Source: George Lyons

George Lyons has been a Professor of New Testament at Northwest Nazarene University since 1991, after 14 years at Olivet Nazarene University. He served as NNU's Faculty Chair during the 2008 to 2010 academic years. He has been a visiting professor at Nazarene Theological Seminary, Point Loma Nazarene University, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Nazarene Theological College (Brisbane, Australia and Manchester, England), Southeast Asia Nazarene Bible College (Bangkok, Thailand), European Nazarene College (Büsingen, Germany and extensions in Razgrad, Bulgaria and Lisbon, Portugal), in China, and at Melanesia Nazarene Bible College in Mt. Hagen, Papua New Guinea.

He was born in Indiana in 1947 and was raised in rural Illinois, 60 miles west of Chicago. He is a graduate of Olivet Nazarene University (AB), Nazarene Theological Seminary (MDiv), and Emory University (PhD, New Testament Studies). He is a past president of the Wesleyan Theological Society and a member of the Society of Biblical Literature.

He and his wife Terre were married in 1969. Terre teaches math part-time in NNU's College Core program. They have two children: Kara Lyons Pardue is married to Charlie, a 2007 NTS graduate and Youth Pastor at Allentown (NJ) Presbyterian Church. Kara is a 2002 NNU graduate, 2005 NTS graduate, and currently an ABD NT PhD candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary. Nathanael is married to Laura Hansen, a senior at NTS. Nathanael is a 2006 NNU graduate and currently a nursing student at the University of Missouri in Kansas City.

The family enjoys travel and tent camping. In addition to visiting nearly all of the US and Canadian National Parks, they have traveled in the Middle East — Israel, Jordan, and Turkey; Pacific Rim and Southeast Asia – Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Thailand, and China; Central America and the Caribbean – Haiti, Belize, Mexico, and Guatemala; and Europe – United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands. Hobbies include travel, photography, and computer.

 Dr Lyons is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene. He served as an assistant pastor for two summers, does pulpit supply, teaches an adult Sunday school class at College Church in Nampa, serves on the Intermountain District Ministerial Board, and has served on several denominational commissions and committees. He was program chair of the 2002 Global Nazarene Theology Conference in Guatemala. He has spoken in chapel at eight Nazarene colleges / universities.

 His doctoral dissertation was published by the Society of Biblical Literature as Pauline Autobiography (reprinted in 2008). His scholarly essays have been published in seven books. He has presented scholarly papers at annual meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Wesleyan Theological Society. He has contributed journal articles to the Wesleyan Theological Journal. His commentaries on 1 and 2 Corinthians appear in the Asbury Bible Commentary. He has contributed notes on Matthew and the Gospels to the Wesley Bible and the Life and Times Historical Reference Bible. He was coeditor of a Dictionary of the Bible and Christian Doctrine in Everyday English, now in its second edition. His commentaries on Romans 1--8 and Romans 9--11, coauthored with Dr. William M. Greathouse, were released in 2008.

 Among his published books intended for general audiences are Holiness in Everyday Life, More Holiness in Everyday Life, and Revelation in the Lectio Divina devotional Bible study series. He has contributed chapters to more than a dozen other books. His popular articles frequently appear in publications of the Church of the Nazarene, including the Herald of Holiness, Holiness Today, Come Ye Apart, Reflecting God, Emphasis, Adult Student / Adult Teacher: The Enduring Word Series, Adult Faith Connections, Illustrated Bible Life, Preachers' Magazine, and the Dialog series. He has published popular commentaries on Isaiah, the Passion narratives, Acts, Romans, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and 1 and 2 Peter.

 He currently has four books in various stages of completion. He is a NT General Editor and Pauline Epistles Section Editor for the New Beacon Bible Commentary series, in progress.  He edited the NBB commentaries on 2 Corinthians and Philippians, released in 2009 and on 1, 2, and 3 John and 1 and 2 Peter and Jude, scheduled for 2011 release. He is writing the commentary on Galatians for the NBBC, scheduled for release in 2011.