Faculty Publications

Matthew Barrett is Associate Professor of Christian Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine, an evangelical publication making theology accessible to those in the church. He is the host of the Credo podcast, where he has conversations with the best theologians today to discuss the most important issues in theology. Dr. Barrett has been the executive editor of Credo Magazine for over ten years, publishing over 40 issues, and you can read about why he founded Credo here.

He is the author of numerous books, such as Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit (Baker), None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God (Baker), God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture (Zondervan), and Canon, Covenant, and Christology: Rethinking Jesus and the Scriptures of Israel (IVP).

He has also edited books such as The Doctrine on Which the Church Stands or Falls (Crossway), Reformation Theology (Crossway), Four Views on the Historical Adam (Zondervan), and he is the series editor of The 5 Solas Series with Zondervan.

He has several books that will release soon, including The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church (Zondervan) and The Doctrine of the Trinity (IVP Academic). Currently, he is devoting the next several years to writing The Doctrine of God (Baker Academic).

He is originally from California, receiving his BA from Biola University in La Mirada, CA. He received his MDiv and PhD in systematic theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Prior to MBTS he was Lecturer of systematic theology and church history in the UK and Assistant Professor of Christian Studies at California Baptist University. During his time in California, he was also Senior Pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Riverside, CA.

Dr. Barrett is passionate about the retrieval of classical theology and loves nothing more than seeing his students embrace and embody the theology of Christian and Reformed orthodoxy. As an elder in the local church, he is a theologian with a pastor’s heart, always eager to demonstrate how doctrine leads to doxology.

He is married to Elizabeth and they have four children. They love KC BBQ, rooting for the Royals, Chiefs, and Jayhawks. Dr. Barrett is an elder at Emmaus Church in north Kansas City. He is also a diehard Lakers fan. You can follow his weekly online writings at Credo Magazine, and follow him on Twitter. You can listen to Matthew Barrett by subscribing to the Credo podcast.

Dr. Alan Branch is the Professor of Christian Ethics at Midwestern Seminary where he has served since 2001. He earned his undergraduate degree from Kennesaw State College and his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Since coming to MBTS, Dr. Branch has served in a variety of roles including vice president of student development (2001-2008). He currently serves as a Research Fellow in Christian Ethics for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, is a regular presenter at the Evangelical Theological Society, and frequent contributor to Baptist Press and the Missouri Baptist Pathway. In addition, he served as a chaplain in the United States Army Reserves from 2009 to 2013 and served a tour in the Middle East from 2011 to 2012. He preaches frequently and has served as interim pastor for churches in Kansas and Missouri. Dr. Branch and his wife, Lisa, have two daughters.

H.B. Charles, Jr. has been the pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida since 2008. Over the course of H.B.’s pastorate, his love for God’s Word, the church, and lost people has resulted in joyfully balancing his pastoral responsibilities with speaking engagements in revivals, conferences, and other church events. He is married to his best friend, Crystal, and they are the proud parents of three children, H.B. Charles III, Natalie Marie and Hailey Breanne. He is author of numerous books, including On Pastoring: A Short Guide to Living, Leading, and Ministering as a Pastor and On Preaching: Personal & Pastoral Insights for the Preparation & Practice of Preaching, as well as a contributor to the Power in the Pulpit, and continues to seek further education to help fulfill his prayerful desire to write and teach alongside his calling to pastoral ministry.

Jason Duesing serves as the academic Provost and Professor of Historical Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He came to MBTS after serving for more than a decade on the administrative leadership team and faculty at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Duesing earned his Ph.D. in Historical Theology and Baptist Studies from Southwestern Seminary in 2008. He also holds a M.Div. from Southeastern Seminary and a B.A. in Speech Communications from Texas A&M University in College Station.

Duesing serves as a research fellow for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, on the board of directors for the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, academic editor of the Midwestern Journal of Theology, and general editor for For the Church resources. He is also a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and regular contributor to Baptist Press. Duesing is married to Kalee, and together they have four children: Gracyn, Ford, Lindsey, and George.

