by Brazos Press (May 2008).

Congratulations to Dr. Gordon Heath on the release of his latest book entitled Doing Church History: A User-Friendly Introduction to Researching the History of Christianity published by Clements (September 2008).
Dr. Stanley Porter and Dr. Wendy Porter have recently edited for publication New Testament Greek Papyri and Parchments: New Editions, in two volumes, one with the edited texts and the other with photographs. This work, published by the Berlin publisher of Walter de Gruyter, is the culmination of over ten years of work editing these documents in the Papyrussammlung of the Austrian National Library in Vienna. The volumes include all of the New Testament Greek papyri and parchments housed in Vienna, as well as several lectionary texts and the famous Fayyum Fragment apocryphal gospel.
MacDiv is proud to announce the release of its first book from the new McMaster Divinity College Press. Defining Issues in Pentecostalism: Classical and Emergent is a collection of papers presented at the MacDiv Pentecostal Forum in February 2007.