New Faculty Join College of Theology and Ministry

August 10, 2011

Three professors have joined the faculty of the Herschel H. Hobbs College of Theology and Ministry at OBU for the fall 2011 semester. Dr. Tawa Anderson has been named assistant professor of philosophy; Dr. Bruce Carlton has been named professor of applied ministry and director of the Avery T. Willis Center for Global Outreach; and Dr. Christian George has been named assistant professor of religion.

Dr. Tawa Anderson	Dr. Bruce Carlton	Dr. Christian George

Anderson earned a bachelor's degree with honors in political science from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in 1997. He earned a master's degree in pastoral ministry from Edmonton Baptist Seminary (now Taylor Seminary). He earned his doctorate in worldview and apologetics from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Prior to entering his doctoral studies, Anderson served for seven years as the teaching and preaching English pastor at Edmonton Chinese Baptist Church, a predominately college-aged Canadian Southern Baptist church. He also served as chaplain for the Baptist Student Ministries at the University of Alberta. In this dual role, he led college retreats, seminars and forums, including apologetics seminars at province-wide student retreats.

At Southern Seminary, he facilitated numerous doctoral seminars on his research interests: apologetics and worldview, philosophy and world religions. In his role as a teaching assistant (Garret Fellow), he lectured bachelor's and master's degree students.

Anderson is a member of several professional organizations: Evangelical Philosophical Society; Evangelical Theological Society; Society of Christian Philosophers; International Society of Christian Apologetics; and American Academy of Religion. He is a certified apologetics instructor with the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Carlton earned a bachelor's degree from Georgetown Baptist College, graduating summa cum laude with majors in psychology, sociology and social work. He earned a master's degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a master's degree in social science from Azusa Pacific University. He earned his doctorate from the University of South Africa in Pretoria.

He previously served as associate professor of missions, director of the World Impact Center and department coordinator at Boyce College. From 1990-2007, he served as a strategy coordinator and strategy associate in South Asia with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He served as a church planter in Hong Kong with the IMB from 1986-90. He was pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Laurens, S.C., from 1983-86.

Carlton has served on the International Missions Task Force for Sojourn Community Church, as well as in pre-marital counseling for the church. He also has served as a small-group mentor. He is instructor and professor of record for "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement." He has served as a global trainer to various missions agencies, and he is a member of the Evangelical Missiological Society.

George earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts at Samford University and a master's degree from Beeson Divinity School. He earned a doctorate from St. Mary's College at the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom.

As a tutor at St. Andrews from 2009-11, he facilitated class tutorial groups. He also served as teaching assistant at Beeson from 2006-07 and as an instructor in Samford University Metro Program in 2006.

George has served as a preacher in churches throughout the United States and the United Kingdom since 2000. He has been a member of the Worship and Spirituality Commission of the Baptist World Alliance since 2008 and a consultant for Faith and Culture Books for Zondervan since 2007. He was licensed to preach at Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., in 2004.

He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society; Society for the Study of Theology; Evangelical Alliance; and Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. His research interests include historical evangelical theology; pilgrimage and medieval theology; Christology and New Testament hermeneutics; postmodernism, technology and younger evangelicalism; Celtic monasticism and Franciscan spirituality; spiritual formation and spiritual disciplines; and preaching and the arts.