About Jordan
Jordan and Family
What led you to pursue a career in theological education?
My theological journey started when I was a hungry intern at FBC El Paso sitting in weekly mentoring sessions with the pastor walking through the Gospel of John and developing a hunger for the Word. I was a recent college graduate and thought I was done with education. However, sitting in those sessions each week and thinking through how John was clarifying who Jesus was in an attempt to correct poor ways of thinking about Jesus helped me realize that I needed to go to seminary to help me deepen my own understanding of who Jesus is.
Can you share a pivotal moment in your walk with Christ?
I received my call to ministry the summer before I went off to college at Campamento (Hispanic Baptist Student Camp) at Mount Lebanon in Cedar Hill. My friend Tiny Dominguez was the camp preacher and he gave the call to those who felt the Lord was calling to serve Him in a particular way. I did not know what that looked like exactly, I just remember feeling the Lord was calling me to something. That decision to say yes to God’s calling changed the direction of my life.
Can you share a favorite Bible passage and explain its significance to you?
Ephesians 3:20-21 has always been my life verse. I have a pretty creative imagination, and yet Paul writes that God can do immeasurably more than I can think or imagine. I have seen firsthand how the Lord has done things that I would never have dreamed of in my ministry. Never would I have dreamed that, as a student at Campamento, of the possibility that I would be a professor at Howard Payne University or have the opportunity of teaching a course on the history & legacy of the Latino Church at Stark Seminary. To Him be the glory in the Church and Christ Jesus throughout all generations.
How does your background and experience align with Stark’s mission to equip students to serve in their church and community?
I currently serve bi-vocationally as the lead pastor of FBC Blanket alongside my teaching and administrative duties at the HPU. I believe my experience in the local church alongside my theological studies align with Stark’s mission of equipping the church because one of my callings in life is to bridge the chasm between the pew and theological education. I believe there has been a void of theological education at the local level. Our churches are hungry.
What areas of theological research are you currently pursuing?
I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Church History and Historical Theology with an emphasis on Baptist Studies. I am writing in the area of Hispanic Baptist Work in Texas with a focus on the late great Dr. José Rivas who was a long-time professor at Howard Payne University, the institution that I currently teach full-time at.
What recent book or resource has significantly influenced your thinking, and why?
I recently had been doing some research on ecclesiology and I was walking through Avery Dulles’ work Models of the Church. His work was really insightful because it helped me think about the Church from a different perspective. Dulles was a Catholic theologian who used comparative theology to help tease out important ontological features of the church. In a day and age when there is so much ecclesiological confusion about who the church is and what the church is, I could not recommend this work enough.
About the Course
Professor Jordan Villanueva
What excites you most about the course you’re teaching this fall—Legacy & History of the Latino Church?
I am most excited about helping students understand that this is their history. There needs to be a recovery of this rich legacy and history, especially at the state level. We have so much history here in Texas. It brings me such joy when a student is able to connect the dots with some of the legends of the past and where they are today. My experience teaching has shown that connecting the past to the present makes these types of courses worth it.
What do you hope students will take away from your course?
I hope that these students will grow in encouragement, hope, and wisdom. As Paul writes in Romans 15, everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. There are lessons to glean from the past. History should help inform the present and influence our future.
Wisdom for Ministers
What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the church today?
I believe the single greatest challenge today is biblical illiteracy. We do not know the Word. Even the average church member statistically does not read their Bible as they should. I believe this is in part because there is a shallowness being preached and taught from the pulpit. People are hungry for pastors and ministers to be theologically educated to help make Scripture come alive.
What advice would you give to students considering a career in ministry or theological studies?
Most of us are pretty good at not opening doors that God has not opened. I think many, however, struggle with trying to close doors that God has not closed. We limit what God might be trying to do with us because of how we might view ourselves and think there is no way that God is calling me to that. In those moments of self-doubt, we need to be reminded that according to Ephesians 3:20, it is Him that is doing the work.
How do you balance your academic work with active involvement in your local church?
I find the two complement each other very well. One of my callings in life is to address biblical illiteracy, and my academic work allows me to continually deepen my preaching and teaching. Also, I serve in a local church in a rural setting with “salt of the earth” type of people. This has kept me from becoming too lofty and stuck in my academic ivory tower.
What’s the best way for people to connect with you and find out more about you?
I am most active on Twitter @prof_villanueva. You can also contact me through my website at jordanvillanueva.org.