Covenant Seminary Announces Key Administrative Transitions
As Covenant Seminary transitions into a new academic year this summer, we are pleased to announce some key administrative transitions as well.
Dr. Brad Matthews, currently Associate Professor of New Testament and Dean of Faculty, will step into the role of Vice President of Academics in July, taking over that position from Dr. Jay Sklar, who has decided to return to full-time teaching and writing after nearly a decade in the VP role. Dr. Sklar will continue as Professor of Old Testament. Meanwhile, Dr. Robbie Griggs, currently Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Director of the ThM Program, will move into the Dean of Faculty role vacated by Dr. Matthews. Dr. Griggs will continue to oversee the ThM program.
Rev. Dr. Thomas C. Gibbs, President of Covenant Seminary, commented: “We are extremely grateful for all of these men and the ways God has used them to further his Kingdom through their work here at Covenant. We are especially thankful for Dr. Sklar’s years of dedicated service in his many roles here, and we are excited that he will be able to give even more of his time, attention, and expertise to teaching and training our students for ministry. The entire Seminary community has been greatly blessed by each of these dedicated faculty members. We look forward to seeing the fruit the Lord brings forth from their ongoing ministries.”
Dr. Brad Matthews joined our faculty in 2008. He served as the Director of Field Education from 2009 to 2017 and has been the Dean of Faculty since 2021. He began his professional life as a mechanical engineer before discerning the Lord’s calling to ministry in the church and academy. His doctoral research was completed under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Barton and Prof. John Barclay on the nature of Christian maturity. He has presented papers and published on the topics of Christian maturity and interpretive issues in Colossians. He is currently working on a popular version of his thesis as well as an expository commentary on 1 Corinthians that he is co-authoring with Dr. Dan Doriani. Dr. Matthews’s deep love for the church led him to serve in several different roles in the past between youth ministry, campus ministry, and small-group ministries. More recently, he served as an Interim Pastor at South City Church in St. Louis and now remains on staff as an Assistant Pastor. He holds a PhD in New Testament Studies and an MA in Theological Research from Durham University, an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Dr. Robbie Griggs joined our faculty in 2016 and has been an invaluable player on the Covenant team in many ways. He serves as Faculty Advisor for the student-led Theological Fellowship at Covenant Seminary (along with Dr. Bob Yarbrough and Dr. Brian Aucker), facilitator of the Systematic Theology Reading Group for students, a member of the board of the student-produced The Common Table magazine, a member of the Seminary’s Chapel steering committee, oversees the revitalized David C. Jones Theology Lectures, and is active in ministry at the local church and presbytery levels. He is currently working on a revision of his dissertation for publication. Dr. Griggs holds a PhD in New Testament from Durham University, an MDiv from Covenant Seminary, and a BA in philosophy and a BS in finance from the University of Missouri–Columbia. Prior to his work at Covenant, Dr. Griggs served as a pastor at Central Presbyterian Church in St. Louis for eight years.
Dr. Jay Sklar joined our faculty in 2001, serving as Assistant (2001–2006), Associate, (2006–2012), and Professor (2012–present) of Old Testament. He also served as Dean of Faculty from 2012 to 2020 and has been VP of Academics since 2017. His doctoral research at the University of Gloucestershire was completed under Dr. Gordon Wenham and focused on the sacrificial system in Exodus through Numbers, resulting in the book Sin, Impurity, Sacrifice, Atonement: the Priestly Conceptions. He has continued to focus his work on the Bible’s first five books, writing a commentary on Exodus (ESV Expository Commentary, Crossway), two on Leviticus (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament, Zondervan; Tyndale Old Testament Commentary, IVP), and one on Numbers (Story of God, Zondervan). He has also co-authored a Leviticus Bible study and written supplementary books on Exodus (Additional Notes on Exodus) Leviticus (Additional Notes on Leviticus) and Numbers (Additional Notes on Numbers). He served as one of three general editors for Crossway’s ESV Expository Commentary series (for which he also wrote the Jonah commentary) and offers a helpful collection of resources for preaching and teaching on the Pentateuch at preachandteachthebible.com. Dr. Sklar can often be found writing, speaking at church and college events, and helping with theological education overseas. He has been a frequent teacher at Faculté Jean Calvin in France.
Please join us in prayer for Drs. Matthews, Griggs, and Sklar as they move into their new roles. And please pray for all our faculty and staff as we continue working to glorify our triune God by training his servants to walk in God’s grace, minister God’s Word, and equip God’s people—all for God’s mission.
