Since 1990, George Guthrie, the Benjamin W. Perry Professor of Bible at Union University and author of multiple books, has impacted the lives of many students and professors, and after 28 years, he and his wife, Pat, are moving to Canada in May where he will teach New Testament at Regent College in Vancouver, BC.
Guthrie has left his impression on Union by leading in the establishment of the Ryan Center for Biblical Studies, where he currently serves as senior fellow. He and his wife are also known for their “Guthursdays,” an occasion in which they opened their house to students every other Thursday for a meal and fellowship.
“Dr. Guthrie has modeled world-class scholarship combined with faithful Christian belief and practice,” said Ryan Sinni, a senior English and Christian studies double major. “I am thankful for the way he has opened his home, his office and his life to students like me.”
After 28 years at Union University and turning down other opportunities to move, it is natural to wonder why Guthrie is leaving now and especially why to Canada.
“Let me begin by stating clearly that we are not moving because of a rupture with our beloved Union University,” Guthrie said in his blog. “I believe passionately in the good work of Union and will continue to be one of her most enthusiastic cheerleaders.”
Guthrie always had a passion for teaching in an international context, but it was not until 2006 that he got the opportunity to travel around the world to teach graduate students and pastors in places like Canada, the United Kingdom, China, Germany and Israel.
4,280 miles east from Jackson, Guthrie said his life was impacted greatly. In 2013, Guthrie went to Cambridge, England for a six-month research sabbatical, and during his stay, he grew close relationships with surrounding doctorate students and their families who remain dear friends today.
It was in those six months of living internationally, surrounded by and fellowshipping with graduate students, that God began to awaken this call of starting a new chapter in Guthrie’s life, so for the next three years, Guthrie waited patiently in anticipation for God to reveal the next step in his and his family’s lives.
“It was not a dissatisfaction with Union,” Guthrie said. “It was a longing for what would be a next step in our ministry.”
That answer came very clearly in November of 2016 while Guthrie was attending a professional meeting in San Antonio, Texas. His colleague, a professor at Regent College in Vancouver, turned to him suddenly and said,
“Did you know that Rikki Watts is going back to Australia, and we are looking for a New Testament professor? . . . You wouldn’t be open to the position, would you?”
Guthrie said from that moment on, it has been very clear Regent College is the perfect “fit” for where God is leading him to begin this next journey at this stage of his life and ministry.
Regent College, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, is a theological institution that offers graduate-level theological training for those not only seeking a full-time career in ministry, but also for those in various occupations such as education, medicine, law and many more.
“Our vision broadly is to do what we have been doing for years, but on the graduate level—to teach, continue writing, contribute meaningfully to the community and serve the church in our region and around the world,” Guthrie said in his blog. “We want to walk with students so that, by God’s grace, they might thrive in life and have a greater impact on the world.”
