College of Bible & Religion

Programs

Dean: Monte Cox, Ph.D

Professors:

Thomas C. Alexander, Ph.D.
Jerry Bowling, Ph.D.
     Director of Youth and Family Education Lab
Joe Brumfield, Ed.D.
Eddie Cloer, D.Min.
Ross Cochran, Ph.D.
Adrian Hickmon, Ph.D.
Mike Ireland, D.Min.
Dale W. Manor, Ph.D.
Lewis L. Moore, Ph.D.
     Chair of Marriage and Family Therapy
Edward P. Myers, D.Min., Ph.D.
Kenneth V. Neller, Ph.D.
Paul Pollard, Ph.D.
Sherry Pollard, Ed.D.
Vann Rackley, Ph.D.
William Richardson, D.Min.
     Director of Center for Advanced Ministry Training
Daniel B. Stockstill, Ph.D.
     Associate Dean

Associate Professors:

Monte Cox, Ph.D.
     Dean
G. Scot Crenshaw, Ph.D.
Shawn Z. Daggett, Th.D.
     Director of Center for World Missions
R. Allen Diles, Th.D.
Justin Moore, Ph.D.
Keith D. Stanglin, Ph.D.
Philip Thompson, D.Min.
Randy Willingham, D.Min.
     Director of Center for Spiritual Leadership
Kevin J. Youngblood, Ph.D.

Assistant Professors:

Scott E. Adair, D.Min.
Andrew Baker, M.A.
James S. Bury, M.R.E.
*Nathan Guy, M.Phil.
Bruce McLarty, D.Min.
     Vice President of Spiritual Life
Phillip Devin Swindle, M.Div.
Timothy P. Westbrook, M.Div.

Instructors

Mac S. Sandlin, M.Div.

Missionaries in Residence:

Marvin Crowson, B.A. (Domestic)
O’Neal Tankersley, B.A. (International)

Assisting from Other Colleges:

Michael Claxton, Ph.D.
Cliff Ganus III, D.M.A.
Paul Haynie, Ph.D.
Jerry Myhan, M.S.N.

The College of Bible and Religion at Harding University seeks to lead all students to know, live and share God’s Word and to understand, love and serve God’s world through and beyond their chosen vocation.

Bible major transfer policies: Students who transfer from other colleges or universities and who major in Bible are required to take 10 upper-level hours in Bible at Harding. Six of these must be in the Old and New Testament divisions and the remaining four distributed according to the recommendation of the dean.

Schools of preaching: Students wishing to transfer from schools of preaching and/or graduates from two- year schools of preaching who enter Harding may apply for up to 40 hours of credit in Bible, biblical languages and missions courses. The process for validating the transferred credit follows University policies found in the Course Policies  section.

Formal Admission to BA programs in the College of Bible and Religion:

The College of Bible and Religion seeks to partner with its majors to accomplish the college’s mission, to make explicit the college’s standards of excellence, and to equip students for specific needs of ministry. As a college we recognize the high standards, expectations, and demands that are necessary personally and professionally to work in ministry.

The following process is required for admission into the BA majors of the College of Bible and Religion:

1. Provisional admission to the College of Bible and Religion
   
   1. All entering and transfer students desiring to pursue BA majors in the College of Bible and Religion will be granted “provisional admission.”
   2. Provisional admission allows students to apply for and receive scholarships offered by the College of Bible and Religion.
   3. During provisional admission students must achieve and maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA for all course work and a minimum of 2.5 GPA for courses taken within the College of Bible and Religion.
2. Full admission to the College of Bible and Religion
   
   1. Students should apply for formal admission in the semester in which the student completes 45 hours of college credit including a minimum of 9 hours in the College of Bible and Religion or appropriate transfer hours. Provisionally accepted students must apply before their 60 hour degree audit. Transfer students with more than 60 hours should apply during the first semester at Harding.
   2. The following documents must be submitted to the College of Bible and Religion:
      
