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About the Seminary

Will Andrews

Will teaches primarily in the School of Restorative Arts (SRA) in the Bible Field. Teaching both Old and New Testament courses in the SRA, Will makes a significant contribution to the program. He comes to North Park with many years of teaching experience within the correctional system and brings a passion for education and investing in students. Will is in the process of completing his PhD at Chicago Theological Seminary and holds a Master of Divinity and Mater of Theology from Union Theological Seminary.

Casey Barton

Casey holds a PhD in Practical Theology: Homiletics from Emmanuel College and is ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church. Casey teaches Homiletics primarily in the Ignite program.

 

 

 Debbie Blue

Debbie teaching in the Covenant Orientation and Field Education programs, serving as an instructor for Vocational Excellence. Debbie brings a wealth of knowledge to classroom with experience in local churches, denominational leadership, as a member of the Board of Ordered Ministry, and holding ordination in the Evangelical Covenant Church. Debbie holds an MDiv from North Park Theological Seminary.

 

Jodie Boyer

Jodie teaches in the History Field at North Park and brings great classroom and pastoral experience to the classroom. Jodie holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and an MDiv from Duke Divinity School. Jodie teaches online and intensive classes for NPTS. Cheryl Lynn

 

 

Christina Burrows

Christina Burrows holds an MDiv from Regent College, Vancouver, BC, and she is a licensed Covenant pastor. She is a graduate of the C. John Weborg Center for Spiritual Direction at NPTS, where she now teaches. Originally from the UK, Christina brings experience as a teacher, spiritual director, and global missions practitioner and trainer.

 

Cheryl Lynn Cain

Cheryl Lynn teaches in several areas at NPTS, including Ministry as a professor for the Journey to Mosaic experience, Field Education modules, and Spiritual Formation. Chery Lynn is also the Pastor of Multicultural Ministries at Church of the Good Shepherd and brings her pastoral and educational experience to the classroom and enriches and conversation with her passion for justice and teaching.

 

Henry Cervantes

Henry teaches in the Christian Formation Field in the School of Restorative Arts.

Devyn Chambers Johnson

Devyn holds a DMin from Virginia Theological Seminary and an MDiv from North Park Theological Seminary. Devyn serves as the Advisor to the DMin in Preaching in addition to teaching courses in the Ministry Field.

 

Jeffrey Crafton

Jeff holds a PhD from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and a DMin from Fuller Theological Seminary. Jeff is ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church and first started teaching for NPTS in 1987, having previously taught Greek and New Testament he currently teaches in the Covenant Orientation program.

 

Catherine Gilliard

Catherine is a published author, preacher, workshop facilitator, teacher, and justice advocate who specializes in the areas of leadership development, justice advocacy, Christian community development and personal formation, through discipleship praxis of mentoring and coaching. Catherine serves as the Superintendent of the Southeast Conference of the Covenant. She holds a DMin in Preaching from NPTS and currently teaches in the Covenant Orientation program.

 

Dominique Gilliard

Dominique holds an MDiv from NPTS and is ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church. He started teaching for NPTS in 2012 and has taught in the Ministry and Theology fields and currently teaches in the Ministry field in both the School of Restorative Arts and online and in-person on the Chicago campus. Dominique also serves as the Director of Racial Righteousness and Reconciliation for the Covenant’s Love Mercy Do Justice and has published award winning and critically acclaimed books, such as Rethinking Incarceration and Subversive Witness. 

Paul Grant

Paul is a specialist in African Christian history and has done research in eight countries in three continents, He holds a PhD in History from the University of Wisconsin. He has taught in the History Field at NPTS since 2019. As a licensed minister at Fountain of Life Covenant Church in Madison, Wisconsin, he brings to the classroom decades of practical experience in multiethnic congregational life. Paul authored two books: Healing and Power in Ghana: Early Indigenous Expressions of Christianity (Baylor, 2020) and Blessed are the Uncool: Authentic Living in a World of Show (InterVarsity, 2007).

 

D. Darrell Griffin

D. Darrell holds a DMin in preaching from NPTS and an MDiv from Harvard Divinity School. He is Senior Pastor, Spiritual Director, Published Author, Certified Ministry Coach, and Certified Enneagram Trainer who is committed to educating, empowering, and transforming the lives of God’s people. He has served over 30 years in full-time ministry and brings this experience along with his extensive leadership experience to the classroom.

 

Tim Harben

Tim holds a DMin in Spiritual Formation Ashland Theological Seminary and is a graduate of the C. John Weborg Center for Spiritual Direction at NPTS. Tim brings extensive experience as a spiritual director as a professor in the Center for Spiritual Direction.

