Dr. Al Baker

Lecturer

Courses and subjects Taught

Church History, Apostolic Fathers, The Roots Christian Spirituality and Prayer, Old Testament Survey, New Testament Survey, Introduction to Biblical Studies, Synoptic Gospels, Luke/Acts, Romans, Prison Epistles, Introduction to Philosophy, Ethics.

Areas of main research and competency

Hellenization in the Primitive Church, The New Testament Canon, Constantine the Great, Christians and Military Service in Early Christianity, Nag Hammadi Texts and Apocryphal Works, Second Repentance, The Desert Fathers, Development of the Monastic Movement, Women in Early Christian History, Clement of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa.

Qualifications

B.A., Ph.D.

Education

B.A. - Business Management/Marketing, Troy University, Troy, Alabama, 1981.

Two semesters: Homeric and Classical Greek, Univ of Alabama (1989-1990)

One semster: New Testament Greek, University of St Andrews (1997-1998)

Ph.D. - Ecclesiastical History, University of St Andrews, Scotland, 2001.

Academic experience

Adjunct Professor, Saint Augustine University, Raleigh, NC, 2005-2009.

Asst. Professor, Saint Augustine University, Raleigh, NC, 2010-2012.

Adjunct Professor, Troy University, Troy, AL, 2020-2024.

Professional experience

Chi Alpha University Ministry (Assemblies of God University Ministry, 1983-96)

[Troy Univ (82-84), Western Washington Univ (85), Univ of Alabama (86-97)]

Chi Alpha District Rep, Alabama Assemblies of God (1989-1996)

Pastored Bethel Assembly of God Church, Dundee Scotland (1997-2000)

Marketing Manager with BluePhoenix Solutions, [NASDAQ: BPHX] (2002-2007)

Pastor of Troy Community Church - Troy, AL (2016-2024)

Certifications

Licensed, Alabama Assemblies of God (1989)

Ordained, Alabama Assemblies of God (1995)

Publications

"The Canaanite Woman and the Sarcasm of Jesus," (in progress)

A Concise History of the Christian Church: From the Apostles to the Council of Nicea (eBook 2005)

Pacifism, the Military and Christianity: From the New Testament to Emperor Constantine (eBook 2015)

"Spiritual Contemplation in Clement of Alexandria's Stromateis: The Adaptation of the Philosophical Category Theoria" (Ph.D. Thesis, Univ of St Andrews 2001)

"The Secret Oral Tradition of Jesus Revealed in Clement of Alexandria's Stromateis," pp.229-243 in Prayer and Spirituality in the Early Church, Vol. 2, ed. Pauline Allen, Wendy Mayer, Lawrence Cross (Brisbane 1999).

"Mysticism in the Early Church: A Comparative Study of Clement of Alexadria and Gregory of Nyssa," M.Litt Dissertation, Univ of St Andrews (June 1998)