Joseph D. Wooddell

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• Joseph D. Wooddell

Associate Professor of Philosophy

Contact Information

Office:  214.818.1336
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Employment History

Full-time teaching:

• 2008-present Associate Professor of Philosophy, Criswell College
  - Academic Cabinet 2005-present
• 2004-2008 Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Criswell College
  - Curriculum Revision Committee: 2004-2007
  - Student Life Committee (including discipline issues): 2004-2006

Adjunct teaching:

• University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX. Guest lecturer
• Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY: Springdale, AR campus
• Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, TX (Including internet and video conference)
• Criswell College, Dallas, TX
• Tarleton State University (part of the Texas A&M University System), Stephenville, TX
• Tarrant County College (Southeast campus), Arlington, TX (Including team-teaching (lead teacher) in honors program)
• Weatherford College, Weatherford, TX
• Focus on the Family Institute, Colorado Springs, CO (Elective, non-paid)
• St. George Elementary School, Ft. Worth, TX
  Music teacher

Other Academic Employment:

• 2002 (Fall) Graduate Assistant (for Dr. Doug Blount, Philosophy), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
• 1998 (Fall) Graduate Assistant (for Dr. Calvin Miller, Pastoral Ministry), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
• 1992-1993 Teaching Assistant (for Dr. Sandy Matthes, Music Theory), Liberty University.

Ministry (Non-Academic):

• 2009 (Jan.-May) Interim Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Hamilton, TX
• 2008 (July-Dec.) Interim Pastor, Grace Community Church, Glen Rose, TX

Supply Preaching:

• First Baptist Church, Mesquite, TX
• Lakeview Fellowship, Ft. Worth, TX
• Sandy Lake Road Baptist Church, Coppell, TX
• Cornerstone Baptist Church, Corsicana, TX
• First Baptist Church, Branch, TX
• Cornerstone Baptist Church, Corsicana, TX
• First Baptist Church, Dean, TX
• Criswell College Chapel, Dallas, TX
• First Baptist Church, Madisonville, TX
• First Baptist Church, Malakoff, TX
• Glen Meadows Baptist Church, San Angelo, TX
• First Baptist Church, Lindale, TX
• Oak Crest Baptist Church, Midlothian, TX

Supply Music Ministry:

• Cornerstone Baptist Church, Corsicana, TX
• Glen Meadows Baptist Church, San Angelo, TX
• Heart of the Springs Baptist Church, Colorado Springs, CO
• Criswell College Chapel, Dallas, TX

Other Ministry:

• 1999-2002 Minister of Youth / Adult Discipleship, Lakeview Fellowship, Ft. Worth, TX
• 1998-1999 Resident Director, Texas Wesleyan University, Ft. Worth, TX
• 1997-1998 Minister of Discipleship / College & Career / Singles, Heart of the Springs Baptist Church, Colorado Springs, CO
• 1993-1997 Minister of Worship, Lakeview Fellowship, Ft. Worth, TX
• 1991-1993 Resident Assistant, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA
• 1992-1993  Internships: Music and Youth Ministry, Heart of the Springs Baptist Church, Colorado Springs, CO

Education

• 2005 Ph.D. (Philosophy of Religion), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, TX.  Dissertation: Aesthetic Christian Apologetics.  Director: Douglas K. Blount.
• 1996 M.Div., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, TX
• 1993 B.S. (Music), Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA

Scholarship

Books

• The Beauty of the Faith: Using Aesthetics for Christian Apologetics.  Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2011.
• The Baptist Faith and Message 2000: Critical Issues in America's Largest Protestant Denomination.  Co-edited with Douglas K. Blount.  Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2007.

Articles

• "Jonathan Edwards, Beauty, and Apologetics," Criswell Theological Review 5:1 (Fall 2007), (81-95).
• "Article I: Scripture," in The Baptist Faith and Message 2000: Critical Issues, ed. Doug Blount and Joe Wooddell (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2007).

