Amy Anderson, Ph.D. records Bible study curriculum course for the Global Church Network

No rocking-chair retirement for former NCU prof.

Although the closure of her 22-year teaching career was officially recognized during a chapel service and NCU Magazine last spring, Amy Anderson, Ph.D., is not exactly slipping quietly into retirement. She may even be busier than ever!

In October, “Dr. Amy” spent two long days recording in-depth teaching on the Bible books of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. Sitting in front of a video camera in a conference room at Bethel Seminary in Arden Hills, Minnesota, Anderson methodically walked through the biblical texts as part of a training series developed by the Global Church Network. According to Anderson, her presentation will be used, along with teachings by other scholars, “to offer a college-level curriculum at no cost for pastors and leaders in parts of the world who have little access to good quality biblical teaching.”

According to James Davis of Global Church Network, pastors and leaders in more than 100 nations will have access to the curriculum, distributed through the Global Church Divinity School and made available in 25 languages.

Anderson is also writing a commentary on Timothy/Titus for a new series edited by Craig Keener, Ph.D., F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Seminary and Holly (Feia ’02) Beers, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Westmont College. Keener recommended Anderson for the teaching assignment with Global Church Network.

To prepare for her assignment, Anderson took lecture notes from classes she taught at NCU and shaped them to fit the required format. She created 12 sets of PowerPoint slides, and the prep work took about two weeks of full-time review and writing. Her teaching was delivered in front of a videographer in 13 hours over two days to create the product.

Anderson was incredibly enthusiastic about the opportunity to teach Timothy and Titus. “These three letters are often misunderstood and misapplied in church and denominational settings,” Anderson said. “I hope that my lectures will provide a healthy corrective to this, while at the same time strengthening the understanding of what they were originally written for.”

The course will be exclusively available to members of the Global Church Network next spring.

A big to-do list

Even though her role in this project is complete, Anderson is actively involved in work that keeps her active in “retirement.”

“I have several ongoing projects,” Anderson explained. “I’m finishing the development of an Introduction to Exegesis course for North Central’s new Master of Arts in Biblical Theology (MABT), and I will be teaching that as an eight-week online intensive starting in January.” She is also writing a chapter for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on New Testament Textual Criticism, due in February, but there’s more to come!

“Those two things need my main focus right now,” Anderson said, “but I’m beginning to lay the foundations for the Timothy/Titus commentary, plus I am expanding the Biblical Literacy Project, my non-profit organization that offers college-level Bible seminars to churches and groups. And finally, I have my ongoing research on a group of Greek manuscripts of the Gospels. This work has developed into a team project since the results are needed for other scholars’ publications.”

Dr. Amy may not be seen much in the halls of North Central University anymore, but her work will continue to be visible in biblical and scholarly circles for years to come.

Photo: Amy Anderson, Ph.D., records Bible study curriculum for the Global Church Network

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