Dr. Radu Gheorghiță is a specialist in the New Testament, with additional teaching responsibilities in the Old Testament and Septuagint. He is currently professor of biblical studies. Dr. Gheorghiță is a native of Romania and received the Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Cluj, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. His Master of Divinity degree is from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Ill, and his Doctor of Philosophy is from the University of Cambridge, England. Dr. Gheorghiță came to Midwestern from Emmanuel Bible Institute in Oradea, Romania. He currently resides in Europe and directs the Romanian DMin Program while returning annually to Kansas City to teach in Midwestern’s other academic programs.

Dr. Gheorghiță’s field of research is Septuagint studies and the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament. He has a special interest in Scripture memorization, both in English and the original languages; and he is able to recite entire books of the New Testament, including 1 Timothy and the Revelation. Dr. Gheorghiță is also a talented musician in both guitar and organ. He and his wife, Liz, have five children.

Dr. Rodney A. Harrison provides oversight to Midwestern’s academic strategic initiatives for institutional effectiveness, and accreditation. Dr. Harrison comes to Midwestern following a fruitful ministry in church planting and missions in California, the Dakotas, and Minnesota. Prior to coming to Midwestern, he was New Church Extension Associate for the California Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Harrison is the author of four books and has written material for LifeWay Christian Resources, The Revitalizer, and several academic journals.

Dr. Harrison holds the Bachelor of Arts degree from Dallas Baptist University, the Master of Arts in Christian Education and Doctor of Ministry in Mission Administration from Golden Gate Seminary. He has also pursued post-doctoral studies at Oxford University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Harrison is an avid motorcyclist, outdoorsman and shooting sports enthusiast. He and his wife Julie have three grown children, Joshua, Cassandra and Gabrielle.

Dr. N. Blake Hearson is professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Midwestern Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. He is currently the Book Review Editor of the Midwestern Journal of Theology and served as the managing editor in the past. He has served as an associate pastor of small groups at Crossroads Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio and been an Elder at two church plants in the Kansas City area. He earned his doctorate and a Master of Philosophy degree in Hebraic and Cognate Studies from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. He also holds a Master of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts and the Master and Bachelor of Arts degrees from Wheaton College, in Wheaton, Illinois.

Hearson is a member of the faculty at Columbia Evangelical Seminary and has taught community courses at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He has done special lectures on Sacred Space and the Dead Sea Scrolls and does occasional guest speaking at churches and conferences. He is co-editor of and contributor to the book Coffee Shop Conversations: Evangelical Perspectives on Current Issues. He has published articles and reviews, presented papers, and contributed to the Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Old Testament for the Modern English Version Bible.

He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Evangelical Theological Society, the National Association of Professors of Hebrew, and the Institute for Biblical Research. His research interests include Old Testament Theology, Early Rabbinic Interpretation, Sacred Space in the Bible, the prophetic books, and Ecclesiastes.

He and his wife, Jennifer, have two daughters, Emma and Claire. They live in Kansas City and are members at Northland Baptist Church.

Dr. Johnston serves as Senior Professor of Evangelism. Born in Paris, France, to missionary parents, Dr. Johnston’s heart for missions and evangelism was forged in the context of post-Christian Europe. His fluency in French and familiarity with European cultures have served him well in leading evangelistic teams in six countries and across four continents. He also brings to his students seventeen years of pastoral ministry experience in the United States and Canada. Dr. Johnston received the Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and the Bachelor of Science from Wheaton College. Johnston is married to Raschelle. They have three married children and eight grandchildren.

His research interests include Medieval French history, the Swiss Reformation, and related textual studies in theology and practice. For example, he has written on the evangelistic zeal of Calvin’s Geneva and approaches to the Great Commission in the 12th and 13th Centuries in Southern France.

