About Erskine College

Erskine College exists to equip students for lives of service and leadership, building Christ’s Church, and influencing society for God’s glory. Our mission is to glorify God as a Christian academic community where students integrate knowledge and faith, equipped to flourish as whole persons prepared for lives of service, leadership, and influence through the pursuit of undergraduate liberal arts, graduate, and seminary education.

Mission of Erskine Theological Seminary

As the theological graduate school of Erskine College, and as an agency of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC), Erskine Theological Seminary’s mission is to prepare men and women to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ through theological higher education that is ecclesial, missional, and confessional. We are a biblical, Reformed, and evangelical seminary community of learning sustained in prayer, supported by a growing constituency, united in faith, and fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit for gospel transformation in every area of life. We seek to advance Erskine’s vision and mission through biblical faithfulness, in-person and online modalities, academic excellence, and a pastoral-heartedness. We aim to become the preeminent pastor-shepherd seminary in the United States.

Overview of the Position

Erskine Theological Seminary invites applications for a full-time, tenured-track faculty appointment at the rank of Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology. The position may also include administrative leadership as the Director of the Master of Theology (ThM) Program. The position will start July 1, 2024. This position entails instructional responsibilities in systematic theology and pastoral ministry, including teaching in-person, hybrid, and online classes. This position also includes continuing scholarship in the area of systematic theology.

Qualifications

• Christian Profession: The candidate will be a Christian who professes faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, endeavors to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, and seeks to advance Christ’s Kingdom especially through active service in the local church.

• Ecclesiastical Qualifications: The candidate will be an ordained minister in good standing in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC), or a denomination with which the ARPC has a fraternal relationship, including
  • the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales, Free Church of Scotland, Korean-American Presbyterian Church, Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church in America, or Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America.
  • Qualified candidates from other ecclesial bodies who are personally aligned with the ARPC doctrinal standards (i.e., Westminster Confession of Faith & Catechisms) and who are willing to pursue transfer of their credentials into the ARPC (or a fraternal denomination) may also apply.

• Education: The candidate will possess:
  • An earned research doctorate in systematic theology (or related discipline) from an accredited institution, required. (PhD candidates [ABD] may be considered if the candidate is able to complete the degree within one year.)
  • A Master of Divinity (MDiv) or equivalent degree, required.

• Pastoral Experience: The candidate will have more than five years of substantial pastoral experience, required (preferably in a congregational setting with more than seven years of experience).

• Academic Experience & Publications: The candidate will have:
  • Experience teaching in a Christian higher education institution, preferred.
  • Experience teaching online, preferred.
  • Published in the area of systematic theology and/or pastoral ministry, preferred.

• Personal Commitment: The candidate will personally model and support Erskine College and Theological Seminary’s vision, mission, and values. The candidate must personally affirm the following:
  • Affirm adherence to Erskine College’s Institutional Mission & Vision and Erskine Theological Seminary’s Mission (see Appendix A).
  • Affirm personal belief that “The Bible alone, being God-breathed, is the Word of God written, infallible in all that it teaches, and inerrant in the original manuscripts.”
  • Affirm adherence to Erskine’s Statement of Faith and Biblical Distinctives (see Appendix B).
  • Affirm adherence to Erskine’s Philosophy of Christian Higher Education (which agrees with the same said position held by the ARPC).
  • Affirm adherence to the ARPC’s Position Statement on Human Sexuality (2019).
  • Affirm the following question “Do you accept the doctrines of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, contained in the Westminster Confession of Faith and [Larger and Shorter] Catechisms, as founded on the Word of God and as the expression of your own faith, and do you resolve to adhere thereto?”

Responsibilities

• Teaching
  • Teach seven (7) courses (21 credits) per academic year, primarily in systematic theology and pastoral ministry. (If also serving as the Director of the ThM Program, course load is six courses [18 credits]).
  • Teach a combination of in-person, hybrid, and online classes each academic year, as scheduled by the Dean of the Seminary.
  • Teach courses at all degree levels (i.e., master’s, ThM, and DMin).
  • For in-person classes, teach on a rotation at the Due West, Columbia, and Greenville locations.

• Scholarly Research
  • Conduct scholarly research in disciplinary area.
  • Write scholarly articles, contributions to edited volumes, and monographs/books in disciplinary area, expected.
  • Write popular pieces, as interested.

• Administrative Service
  • May serve additionally as the Director of the Master of Theology (ThM) degree program, including serving as the advisor for ThM students until a thesis advisor is assigned.
  • Serve on at least one faculty committee.
  • Offer spiritual support to students and staff.

Salary

Base salary (plus possible, additional stipend for Director of the ThM Program); benefits include health, dental, vision, and 403(b) matching contribution.

Application Process

The search will continue until the position is filled, but applications received by January 1, 2024, will receive priority consideration. Interested candidates should complete the online application, which can be found here. The online application includes links to upload a letter of application (cover letter), a CV, and a short personal essay addressing the candidate’s faith in Jesus Christ, how Christian faith informs the candidate’s work as a scholar, and how the candidate would advance Erskine’s mission.

APPENDIX A

Erskine College Vision

Erskine College exists to equip students for lives of service and leadership, building Christ’s Church, and influencing society for God’s glory.

Erskine College Mission

Our mission is to glorify God as a Christian academic community where students integrate knowledge and faith, equipped to flourish as whole persons prepared for lives of service, leadership, and influence through the pursuit of undergraduate liberal arts, graduate, and seminary education.

Mission of Erskine Theological Seminary

As the theological graduate school of Erskine College, and as an agency of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC), Erskine Theological Seminary’s mission is to prepare men and women to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ through theological higher education that is ecclesial, missional, and confessional.

APPENDIX B

STATEMENT OF FAITH:

Erskine College and Theological Seminary adheres to an evangelical understanding of Christianity and affirms that the Bible is God’s inspired Word and that an individual can become a Christian only by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Erskine College and Theological Seminary faculty, staff, administration, and trustees affirm that:

1. The Bible alone, being God-breathed, is the Word of God Written, infallible in all that it teaches, and inerrant in the original manuscripts.
2. That there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
3. In the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, in His Virgin Birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through the shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
4. That for the salvation of lost and sinful man, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
5. In the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
6. In the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; that they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
7. In the spiritual unity of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

BIBLICAL DISTINCTIVES

Marriage and Human Sexuality

We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Gen. 2:18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.

We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, cohabitation, homosexual behavior, or use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matt. 15:18-20; 1 Cor. 6:9-10).                                                                                                

We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 6:9-11).

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Erskine.

Biological Sex

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as either male or female, and that these two distinct, complementary sexes together reflect the image and nature of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Willful rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

Sanctity of Life

We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His Image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value human life (Ps. 139).