Kara J. Lyons-Pardue, Ph.D.

Professor of New Testament
Full-Time
Co-Director of the Margaret Stevenson Center for Women's Studies

Dr. Kara Lyons-Pardue fulfills her calling to ministry through education with joy. She has taught New Testament and Greek courses at Point Loma Nazarene University since 2011. Research interests in the Gospels, particularly Mark, and women in Scripture combined in her 2020 book Gospel Women and the Long Ending of Mark (T&T Clark). She contributed the commentary on often-overlooked letter from Paul to Philemon in the New Beacon Bible Commentary on Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon. Dr. Lyons-Pardue earned her Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary and an M.Div. from Nazarene Theological Seminary. Ongoing curiosity and wonder in reading Christian Scripture, a deep love for God's church, and a commitment to scholarly integrity characterize in her writing, teaching, preaching, and speaking. 

Education

  • Ph.D., 2015, Princeton Theological Seminary (Princeton, NJ)
  • M.Div., Magna Cum Laude, 2005, Nazarene Theological Seminary (Kansas City, MO)
  • B.A., Summa Cum Laude, 2002, Northwest Nazarene University (Nampa, ID)

Courses Taught

  • Christian Scripture, New Testament
  • Biblical Greek
  • Jesus and the Gospels
  • The Letters of Paul
  • Apocalypse, Revelation
  • Women in Scripture

SCHOLARLY LANGUAGES: German, French, Greek, Latin, Hebrew

Professional and Community Involvement

  • The Church of the Nazarene, ordained Elder, June 1, 2015
  • Steering Committee member, Christian Theology and the Bible Section, Society of Biblical Literature  (2018 to present)
  • Seminar member, Mark’s Passion Narrative, Society of Biblical Literature  (Fall 2020 to present)
  • Steering Committee member, Mark’s Gospel Section, Society of Biblical Literature (2021 to present)
  • Bulletin for Biblical Research board member (2020)
  • Biblical Studies Section chair, Wesleyan Theological Society (2018 to present) 

Awards and Honors

  • PLNU Alumni Association Grant, RASP Grants, Wesleyan Center Fellowships & Grants: Spring
  • 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2021, Summer 2018, Fall 2017, Summer 2016, Fall 2015, Summer 2013
  • Excellence in Teaching Award, Point Loma Nazarene University, 2019-20
  • Sabbatical, Project: Greek translation and research on the Gospel According to Mark – Fall
  • Semester 2018
  • Outstanding Dissertation Award, Wesleyan Theological Society – March 2016
  • Goethe Institut Stipendium (scholarship) – May–June, 2009 (Berlin)