      1. An application, provided by the College of Bible and Religion.
      2. Two academic references, with at least one reference from the faculty of the College of Bible and Religion, who has taught the student and can attest that the student has the character, disposition, habits, and abilities suited for a major in Bible and Religion at Harding University.
      3. A recommendation from a Searcy area church leader attesting to the student’s current regular attendance and involvement with a local congregation.
      4. A character reference from a non-relative, church leader in the student’s home community, who can attest that the student has the character, disposition, habits, and abilities suited for a major in the College of Bible and Religion at Harding University.
      5. Acceptable reports from the offices of Student Life and the Vice President for Academic Affairs concerning the applicant’s character and academic standing.
   3. Only students with full admission to the College of Bible and Religion may:
      
      1. Enroll in 300 and 400 level sections of courses for majors in the College of Bible and Religion.
      2. Be awarded any of the primary BA majors offered in the College of Bible and Religion.
      3. Probationary status in the College of Bible and Religion.
         
         1. In the event that a student’s GPA falls below the requirements (at least a 2.5 GPA on courses within the College of Bible and Religion and a 2.0 GPA on overall coursework), the student is placed on probation.
         2. Students will also be placed on probation for unacceptable reports from the office of Student Life.
         3. Students may also be placed on probation if the student’s local faith community or a University faculty member submits a written concern about a student’s character, disposition, habits and abilities that are not suited for a major in Bible and Religion at Harding University.
         4. Students have one semester to correct the issues that put them on probation and apply for readmission into the program.
   4. Any student suspended from the University must, following the student’s readmission to the University, also reapply for full admission to the College of Bible and Religion following the process described above.

Bible and Religion Core*

All first majors in the College of Bible and Religion share a uniform core of classes that serve as foundational to all future ministry pursuits. The purpose of the core is to equip all majors with basic tools and knowledge for ministry. The College of Bible and Religion core consists of:

*The core does not apply to Leadership and Ministry Second Majors or BMIN.

Special Notes for Majors in the College of Bible and Religion

1. Hours in Bible required as part of the Liberal Arts component of the degree are included in the respective majors in the College of Bible and Religion.
2. Majors are strongly encouraged to take BMIS 386  as part of the global literacy requirements of the Liberal Arts component of the degree.
3. Majors are encouraged to take courses in the College of Bible and Religion with variable credit for 2 hours so that more courses may be taken unless required otherwise by the program of study.
4. Greek courses may satisfy the equivalent textual study in the BNEW division:
   GRK 272  for BNEW 311 
   GRK 370  for BNEW 312 
   GRK 371  for BNEW 313 
   GRK 374  for BNEW 314 
   GRK 376  for BNEW 316 
5. In unusual cases requiring the consent of the dean, Hebrew may be substituted for the Greek requirement.
6. Unless an additional Bible major is sought, only 12 hours above the minimum for the major can be applied toward the 128 hours for graduation, though students may elect to take more than these 12 hours.
7. Majors are strongly encouraged to take another BHIS course from the selection in the core. The addition of this second course is a recommendation for one of the elective courses in the student’s program.

Center for Advanced Ministry Training (CAMT)

The Center for Advanced Ministry (CAMT) training offers an accelerated program within the College of Bible and Religion that provides ministry training for nontraditional students (age 24 and older), leading to a Bachelor of Ministry degree .

The CAMT baccalaureate program is a two-year to three-year cohort experience depending on the student’s prior university-level preparation. Students must meet all admission requirements to Harding and CAMT. They must pass all courses in the BMIN curriculum and the specified Liberal Arts courses at the required standards outlined below. The student must also meet all of Harding’s graduation requirements. Students take one or two classes each semester that are exclusive to students in the program. Students participate in a daily chapel program together and are paired with mentors in local congregations for a practical ministry apprentice program.

Provisional admission is granted to students who have little or no prior university-level coursework. Full acceptance is granted after students have completed a minimum of 30 credit hours (either in-residence hours earned at Harding and/or transfer hours), 22 credit hours of which must be general education courses from the liberal arts program , including 6 hours of English Composition.

College of Bible & Religion