Brittany Kim

Brittany teaches in the Bible Field at NPTS. Brittany holds a PhD from Wheaton College and has extensive teaching experience as well as having published numerous articles and essays and presented at conferences across the country.

 

 

Andrew Larsen

Andy brings his extensive experience as a missionary as well as his educational experience, holding a DMin from Fuller Theological Seminary, to his teaching in the Ministry field at NPTS. He currently serves with the Covenant’s Serve Globally’s Mosaic Project which is fostering opportunities for the Gospel of Christ to emerge among Muslims.

 

Carol Lawson

Carol has served the Covenant for many years in both conference and denominational leadership roles. She holds a MA in Christian Education from Bethel Theological Seminary and is a certified Spiritual Director and is ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church. Carol helped developed and now teaches the Vocational Excellence course which is part of the Covenant Orientation program and NPTS degree programs.

 

Tammy Long

Tammy is a trained Spiritual Director, having graduated from the C. John Weborg Center for Spiritual Direction at NPTS and hold an MA in Christian Formation from NPTS. Tammy brings both pastoral, business, and teaching experience to the Spiritual Formation classes she teaches.

Obed Manwatkar

Obed teaching in the Ministry Field and has taught both online and in the School of Restorative Arts. He is completing his PhD studies in Christian Studies at Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology, and Sciences in Allahabad, India. Obed also holds a BA in Theology from Punjab Bible College and an MBA from Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University.

 

David Mark

David earned his DMin and MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary and is ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church. David has extensive experience as a missionary and brings this experience into the classroom, currently teaching in the Ministry Field for NPTS.

Beth Miller

Beth is a Spiritual director, teacher, author, workshop leader, and retreat leader with a heart for emotional and spiritual health.  Beth teaches in the Spiritual Formation area and is a trained spiritual director, receiving her training at the C. John Weborg Center of Spiritual Direction at NPTS. Beth also holds a MA from Bethel Seminary.

Bryan Murphy

Bryan is an energetic educator with passion and experience in helping students explore how to integrate faith and theology into the social, communal, and professional arenas in which we live. He holds an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary. Bryan brings a unique background in engineering, pastoral ministry, and leadership position to his approach to teaching.

Larry Murphy

Larry holds a PhD from Graduate Theological Union at the University of California, Berkley. Larry is an accomplished author, having authored four books and numerous articles and journal entries, and brings an extensive knowledge of Church history to the classes he teaches for NPTS in the History Field.

Lyn Nixon

Lyn teaches in the Bible Field and has a particular interest in New Testament Greek, the books of the New Testament, Hermeneutics, and especially the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament. Lyn holds a PhD from the London School of Theology and an MDiv from Bethel Seminary and first started teaching at NPTS in 2015.

Meredith Nyberg

Meredith holds a PhD from the University of Gloucestershire and a MDiv from Bethel Seminary. Meredith teaches Old Testament classes in the Bible Field.

David Nystrom

David holds a BA from the University of California at Davis, a M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Davis.  A specialist in both Roman social history and New Testament Theology, David is the author of five books and numerous articles.  He has been a pastor and a consultant to churches and church planting organizations.  He is an award-winning teacher and a sought-after speaker. David teaches New Testament in the Ignite program.

Christine Olfelt

Christine holds a PhD from Garrett Theological Seminary and teaches in the Christian Formation Field for NPTS. Christine brings experience in teaching and denominational leadership to her teaching at NPTS, teaching both in-person and online.

Carolyn Poterek

PoterekCarolyn teaches in the Christian Formation Field and holds an EdD from Seattle University and an MDiv from NPTS and is ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church. Carolyn is an Associate Professor of Education at North Park University and brings both pastoral and education experiences to her classes in the Ignite program and in-person on the Chicago campus.

 

Eugenio Restrepo

Eugenio holds a PhD from Universidad de Málaga and an MDiv from NPTS. He brings over 35 years of teaching experience along with extensive international mission work to the classroom teaching in the Ministry Field.

 

 

Susan Rieske

Susan teaches in the Bible Field and earned her PhD from Wheaton College. She has taught both undergraduate and seminary courses for North Park since 2018. Here research interests include Biblical Theology, The Use of the Old Testament in the New, New Testament Ethics, The Gospels, Historical Jesus, Second Temple Judaism, Jewish Apocalyptic Literature, Women’s Issues and Feminism, and Christian Environmentalism

Mark Safstrom

Mark Safstrom in front of Old MainMark teaches in the History and Theology field and Covenant Orientation. He earned his B.A. from North Park University before earning both a M.A. and Ph.D from the University of Washington. Mark has served in an adjunct position with North Park Theological Seminary since 2010. Mark’s educational focus has been on Scandinavian history and he currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Swedish-American Historical Society.