Faculty Works

Faculty members at Sioux Falls Seminary are active in the practice of life-long learning. Through this practice, each faculty member engages in research, writing, publishing works, and giving presentations to peers and ministry professionals.

This page highlights academic news and some of the recent works and accomplishments of our faculty. It is our hope that this page can serve as a source of information and learning to others.

2009 Sioux Falls Seminary Advent Devotional Booklet Released
Reading Format
This format is set up for reading in .pdf format online.
Click here to download the reading format.

Booklet Format
This format is designed for printing and distribution of the 2008 Advent booklet.
Click here to download the booklet format.

Dr. Thompson and Seminary Alumnus Participate in Convention of the College Theology Society

Dr. Philip Thompson, Sioux Falls Seminary Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Heritage, and Ryan Stander, Sioux Falls Seminary alumnus, will take part in the 55th annual convention of the College Theology Society (CTS) on May 28-31 at the University of Notre Dame.  The CTS will be joined by members of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion.   

Thompson will serve as a panelist on Friday, May 29, for a session on The Gift of Authority: Theological Explorations.  He will share his expertise alongside Barry Harvey of Baylor University and Mike Broadway of Shaw University Divinity School.  Thompson has been part of the Sioux Falls Seminary faculty since 2001.  He holds a Ph.D. from Emory University, a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, and a B.A. from Mars Hill College.

Stander, a 2003 Master of Arts (Bible and Theology) graduate, will present a paper on Friday, May 29.  His paper highlights the importance of place in Christian theology and the role it plays in defining the human imprint upon the landscape and in revealing the presence of Christ in the world.  Through his research in the history of photography, Stander found a visual parallel between what was being depicted in photographs and the emergence of a discipline known as human geography.  This discipline often focuses on the way in which persons and communities orient themselves to places of significance for their lives.

The National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion is a community of teaching scholars,  most of which teach at Baptist-affiliated schools, colleges, and seminaries.  Other NABPR members hail from a wide range of institutions in the United States, Canada, and abroad, including church-related and state-supported schools. 

The theme of the 2009 convention is "God, Grace, and Creation."  To view the convention program, visit http://www.collegetheology.org/index.php/annual-convention/convention-program.

Professor Authors Book on Theosis
Dr. Vladimir Kharlamov, Assistant Professor of Spiritual Theology, has authored The Beauty of the Unity and the Harmony of the Whole: The Concept of Theosis in the Theology of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.

The book, to be released later this month, traces the emergence and development of the deification theme in Greek Patristic theology, with its subsequent transformation into the theology of theosis, in Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.

While primarily focusing on academic interest, the book is written keeping the general reading audience in mind as well. All quotations of the original texts are provided with existing or new English translation, while important Greek terminology is acknowledged. Readers interested in Christian spirituality, late antiquity, early Christian theology, and Neoplatonism should find this book useful.

To purchase the book or to learn more, click here.

2008 Sioux Falls Seminary Advent Devotional Booklet Released
Reading Format
This format is set up for reading in .pdf format online.
Click here to download the reading format.

Booklet Format
This format is designed for printing and distribution of the 2008 Advent booklet.
Click here to download the booklet format.

About the Devotional Booklet
This year's booklet, Devotional Thoughts, The Season of Advent 2008, contains an original devotional for each week of Advent plus Christmas Day.  Each devotional, written by a member of the seminary’s faculty or administration, features suggested scripture readings and a prayer.  An original Christmas hymn written by Dr. Ted Faszer, Professor of Educational Ministries and Church Music, completes this Advent collection.

The Pith of the Apocalypse by Dr. Paul Rainbow Published
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Paul Rainbow, Professor of New Testament at Sioux Falls Seminary, has published, The Pith of the Apocalypse: Essential Message and Principles for Interpretation.

Focusing on the prophetic summons to the church in the book of Revelation, Pith was written to help interpreters see more clearly the text's message to serve God and Christ faithfully in the midst of a pagan society that exalts power, wealth, and pleasure and to revisit the text with enhanced confidence and understanding.

According to Rainbow, his aspirations for The Pith of the Apocalypse were "to open up the book to the bewildered by explaining some generally accepted principles of interpretation that any thoughtful person can use to penetrate its message. The present study is intended for practicing clergy and theological students; for questing lay leaders who want an approach informed by recent scholarship; even, in places, for scholars prying into unsolved problems."

The book can be purchased through Amazon by clicking here.
Rainbow has also authored The Way of Salvation and maintains the blog Reformatio Continua.

2008 Spring Publications List Released
We are pleased to release the Spring 2008 list of current and upcoming publications by our faculty.  Click here to view the Spring 2008 Faculty Publication List.
Click here to view the 2007 Faculty Publication List. 
(Copies of the lists from 2005 and 2006 are also available at the bottom of the page for download.)

Preaching Ethically by Dr. Ronald D. Sisk Released
Sioux Falls Seminary is pleased to announce that Academic Vice President and Dean Dr. Ronald D. Sisk has authored Preaching Ethically, Being True to the Gospel, Your Congregation, and Yourself.  The book, which is available for purchase, was published by the Alban Institute.

Preaching Ethically suggests guidelines for preaching in the midst of various factors that might tempt a pastor to misuse the pulpit.  Sisk wrote the book based on his twenty years of experience as a pastor, his training in Christian ethics, his attempts as a seminary professor to train preachers, and a lifetime of listening to sermons.

Sisk serves as Academic Vice President and Dean as well as Professor of Homiletics and Christian Ministry at Sioux Falls Seminary.  He holds degrees from the University of Arkansas, New York University, and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and has pastored churches in Kentucky, California, and Texas.  He has also authored The Competent Pastor: Skills and Self-knowledge for Serving Well, Surviving Ministry, and Cop Out, Conform, or Commit in addition to numerous journal and periodical articles.  To see a complete list of recent works by other faculty members at Sioux Falls Seminary, scroll to the 2007 Fall Publications List story.

To learn more about Preaching Ehtically or to purchase a copy, click here.