BUIES CREEK, North Carolina – The Campbell University Divinity School has named Dr. Caleb O. Oladipo its Snellings Endowed Chair of Christian Evangelism and Missions, effective August 1, 2016.
Currently, Oladipo is the Duke K. McCall Professor of Christian Mission & World Christianity and director of the Mission Immersion Experience Program at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Oladipo to the faculty of Campbell University Divinity School,” said Campbell Divinity Dean Andy Wakefield. “Dr. Oladipo brings not only a strong academic record, but also practical and personal experience with cross-cultural missions. We believe he is uniquely suited to help us develop a robust program not only in missions and evangelism, but in helping our students move beyond traditional boundaries and categories, reaching across cultures to make a difference both around the world and around the corner.”
As the Chair of Christian Evangelism and Missions, Oladipo will oversee and expand Campbell Divinity’s missions and evangelism curriculum, as well as direct the World Religions & Global Cultures Center.
“I am very grateful that the Campbell University Divinity School invited me to join its strong faculty and serve in an environment of genuine intellectual freedom,” Oladipo said. “I look forward to what I am going to give and receive by God’s grace as we work with students during their formative years to interpret mainstream Christianity faithfully for our time.”
Before joining the Baptist Theological Seminary in 2003, Oladipo was an assistant professor in the Department of Church-State Studies at Baylor University and an adjunctive professor at Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary.
He is a widely-respected scholar, lecturer, and instructor in world religions and Christian doctrines. He has taught courses in and written numerous scholarly articles, reviews, and book chapters related to missiological studies, religion and body politics in contemporary Africa, Christian movements in the non-Western world, theology of liberation, and interfaith dialogue. He is also the author of two books: “The Will to Arise: Theological & Political Themes in African Christianity and the Renewal of Faith and Identity” and “The Development of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Yoruba (African) Indigenous Christian Movement.”
Complementing Oladipo’s scholarship is his cross-cultural experience. A native of Nigeria, Oladipo speaks or reads six languages: Yoruba (his native language), English, Koine Greek, Biblical Hebrew, French, and German.
He has also lectured or served as a visiting professor at seminaries and schools around the world, including the Baptist College of Theology in Benin City, Nigeria; Theological Seminary of Armenia in Yerevan, Armenia; and Indian Baptist Theological Seminary in Kerala, India.
“This is one of the best times in human history to study the mission of God in the world,” Oladipo said. “The church in the Majority World is not only a mission field, but also a laboratory of knowledge for spiritual and Christian transformation. I remain grateful to God that the future global Christianity we have been waiting for has arrived, with new challenges and opportunities.”
Oladipo earned his Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Wayland Baptist University, Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Master of Sacred Theology from Yale University Divinity School, and Doctor of Philosophy in Theological Studies from Baylor University. He received Wayland Baptist University’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003.
He is a member of several professional associations, including the American Academy of Religion, African Studies Association, Association of Professors of Missions, and American Society of Missiology. He also serves as a member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Mission Council.