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Background: Dr. Rodríguez was born into a military family and grew up across three continents. He graduated from Wm J. Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, CO (1995). He is the oldest of five children (with two sisters and two brothers). He was baptized in January, 1997, just outside of Canton, OH, at Lake Community Christian Church. He was ordained by the same church in the summer of 2000.
Personal Information: He was born on April 7, 1977. He married his wife Andrea in 2001. Andrea has worked with children and adults with disabilities and now works in JBC’s Distance Learning Office. Andrea gave birth to their daughter, Janelle, in 2005, and they are currently pursuing adopting a second child.
Education: He graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies from Cincinnati Christian University in Cincinnati, OH, in 2000. He received a Master of Arts from the Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University in 2002; his Master’s thesis was entitled “Social Creativity in 1 Peter: Symbolic Universe and Identity Construction.” He received the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Biblical Studies from the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, England, in 2008. His dissertation was entitled "Structuring Early Christian Memory: Jesus in Tradition, Performance, and Text."
Ministry Experience: He has served as a youth minister, children’s minister, and associate minister in churches in southeast Indiana and southwest Ohio. He and his family currently worship and participate in ministry at Crossings, a 2007 church plant in Knoxville that aims to “Help People Find Their Way Back To God.”
Teaching Experience: While he was a seminary student, he taught two years at the Cincinnati Christian University. During his postgraduate studies, he served as a postgraduate tutor for two years at the University of Sheffield. He has been Professor of New Testament at JBC since 2006. He teaches ¾ of his time in undergraduate classes and ¼ time online in the MA in New Testament program.
Academic Interests and Experience: His areas of interest center especially on the sociological issues of first-century Christianity, particularly on issues of identity and memory. His specialties include the Gospels, scholarly “Quests of the Historical Jesus,” literary and oral dynamics of early Christian tradition, and the Hellenistic Jewish matrices of early Christian identity and theology. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Evangelical Theological Society.
Interests and Hobbies: Besides spending time with his wife and daughter, Dr. Rodríguez’s interests include cultural studies (both American and British), American history, exploring relevant and transformative ministry in postmodern contexts, charcoal grilling, football (both professional and college), among others. He roots for the OSU Buckeyes and religiously calls for a pox on the house of the SEC. |