Reviews

• J. P. Moreland, Kingdom Triangle: Recover the Christian Mind, Renovate the Soul, Restore the Spirit's Power (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), Criswell Theological Review 6:2 (Spring 2009), 112-115.
• Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner's Guide to Life's Big Questions (InterVarsity: Downers Grove, IL, 2005), Criswell Theological Review 4:1 (Fall 2006), 89-92.
• George MacDonald, Your Life in Christ: The Nature of God and His Work in Human Hearts, ed. Michael Phillips (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2005), Criswell Theological Review 3:2 (Spring 2006), 110-115.
• Robert K. Johnston, Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000), Philosophia Christi 5:2 (2003), 667-9.

Presentations

• "Beauty: Objective or Subjective?  A Foundation for Apologetics," presented at the national meeting of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, April 23-24, 2010.
• "The Value of Philosophy for Ministry," to be presented at the national meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, November 18-20, 2009.
• "The Inevitability of Being an Epistemological Foundationalist and Coherentist," presented at the national meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, November 19-21, 2008.
• "Christian Artists and Art Critics: The Apologetic Value of Evangelical Involvement," presented at the national meeting of the Evangelical Philosophical Society, November 13-16, 2007.
• "Beauty in the Pulpit: The Aesthetic Apologetic Value of Preacher and Sermon," presented at the Southwest Regional Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, March 23-24, 2007.
• "Should Christians Who Hold Public Office Compromise Their Ideals?" presented at the national meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, November 15-17, 2006.
• "Beauty: Objective or Subjective?" presented at the Southwest Regional Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, March 24-25, 2006.
• "Jonathan Edwards, Beauty, and Apologetics," presented at the Southwest Regional Meeting of the Evangelical Philosophical Society," March 11-12, 2005.
• "Jesus As The Criterion For Interpreting Scripture: Analysis and Critique," presented at the Southwest Regional Meeting of the Evangelical Philosophical Society, March 21-22, 2003.
• "A Beautiful Life: An Essay On Apologetic Method," presented at the Southwest Regional Meeting of the Evangelical Philosophical Society, March 1-2, 2002.

Significant Activities of Service

To the College:

• Academic Cabinet
• Curriculum Revision Committee
• Student Life Committee (including discipline issues)

To the Community

• Short-Term International trips: China, Ukraine, Mexico
• Supply Sunday School Teaching:
• 2004-2008 Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Criswell College
  - The Criswell Class, First Baptist Church, Dallas
  - Presidents' Class, First Baptist Church, Dallas
  - The Plug, First Baptist Church, Dallas

To the Professional discipline

• Have taught both on-line courses and video-conference courses

Ministerial Qualifications

• 1997 Ordained, Heart of the Springs Baptist Church, Colorado Springs, CO 
• 1992 Licensed, Heart of the Springs Baptist Church, Colorado Springs, CO

Teaching

Graduate:

• Philosophy of Religion
• Critical Thinking
• Moral Philosophy
• Faith and Reason
• Biblical Hermeneutics
• Philosophy of Language
• Mind and Body
• Apologetics
• Topics in Philosophy (various)

Undergraduate:

• Introduction to Philosophy
• Introduction to Ethics
• Metaphysics
• Epistemology
• Integration of Philosophy and Theology
• Advanced Studies: History of Philosophy (various)
• Advanced Studies: Philosophical Divisions (various)
• Advanced Studies: Philosophical Topics (various)
• History of Thought from the Pre-Socratics to the Enlightenment

Professional Memberships

• Acton Institute
• Attended Acton University as a Kern Fellow (2010)
  - Judged the Acton Essay Competition (2005)
  - Attended "Acton University" (2004)
  - Attended "Acton and Tocqueville" joint conference with the Liberty Fund (2003)
  - Attended "Towards a Free and Virtuous Society" conference (2002)
• Baptist Association of Philosophy Teachers
• Evangelical Philosophical Society
  - Chairman, Southwest Region (2009-2010 academic year)
  - Vice Chairman (Program Chair), Southwest Region (2008-2009 academic year)
  - Chairman, Southwest Region (2007-2008 academic year)
• Evangelical Theological Society
  - Chairman, Southwest Region (2009-2010 academic year)
  - Vice Chairman (Program Chair), Southwest Region (2008-2009 academic year)
• Society of Christian Philosophers