Nijay Gupta Heading to George Fox Evangelical Seminary (Portland, OR)

Well, friends, time for a special announcement. This summer I will be moving to Portland, OR where I have accepted a New Testament teaching position at George Fox Evangelical Seminary.

A part of me is very sad to leave Northeastern Seminary. I have had a great experience in Rochester and my Northeastern colleagues and students have been wonderful. Whoever eventually ends up replacing me is in for a treat! I have no hesitation in telling anyone interested in teaching there that Northeastern is blessed with outstanding faculty, impeccable leadership, and mature and eager students.

As for my move, I truly believe the opportunity to teach at George Fox is a blessing and an important transition for my family. Sure, there are perks like the Oregon coast, coffee, the music scene, organic food galore, lots of greenery, Powell’s – did I mention coffee? But I was most attracted to working with the faculty and I was impressed with their creativity, ambition, kindness,  scholarship, and the strength of their various degree programs. And, needless to say, it is clear that these are godly men and women who seek to form hearts and hands as well as minds for Christ and the Kingdom of God.

Also, I will get a chance to reconnect with my friends Paul N. Anderson and Kent Yinger (I am filling the vacancy left by Kent’s retirement). I am excited to work, not only with masters degree students, but also as an adviser in the “Semiotics and Future Studies” track of the Doctor of Ministry program headed up by Leonard Sweet (how cool is that?). If you are interested in this program or working with me, contact George Fox and they can put you in touch with me.

As for my masters teaching, I made a special request to teach “New Testament Christology” in fall 2014. Why? So I can work with my students through the new Bart Ehrman book How Jesus Became God (HarperOne) and also the Zondervan response How God Became Jesus (ed. Mike Bird). We will also be reading, of course, some Larry Hurtado, Richard Bauckham, Jimmy Dunn, and N.T Wright (and we will engage in plenty of exegetical study of the New Testament, of course!).

Needless to say, I am very excited! I am hearing so many sad stories about seminaries cutting faculty, so I feel privileged to have a teaching job at all, let alone getting to work with the fine folks at George Fox Evangelical Seminary. Portland, here we come!