NOBTS - Dr. Rex D. Butler

Dr. Rex D. Butler

Professor of Church History and Patristics

Occupying the John T. Westbrook Chair of Church History

Office: Dodd Building: Office 105
Office Phone: 504-282-4455 ext. 3214
E-Mail: rbutler@nobts.edu

Education

Doctor of Philosophy, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, 2002; Dissertation Title: "The New Prophecy and 'New Visions': Evidence of Montanism in The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas"
Master of Arts, Wayland Baptist University, Plainview, Texas, 1997
Bachelor of Arts, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, 1970

Teaching Experience

Professor of Church History and Patristics, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, LA, 2013-Present
Associate Professor of Church History and Patristics, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, LA, 2007--2013
Adjunct Professor, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, LA, 2004-2007
Adjunct Professor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX, 2003-2005
Adjunct Professor, Tarrant County College, Fort Worth, TX, 2001
Adjunct Professor, Wayland Baptist University, Plainview, TX, 1997-1998, 2006

Teaching Specializations

Church History
Early Church History
Baptism in the Early Church
Persecution & Martyrdom
Heresy & Orthodoxy
Women in the Church
How We Got the Bible

Ministry Experience

Teacher, Providence Institute, Christian Ministries Diploma Program, New Orleans, LA
Teacher, Bethel Colony South Bible Certificate Program, Introduction to the Bible, New Orleans, LA
Bible Study Leader, Education Committee Member, Southcliff Baptist Church, Fort Worth, TX 1998-2007
Deacon, Bible Study Leader, Southcrest Baptist Church, Lubbock, TX, 1995-1998
Deacon (chairman), Finance-Budget Committee (chairman), Bible Study Leader, Trinity Baptist Church, Lubbock, TX, 1977-1979, 1984-1995
Deacon (ordained), Bible Study Leader, Northway Baptist Church, Dallas, TX, 1979-1984
Youth pastor (licensed to ministry), First Baptist Church, Littlefield, TX, 1975-1976

Publications

Books

The New Prophecy and "New Visions": Evidence of Montanism in The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2006)
The New Prophecy and "New Visions": Evidence of Montanism in The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas, Revised Edition (Mountain Home, AR: BorderStone Press, 2014)

Contributions

“‘The Blood of the Martyrs Is Seed’: Christian Suffering and Evangelism in the Early Church and Contemporary World.” In Engage: Tools for Contemporary Evangelism, gen. ed., Wm. Craig Price (Birmingham, AL: NOBTS Press, an imprint of Iron Stream Media, 2019)
"'Church under the Cross': Anabaptist Theology of Martyrdom," in Celebrating the Legacy of the Reformation, ed. Kevin L. King, Edward E. Hindson, and Benjamin K. Forrest (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2019).
Articles about Origen, Nicholas of Myra, Patrick of Ireland, Martin & Katie Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, Isaac Backus, Elijah Craig, J. Frank Norris to #churchfails: 100 Blunders from Church History (& What We Can Learn from Them), ed. David Stabnow (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing, 2015)
“‘Orthodoxy’, ‘Heresy’, and Complexity: Montanism as a Case Study,” in Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christian Contexts, ed. Paul Hartog (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2014)
"Learning from Patristic Community Formation," in The Contemporary Church and the Early Church: Case Studies in Ressourcement, ed. Paul Hartog (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2010)

Articles

"Ephesus," in Biblical Illustrator, Fall 2019.
“The Things That Are Caesar’s: How Christians Behaved as Citizens, Soldiers, and Public Servants,” Christian History Magazine, Issue 124, Fall 2017.
"Baptism in the Early Church," in Biblical Illustrator, Summer 2018.
“Tertullianism: Tertullian’s Vision of the New Prophecy in North Africa, in Journal of Baptist Theology and Ministry, Fall 2011.
“Sacramentum: Baptismal Practice & Theology of Tertullian & Cyprian,” in Journal of Baptist Theology and Ministry, Spring 2009.

Presentations

“'The Son of God Appeared to Prophets and Patriarchs': Ante-Nicene Views of Christophanies," presented at National Evangelical Theological Society Conference, San Diego, California, November 21, 2019.
"Sacred Writings in the Editor’s Framework of The Passion of Perpetua and in Saturus’s Beatific Vision," presented at Southwest Regional Evangelical Theological Society Conference, Houston, TX, March 2, 2018
"Church under the Cross: Anabaptist Theology of Martyrdom," presented at National Conference of Evangelical Theological Society, Providence, Rhode Island, November 17, 2019.
“Sacred Writings in Perpetua’s Diary,” presented at Conference on How the Bible Came into Being, Houston Baptist University, March 3, 2017.
“ ‘The Father, the Son, and the Lord Montanus’: Trinitarian Understandings and Misunderstandings in the New Prophecy," presented at National Evangelical Theological Society Conference, San Antonio, Texas, November 17, 2016.
“The Blood of the Martyrs: The Seed of the Early Church and Contemporary, Global Christianity,” presented at Regional Evangelical Theological Society, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 2015.
"Persecution & Martyrdom Yesterday & Today: Christian Suffering in the Early Church and the Contemporary World," presented at National Evangelical Theological Society, San Diego, California, November 19, 2014.
“‘Orthodoxy’, ‘Heresy’, and Complexity: Montanism as a Case Study,” presented at National Evangelical Theological Society Conference, San Francisco, California, November 16, 2011
"Learning from Patristic Community Formation and Maintenance," presented at National Evangelical Theological Society Conference, Providence, Rhode Island, November 20, 2008
"Visible Sacrament, Sacred Sign: Symbolism and Sacramentalism of Augustine's Understanding of Baptism," presented at National Evangelical Theological Society Conference, San Diego, California, November 16, 2007
“The Baptismal Practice and Theology of Tertullian and Cyprian,” presented at Regional Evangelical Theological Society Conference, Fort Worth, Texas, March 24, 2006.
“Perpetua’s Use of Sacred Writings,” presented at National Evangelical Theological Society Conference, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, November 17, 2005.
“Sacramentum: Baptismal Theology and Practice in Third-Century North Africa,” presented at National Evangelical Theological Society Conference, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, November 17, 2005.
“An Evangelical Triangle: The Relationship between the Keswick Higher Life Movement, Pentecostalism, and Fundamentalism,” presented at Southwest Regional American Academy of Religion Meeting, Irving, Texas, March 12, 2005.
“The Eastern Church Fathers,” presented at Discipleship Seminars, First Baptist Church, Lewisville, Texas, February 13 and 20, 2005.
“Tertullianism: Tertullian’s Vision for the New Prophecy in North Africa,” presented at National Evangelical Theological Society Conference, San Antonio, Texas, November 18, 2004.
“Apocalyptic Literature and the Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas,” presented at Southwest Regional American Academy of Religion Meeting, Irving, Texas, March 6, 2004.
“The Use of Sacred Writings in the Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas,” presented at Second Century Seminar, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, February 20, 2003.
“Persecution and Martyrdom in the History of the Church,” participated in Panel Discussion, Dallas Baptist University, October, 1999.