Poston, Larry 1952- (Larry A. Poston)

PERSONAL:

Born September 25, 1952, in Leesburg, VA; son of Leslie (a printer) and Joanne (a seamstress) Poston; married Linda K. Derksen (a librarian), May 24, 1975; children: Helena Marie. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Attended Bridgewater College, 1970-72; Grace College of the Bible, B.A. (summa cum laude), 1977; Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, M.A. (magna cum laude; Christian missiology), 1978; attended University of Gothenburg, 1980-81; Northwestern University, M.A. (history and literature of religions), 1986, Ph.D., 1988. Religion: Christian.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Valley College, NY. Office—Department of Religion, Nyack College, 1 South Blvd., Nyack, NY 10960; fax: 845-358-4345. E-mail—larry.poston@nyack.edu.

CAREER:

Nordiska Bibelinstitutet, Saeffle, Sweden, instructor in religion, 1981-84, dean of students, 1983-84; Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, lecturer, 1987, library assistant, 1988-89; Nyack College, Nyack, NY, associate professor of missiology and religion and department chair, 1989-95; Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, associate professor of religion and director of Institute for Muslim Studies, 1995-96; Nyack College, professor of religion, 1996—, department chair, 2003—. Asia Graduate School of Theology, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, visiting professor, summer, 1990; conference presenter; speaker at retreats and other religious gatherings. Pionjärarbetet Människofiskare (Fishers of Men), cofounder and member of governing board, 1981-84; North Jersey Christian-Muslim Project, board member, 1994-2000.

MEMBER:

Evangelical Missiological Society, American Academy of Religion, Evangelical Theological Society.

WRITINGS:

Islamic Da'wah in the West: Muslim Missionary Activity and the Dynamics of Conversion to Islam, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Carl F. Ellis, Jr.) The Changing Face of Islam in America, Horizon Books (Camp Hill, PA), 2000.

Contributor to books, including The Muslims of America, edited by Yvonne Haddad, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1991; Christianity and the Religions: A Biblical Theology of World Religions, edited by Edward Rommen and Harold Netland, William Carey Library Press (Pasadena, CA), 1995; Teaching Them Obedience in All Things: Equipping for the Twenty-first Century, edited by Edgar J. Elliston, William Carey Library Press, 1999; Muslims and Islamization in North America: Problems and Prospects, edited by Amber Haque, Amana Publications (Beltsville, MD), 1999; and Eschatology East and West: Millennium, Madness, and Mayhem, edited by Christopher Beal, Shangri-La Publications, 2007. Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including Europe Pulse, Moody Monthly, Christianity Today, Alliance Life, American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, Missiology: International Review, and Evangelical Missions Quarterly.

SIDELIGHTS:

Larry Poston told CA: "My primary motivation for writing is to contribute to the current pool of ideas out of which men and women are drawing information for the decision-making in their lives. My work is influenced by my students and their struggles to make sense of contemporary society."