Dissertations, Presentations, and Publications

  • Chapter: “Esther in Dialogue with Mark: Power, Vulnerability, and Kingship” Ch. 13 in Reading Esther Intertextually (Ed. David G. Firth and Brittany N. Melton; Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies; T&T Clark; 2022).
  • Chapter: “Quick Tip: Bite-Sized Expertise: Bible Dictionary Abstracts and Presentations,” Pages 113-114 in Teaching the Bible with Undergraduates (Ed. Jocelyn McWhirter and Sylvie T. Raquel; Resources for Biblical Study 99; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2022).
  • Magazine Article: “The Fruit of the Spirit in Letter and Life,” Holiness Today (Jan/Feb 2022), 10-13).
  • Book Review: Edmondo F. Lupieri (ed.), Mary Magdalene from the New Testament to the New Age and Beyond. In Catholic Biblical Quarterly (Vol. 83, 2021).
  • Podcast Interview: New Creation Conversations Episode 012 with Scott Daniels, “Dr. Kara Lyons-Pardue on the Gospel of Mark, Women in the Ministry of Jesus, and What We Learn from Philemon”, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-creation-conversations-episode-012-dr-kara-lyons/id1555386782?i=1000520327600 (May 4, 2021)
  • Book Review: Lewis Brogdon, A Companion to Philemon. In Review of Biblical Literature (May 2021); Online.
  • Invited eTalk: For the Mark 16 Digital Humanities project from the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (Lausanne), an audio, visual, and text lecture on Gospel Women and the Long Ending of Mark https://mark16-etalk.sib.swiss/index.php?dir=KaraLyonsPardue#0 (Sept 2020).
  • Chapter: “‘Little Daughters’ and Big Textual Allusions: Reading Three of Mark’s Stories Featuring Women with Care” in Listening Again to the Text: New Testament Studies in Honor of George Lyons (Claremont Studies in New Testament and Christian Origins; Claremont Press, 2020).
  • Book: Gospel Women and the Long Ending of Mark in the Library of New Testament Studies (T&T Clark, 2020).
    • Review: Elizabeth Shively in Review of Biblical Literature (Feb 2022).
    • Review: Jennifer S. Wyant in Catholic Biblical Quarterly 83 (2022), 519-20.
  • Chapter: “Two Mary Magdalenes: Eusebius of Caesarea and the Questionable Reliability of the Gospels' Female Witnesses,” Ch. 6 in Rediscovering the Marys: Maria, Mariamne, Miriam (Ed. Mary Ann Beavis and Ally Kateusz; Library of New Testament Studies, Scriptural Traces; T&T Clark; 2020).
  • Dictionary Entry: “Jesus and the Law,” Global Wesleyan Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Ed. Robert Branson; Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2020).
  • Christian Educational Curriculum: “The Kingdom of God is Like ...” for Illustrated Bible Life curriculum (WordAction; Kansas City: The Foundry Publishing), Winter Quarter 2020.
  • Peer-Reviewed Article: “A Syrophoenician Becomes a Canaanite: Jesus Exegetes the Canaanite Woman in Matthew,” Journal of Theological Interpretation 13:2 (2019): 235-250.
  • Book Review: Matthew L. Skinner, A Companion to the New Testament: Paul and the Pauline Letters. In Currents in Theology and Mission 46:4 (2019): 42.
  • Book: “Commentary on Philemon” in Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, New Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City: The Foundry Publishing, 2019).
  • Book Review: Michael R. Whitenton, Hearing Kyriotic Sonship: A Cognitive and Rhetorical Approach to the Characterization of Mark’s Jesus. In Biblical Interpretation 27 (2019), 160-162.
  • Christian Educational Curriculum: “What Is Submission?” for Illustrated Bible Life curriculum (WordAction; Kansas City: The Foundry Publishing), Spring Quarter 2019.
  • Magazine Article: “One Jesus Painted by Four Artists,” Holiness Today magazine (Jul/Aug 2018), 18-20.
  • Online Lectionary Commentary: “Mark 4:35-41“ (Proper 7B) for A Plain Account: A Wesleyan Lectionary Commentary; https://www.aplainaccount.org/proper-7b-gospel, June 18, 2018.
  • Online Lectionary Commentary: “Mark 4:26-34“ (Proper 6B) for A Plain Account: A Wesleyan Lectionary Commentary; https://www.aplainaccount.org/proper-6b-gospel, June 11, 2018.
  • Book: Following Jesus: Prophet, Priest, King. Co-edited with Timothy R. Gaines. Kansas City: The Foundry Press, 2018.
    • Contributed chapters, “Introduction” (pp. 11-19) and “Following Jesus’s Prophetic Welcome of Women” (pp. 51-67)
    • See publisher’s site: https://www.thefoundrypublishing.com/following-jesus-9780834136878.html
  • Chapter: (Reprinted) Co-authored with Jason Sturdevant, “Reading the Bible in a Postmodern Age: The Importance of Context for Interpretation,” Rethinking the Bible: Inerrancy, Preaching, Inspiration, Authority, Formation, Archeology, Postmodernism, and More (2nd Edition; Richard P. Thompson and Thomas Jay Oord, eds.; SacraSage Press, 2018).
  • Book Review: Michael Graves, The Inspiration and Interpretation of Scripture: What the Early Church Can Teach Us. In Currents in Theology and Mission 45:2 (April 2018), 49-50.
  • Christian Educational Curriculum: “Women in Romans 16” for Illustrated Bible Life curriculum (WordAction; Kansas City, Mo.: Nazarene Publishing House), Spring Quarter 2018.
  • Blog Article: “The Formation of the Bible: Where Did It Come from? How the Sacred Texts Were Compiled,” Invited blog article for the American Bible Society’s Bible Engager’s Blog http://blog.bible/bible-engagers-blog/entry/the-formation-of-the-bible-where-did-it-come- from, Nov. 13, 2017.
  • Podcast Interview: Guest Expert on In All Things Charity Podcast (Season 3), Episode “How We Got the Bible,” April 21, 2017
  • Online Lectionary Commentary: “1 Corinthians 1:1-9” (Epiphany 2A) for A Plain Account: A Wesleyan Lectionary Commentary; http://www.aplainaccount.org/epiphany-2a-2nd-reading, Jan. 9, 2017
  • Online Lectionary Commentary: “Romans 15:4-13” (Advent 2A) for A Plain Account: A Wesleyan Lectionary Commentary; http://www.aplainaccount.org/advent-2a-2nd-reading, Dec. 4, 2016
  • Christian Educational Curriculum: “Ancient Sardis,” for Illustrated Bible Life curriculum (WordAction; Kansas City, Mo.: Nazarene Publishing House), Summer Quarter 2016.
  • Christian Educational Curriculum: 8 passage commentaries on Mark for Illustrated Bible Life curriculum, (WordAction; Kansas City, Mo.: Nazarene Publishing House), Winter 2015/16 and Spring Quarter 2016.
  • Dictionary Entry: “Widow’s mite,” Dictionary of the Bible and Western Culture, co-edited by Michael Gilmour and Mary Ann Beavis (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2012).
  • Video Interview: Resource on Matthew 5:48 for Grace and Peace Magazine https://vimeo.com/32601478, Nov. 2011.
  • Book Review: N. Calvert-Koyzis and H. Weir, eds., Strangely Familiar: Protofeminist Interpretations of Patriarchal Biblical Texts. Biblical Interpretation 19 (2011), 508-510.
  • Chapter: Co-authored with Jason Sturdevant, “Reading the Bible in a Postmodern Age: The Importance of Context for Interpretation,” in The Bible Tells Me So: Wesleyans Reading the Bible as Scripture (Richard P. Thompson and Thomas Jay Oord, eds.; SacraSage Press, 2011).
  • Book Review: L. H. Cohick, Women in the World of the Earliest Christians: Illuminating Ancient Ways of Life. Koinonia 22 (2010), 154-58.
  • Magazine Article: “‘Grace and Peace to You’: This Is the Word of the Lord,” Grace and Peace, (Inaugural Issue, April 2010), 38-41.
  • Chapter: “The Trustworthiness and Authority of the Bible,” in Postmodern and Wesleyan?: Exploring the Boundaries and Possibilities, Edited by Jay Richard Akkerman, et al. (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2009).
  • Editorials: Koinonia Journal, “A Quest for Jesus Christ,” Koinonia 20 (2008); and “New Portraits,” Koinonia 21 (2009).

For more publications and presentations, see CV