Email: [email protected]
First Year at Gordon-Conwell: 2006
Expertise: Hebrew, Old Testament Narrative
Biography:
Dr. Sarah Lebhar Hall has served as an adjunct professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary since 2006, when she had the privilege of becoming the first residential instructor at the Jacksonville campus. Her love for the Jacksonville campus community has only grown over the years; it is a particular joy that two of her former students now serve as adjunct professors in Jacksonville as well.
Sarah completed her doctoral work in Old Testament at Cambridge University, UK, after receiving an MDiv from Trinity School for Ministry and a BA from Princeton University. A lifelong member of the Anglican communion, she has served on the staff of three Anglican churches and has worshipped in diverse Anglican congregations in several countries. One of her first assignments to teach seminary students was at a small, rural Anglican theological college in southern Uganda, and she continues to care about equipping leaders for the global church. Most of her work in the local church over the past thirty years has focused on discipling children and youth by creating truly intergenerational communities of faith.
Sarah served on the writing team for the new catechism of the Anglican Church in North America. Together with her husband, the Rev. Jon Hall, their two children, and many ministry friends, she helped plant an Anglican church, Incarnation Tallahassee, in 2014. She now serves the congregation as the director of children’s instruction, and has a particular passion for intergenerational teaching of the Scriptures.
Sarah cares deeply about exhorting and equipping God’s people to receive the gift of his Word. Her particular vision for training church leaders to teach the Old Testament comes from Matthew 13:52: “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” Her hope is that the “older” treasures of the Scriptures will not lie forgotten in the storeroom, but be brought out to bless all members of God’s kingdom. To this end, she particularly enjoys teaching Hebrew, and has done so for students aged 6 to 60+. She also especially loves sharing tools for unpacking the structure and meaning of Hebrew narrative; she’s done so in diverse contexts, including for fifth graders and for Anglican bishops!
When not in the classroom, Sarah is generally most happy when singing, hiking with her husband, hanging out with her amazing teenagers and their friends, enjoying her church family and her extended family, and playing with her baby nieces who live two doors down.
Degrees
- BA in History (Princeton University)
- MDiv (Trinity School for Ministry)
- Special Student (Wheaton College Graduate School)
- PhD (University of Cambridge)
List of Publications
- Conquering Character: The Characterization of Joshua in Joshua 1–11. T & T Clark, 2010.
- “Anglicans and Israel: The (Largely) Untold Story.” Understanding the Jewish Roots of Christianity. Lexham Press, 2021. [2022 Christianity Today Book Award Finalist for Biblical Studies]
- To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism (Contributor). Anglican House Publishers, 2014.
- “Heaven.” New Dictionary of Christian Apologetics. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006.
- “The Key to a Purposeful Life,” Christianity Today (November 2012).
- “A 3,000 Year Old Version of ‘Imagine,’” Christianity Today, Online (December 2015).
- “Why God Gives Us Weakness,” Christianity Today (April 2016).