Kalas, J. Ellsworth 1923–

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Kalas, J. Ellsworth 1923–

PERSONAL:

Born 1923 in Sioux City, IA; married; wife's name Janet; children: Taddy, David. Education: University of Wisconsin, B.S. (with honors), 1951; Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (with distinction), Northwestern University, B.D., 1954; completed post-graduate coursework at the University of Wisconsin, 1954-55, and Harvard University, 1955-56.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Asbury Theological Seminary, 204 N. Lexington Ave., Wilmore, KY 40390.

CAREER:

Professor and writer. Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, KY, instructor in preaching, 1993-2000, professor of preaching, 2000—, president. Served as a pastor in Wisconsin and Ohio, c. 1950-88, and as an associate in evangelism with the World Methodist Council, c. 1988-93.

MEMBER:

Member of Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi, and Iron Cross.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Trustees Award for Scholarship and Kidder Preaching Prize, both Northwestern University; honorary doctorates from Lawrence University, 1965, Asbury Theological Seminary, 1986, Kentucky Wesleyan College, 2004, Asbury College, 2007.

WRITINGS:

Our First Song: Evangelism in the Hymns of Charles Wesley, Discipleship Resources (Nashville, TN), 1984.

Jesus Then and Now, Graded Press (Nashville, TN), 1987.

The Power of Believing, Word Books (Waco, TX), 1987.

Pilgrimage: Following in Jesus' Footsteps, C.S.S. Publishing (Lima, OH), 1987.

Reading the Signs: Sermons for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, Sundays in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Gospel Texts, C.S.S. Publishing (Lima, OH), 1988.

Parables from the Back Side: Bible Stories with a Twist, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 1992.

365 Days from Genesis through Revelation, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 1993.

If Experience Is Such a Good Teacher, Why Do I Keep Repeating the Course?, Dimensions for Living (Nashville, TN), 1994.

Old Testament Stories from the Back Side, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 1995.

The Grand Sweep: 365 Days from Genesis through Revelation, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 1996.

Parables of Jesus, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 1997.

Luke's Message: Good News for the New Millennium, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 1997.

The Christmas People: An Advent Story for Adults, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 1998.

The Ten Commandments from the Back Side, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 1998.

Christian Believer, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 1999.

New Testament Stories from the Back Side, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 2000.

Through Suffering to Hope: A Study of Isaiah, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 2002.

The Thirteen Apostles, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 2002.

Seven Words to the Cross: A Lenten Study for Adults, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 2002.

(With others) Sermons on the Gospel Readings: Series I, Cycle C, C.S.S. Publishing (Lima, OH), 2003.

Christmas from the Back Side, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 2003.

Preaching from the Soul: Insistent Observations on the Sacred Art, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 2003.

The Scriptures Sing of Christmas: An Advent Study for Adults, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 2004.

Preaching the Calendar: Celebrating Holidays and Holy Days, Westminster John Knox Press (Louisville, KY), 2004.

Preaching about People: The Power of Biography, Chalice Press (St. Louis, MO), 2004.

Life from the Up Side: Seeing God at Work in the World, Dimensions For Living (Nashville, TN), 2004.

Grace in a Tree Stump: Old Testament Stories of God's Love, Westminster John Knox Press (Louisville, KY), 2005.

More Parables from the Back Side, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 2005.

Longing to Pray: How the Psalms Teach Us to Talk with God, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 2006.

What I Learned When I Was Ten: Lessons That Shaped My Life and Faith, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 2006.

A Hop, Skip, and a Jump through the Bible, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 2007.

Strong Was Her Faith: Women of the New Testament, Abingdon Press (Nashville, TN), 2007.

Men Worth Knowing: Biblical Meditations for Daily Living, Westminster John Knox Press (Louisville, KY), 2007.

Contributor to Christmas Reflections: From James W. Moore, Reginald Mallett, J. Ellsworth Kalas, James A. Harnish, Nell W. Mohney, Dimensions for Living (Nashville, TN), 2001.

SIDELIGHTS:

J. Ellsworth Kalas is president of the Asbury Theological Seminary, where he has taught preaching since 1993. He majored in literature as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin, going on to earn a master's degree in divinity studies from Northwestern University; he then spent several years in further studies at the University of Wisconsin and Harvard University. In the 1950s Kalas began a career as a church pastor that spanned nearly four decades, after which he served the World Methodist Council as an associate in evangelism before beginning his tenure at Asbury.

Kalas has lent his expertise as a pastor and seminary professor to more than thirty books on Christian topics. Many of his titles provide analysis or a new perspective on specific chapters of the Bible, such as Through Suffering to Hope: A Study of Isaiah, or Luke's Message: Good News for the New Millennium. In 365 Days from Genesis through Revelation, Kalas guides the reader through the chapter-by-chapter process of reading the complete Bible within one calendar year. His instructions include reading between three and four chapters a day, with scriptures from Psalms and Proverbs intermingled. In a review for Publishers Weekly, a critic found the text "highly usable, … well-written, well-researched and reliable."

Several of Kalas's books are extensions of his Asbury curriculum, where he has taught courses on biblical preaching, biographical sermons, and worship. In Preaching about People: The Power of Biography, Kalas expounds on the concept of the biographical sermon, his own contribution to the field of homiletics, or narrative preaching. He provides instruction for selecting personalities from history to emphasize a particular doctrine or enlighten the listener. Strong Was Her Faith: Women of the New Testament is a biographical sermon in book form, as it contains stories of eleven women who made a significant impact in the Bible's New Testament. Library Journal reviewer Graham Christian found the book to be "tailored for the modern nonacademic reader."

Kalas told CA: "I suspect I first became interested in writing soon after I began reading. The public libraries of my youth meant so much to me that I still visit the three locations during my annual visits to my home town of Sioux City, Iowa, even though one is now a vacant lot and the other two have been converted to other purposes. I found in my childhood clippings an interview for the West Junior High School newspaper where I said as an eighth grader that I ‘wanted to write books someday.’

"I continue to be grateful for a summer school course at the University of Wisconsin taught by the late, great regional novelist, Mari Sandoz. My work has been influenced by the Bible (especially the King James Version, which I read in my childhood) and a variety of novelists, poets, playwrights, and essayists."