Biola UniversitySeveral beloved Talbot School of Theology professors retired in 2024 after faithfully impacting thousands of students during their teaching careers. To honor them, colleagues wrote a series of tributes — excerpted briefly here.
Alan McMahan
With insight on effective means for developing leaders, growing churches, and ministering cross-culturally, Dr. Alan McMahan has been active in training undergraduate and graduate students, mid-career professionals, Bible school teachers, pastors, and denominational leaders in North America, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia. As for his own formal education in preparation for this ministry, Alan earned a B.S. from Nyack College, an M.Div. from Alliance Theological Seminary, a Th.M. from Asbury Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminary. He held the role of chair for the undergraduate intercultural studies department from 2008 until 2020, when he moved to serve as a professor in the masters and doctoral programs.
- Douglas S. Huffman
Betsy Barber
Dr. Betsy Barber came from the Mission field over 34 years ago to study psychology at Rosemead School of Psychology in response to God’s call on her life to a life of prayer for others. The Lord has used that call to have Betsy impact the evangelical world in the area of spiritual formation and spiritual direction. She has been the Associate Director of ISF for over 22 years.As a trained clinical psychologist and spiritual director, she has trained with Judy over 500 spiritual directors in what has become the evangelical Flagship Program in Spiritual Direction in the country – a model to other programs seeking to train spiritual directors.
- John Coe
Craig Hazen
Dr. Craig Hazen founded the M.A. Christian Apologetics program in 1997, and under his leadership, it grew to become a world-leading, top-ranked program, drawing people from around the world. Gifted with a unique skillset, he combined not only strong scholarship, visionary leadership, and administrative abilities, but he also excelled entrepreneurially in developing the M.A. and certificate programs. Hazen always was looking for ways to help people see the need for apologetics, and that led him to promote and hold many conferences and large events, starting at Biola’s campus and then reaching out to churches in the U.S., and even internationally. These events not only helped enhance the visibility of the program, but also provided excellent equipping of the thousands who attended.
- Scott Smith
John Bloom
Dr. John Bloom founded the M.A. Science and Religion program in 2002. It remains unique as the only evangelical graduate program on the integration of science, theology, and philosophy. John has had the wisdom and foresight to see the need for such a program, and he has been its academic director up until 2024. He has received several awards: for example, the Provost Award for Excellence in Biblical Integration in 1998 and 2007; and the John Templeton Foundation, Science and Religion Course Development Grant in 2000.
- Scott Smith
Judy TenElshof
For over 35 years, Judy TenElshof has had a great heart for developing the spiritual lives of pastors and the local church. After graduating from Talbot with an M.A. in Pastoral Ministry, she was asked by Talbot to do doctoral work and teach at Talbot. She finished her Ph.D. in Marriage and Family at Fuller and she created the Intentional Character Development program at Talbot — a program dedicated to developing the spiritual lives of pastors. During this time, she worked to secure a $1.5 million Lilly Grant for the development of the spiritual lives of pastors — which really encouraged Talbot in this direction.
- John Coe
Ron Pierce
In 1976 Charles Feinberg was finishing his 24 year term as the founding Dean of Talbot School of Theology and Ron Pierce was just beginning what would become 48 years of service at Biola. Ron earned a Ph.D. degree in theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in 1984. Dr. Pierce’s book publications include a commentary on Daniel (2015), a small volume entitled Partners in Marriage and Ministry (2011), and editing and contributing to the encyclopedic Discovering Biblical Equality, the third edition of which came out in 2021. He has written articles for academic journals such as the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Trinity Journal, and the Bulletin of Biblical Research.
- Douglas S. Huffman
Thomas Sappington
Thomas J. Sappington earned a B.A. in sociology from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and then did a year of study at Fuller Theological Seminary before moving to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois where he completed an M.Div. degree. He then immediately entered a doctoral program in New Testament and Judaism at the University of Toronto’s Wycliffe College. Dr. Sappington and his wife were called to 15 years of ministry in the predominantly Muslim country of Indonesia. Then in 2009 Dr. Sappington came to Biola University to serve as a professor, teaching integrative courses in biblical studies, missions, and intercultural studies in Biola’s Cook School of Intercultural Studies.
- Douglas S. Huffman