His articles have appeared in Trinity Journal, the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry, Midwestern Journal of Theology, Perichoresis, Preaching Magazine, as well as Decision Magazine, the Lausanne Movement, and Preaching Online. While serving as president of the Southern Baptist Professors of Evangelism Fellowship he has edited two books: Mobilizing a Great Commission Church for Outreach (Wipf and Stock) and A History of Evangelism in North America (Kregel). His passion for New Testament Greek missional verbs is captured in his Consumed: A Passion for the Great Commission (Evangelism Unlimited).”

Dr. Michael McMullen was born in the United Kingdom and grew up in Hull, Yorkshire.  He was saved at the age of 16 and called to ministry in the same year.  Before attending university, however, Dr. McMullen engaged various kinds of employment, including work with the local fire brigade and in hospitals as an orderly and nurse.  At the age of 24, Dr. McMullen began his studies at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, from which he took his Bachelor of Divinity, Master of Theology, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.  His doctoral work on Jonathan Edwards was financed by a major government scholarship, gained on a competitive basis, and carried on partly at Yale University. Dr. McMullen has pastored churches in Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow, and in Kansas City, KS; and he presently maintains an active supply-preaching ministry in the greater Kansas City area.  He has been a part-time lecturer at Aberdeen University and a distance tutor both in at St. John’s College and the Open Theological College, UK.

He has authored several books, including Hearts Aflame (Triangle/SPCK), Clouds of Heaven (Triangle/SPCK), The Passionate Preacher (Christian Focus), The Prayers and Meditations of Susanna Wesley (MPH, London), God’s Polished Arrow (Christian Focus), and The Unpublished Sermons of M’Cheyne (Banner of Truth). His 2004 work, The Blessing of God (Broadman & Holman), was a Gold Medallion finalist in the Inspiration category.  He is also Associate Editor (Church History) for Oxford University’s New Dictionary of National Biography.

Sung Jin Park is Dean of Asian Studies and associate professor of Biblical Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to coming to Midwestern, Dr. Park was adjunct faculty to teach Biblical Hebrew poetry and syntax to Ph.D. and Rabbinical students and research assistant of Syriac literature for the Comprehensive Aramaic Project at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Dr. Park holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Material Science & Engineering from Hanyang University and POSTECH in South Korea. Before being called into full-time ministry, he worked for Hyundai Motor Company as a research engineer for six years with 32 international patents and utilities. After moving to the US, he earned a Th.M. in Old and New Testaments from Dallas Theological Seminary in 2004, and a M.Phil. in Judaic, Hebraic, and Cognate Studies and a Ph.D. in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies from Hebrew Union College in 2010 and 2012.

Dr. Park’s research has focused on Biblical Hebrew poetry and narratives, the diachronic linguistic development of the Semitic languages, religions of Israel and Ugarit, and the Masoretic accentuation system. His publication includes Typology in Biblical Hebrew Meter: A Generative Metrical Approach (2017), The Fundamentals of Hebrew Accents: Divisions and Exegetical Roles beyond Syntax (2020), and several articles in internationally recognized academic journals. He has also served Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament as editorial board.

Dr. Park is a recipient of numerous honors and awards, including The Isadore and Goldie Millstone Fellowship (HUC, 2005-9), Rev. John Oak Foundation Scholarship (Sarang Community Church, Korea, 2005-7), High Honors (DTS, 2004), Merrill F. Unger Award in the Old Testament (DTS, 2004), International Student Full Scholarship (DTS, 1999-2003), Magna Cum Laude (POSTECH, 1993), POSCO Research Fellowship (1991-3), Hyundai Motors Research Fellowship (1991-3), Summa Cum Laude (Hanyang, 1991), University Scholarship of Excellence (Hanyang, 1987-9), and National Research Foundation Fellowship of Excellence (The Government of the Republic of Korea, 1989-1991).

Dr. Park has previously served Cincinnati Chinese Church and Arlington Chinese Church for 14 years and foreign laborer ministry at Sarang Community Church (Seoul, Korea). Dr. Park is married to Alice and has three children: Eileen, Eunice, and Euclid.

