Efraín Agosto

Dr. Efraín Agosto is currently the Croghan Bicentennial Professor in Biblical and Early Christian Studies at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts; he joined the faculty as a visiting professor for two years (2021-23), appointed jointly to two departments – Latinx Studies and Religion. Dr. Agosto had been Professor of New Testament Studies at New York Theological Seminary (NYTS) in New York City since 2011, and he also served NYTS as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean (2018-19). Previously, he was Professor of New Testament and Director of the Programa de Ministerios Hispanos at Hartford Seminary for a period of sixteen years (1995-2011), which included four years as Academic Dean (2007-11). In his early years in theological education, Dr. Agosto was on the staff of the Center for Urban Ministerial Education of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston (1983-95), serving in a variety of capacities, including the last five years as Director and Dean of CUME. Dr. Agosto, a Puerto Rican born and raised in New York City, received his BA from Columbia University (1977), his MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (1982), and his PhD in New Testament Studies from Boston University (1996). He has published three monographs: Servant Leadership: Jesus and Paul (Chalice Press, 2005) on the theology and practice of leadership in earliest Christianity; Corintios (Fortress Press, 2008), a Spanish-language lay commentary on Paul’s letters to the Corinthians; and Preaching in the Interim: Transitional Leadership in the Latino/a Church (Judson Press, 2018), a book of sermons preached at the historic Segunda Iglesia Bautista de Nueva York (East Harlem). He also co-edited (with Jacqueline Hidalgo) Latinxs, the Bible and Migration (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). In addition to being a Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI) Post-doctoral Fellow, Dr. Agosto has served HTI as a Selection Committee member, mentor, Summer Workshop presenter, and Senior Editor of Perspectivas.