Patrick Schreiner is Acting Director of the Residency PhD program and Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He previously taught at Western Seminary in Portland Oregon (2014–20) and received his Ph.D. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (2014).

He is the author of a number of books, including The Body of Jesus: A Spatial Analysis of the Kingdom in Matthew (T&T Clark), The Kingdom of God and the Glory of the Cross (Crossway), Matthew, Disciple and Scribe: The First Gospel and Its Portrait of Jesus (Baker),  and The Ascension of Christ: Recovering a Neglected Doctrine (Lexham Press). He has also contributed chapters to God’s Glory Revealed in Christ: Essays on Biblical Theology in Honor of Thomas R. Schreiner (B&H) and Baptists and the Christian Tradition: Toward an Evangelical Baptist Catholicity (B&H).

He has several forthcoming books including a commentary on Acts (B&H), The Visual Word: An Illustrated Guide to the New Testament Books (Moody), and God’s Plan for His People: A Theology of Acts (Crossway). He also will contribute to some edited books on the Gospel of Matthew and the Trinity. He writes for academic journals such as Currents in Biblical Research and Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, as well as more popular publications such as The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and 9 Marks. He previously hosted a podcast with Western Seminary called Food Trucks in Babylon.

He previously served as an elder in Portland Oregon, participated in the internship at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, and was on staff at a church during college. He has traveled to Papua New Guinea and Cameroon for mission trips/teaching.

Dr. Schreiner loves watching students see the depths and beauty of the Scriptures. This translates into a greater love for God and others as he trains ministers of the gospel who will go out to the nation and the world with the healing message of Jesus.

He is married to Hannah and they have four children. They love good local food, the outdoors, sports, and he enjoys serving local churches through teaching and preaching. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Steven W. Smith is a fourth generation pastor and presently serves as the Senior Pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. Originally from Oklahoma, Smith pastored churches in Virginia and Texas while completing the B.S. in Communications from Liberty University, the M.Div. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Ph.D. in Communications from Regent University.

Prior to serving as Senior Pastor at Immanuel, Smith most recently served as Vice President for Student Services and Professor of Preaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also served on the preaching team at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX.

Smith is passionate about preaching and teaching preaching in the classroom. He is the author of two books on preaching: Dying to Preach, and Recapturing the Voice of God, and the co-author of Preaching for the Rest of Us, as well as related academic articles and chapters in books.. Most importantly he is married to his best friend Ashley and they have three children, Jewell, Sidney, and Shepherd.

Jared C. Wilson serves as Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry, Author in Residence, and General Editor, For the Church.  In addition, he serves as the director of the Pastoral Training Center at Liberty Baptist Church. He’s the author of numerous books, including Gospel Wakefulness, The Prodigal Church (a World Magazine Book of the Year in 2016), The Pastor’s Justification, Supernatural Power for Everyday People, The Gospel Driven Church, and most recently The Gospel According to Satan: Eight Lies About God that Sound Like the Truth. Jared also has an introduction to pastoral ministry coming from Zondervan in 2021.

Jared’s writing has appeared in numerous resources and magazines like Tabletalk, Pulpit Helps, Stand Firm, and Facts & Trends, and he has contributed study notes to the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible and the ESV “The Story” Bible. Jared also blogs regularly at For The Church and The Gospel Coalition.

He and Becky have been married for twenty-three years, and they have two daughters: Macy and Grace.

Dr. John Mark Yeats serves as Vice President of Student Services, Dean of Students and Student Success, Title IX Coordinator, and Professor of Church History at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College. He earned his Ph.D. in Church History from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and also holds degrees from Southern Seminary, Oxford University, and Criswell College.

Yeats has authored three books — Franchising McChurch: Feeding our Obsession with Easy Christianity; The Time is Come: The Rise of British Missions to the Jews, 1808-1818; and Worldviews: Think for Yourself about How We See God — and has contributed articles to multiple journals as well as the Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization. John Mark is married to Angie, and they have four children: Briley, Sean, Cadie, and Jackson.