OC honors Bible professor Jim Dvorak with the Rowe Distinguished Scholar Award 

The professor and published author was recognized at the 2020 fall faculty meeting for his writing accomplishments.

September 20, 2020

Oklahoma Christian University is proud to call Jim Dvorak a member of the OC family, seeing that he recently stepped into a new role as chair of the division of Bible in addition to the release of his fourth book. In 2019, Dvorak published, “The Epistle of James: Linguistic Exegesis of an Early Christian Letter,” which led him to win OC’s Jack and Barbara Rowe Distinguished Scholar Award. The annual award recognizes OC’s most-accomplished faculty scholarship in the last year. 

Dvorak is a professor of Greek and New Testament studies at OC; he has a gift of explaining Biblical context, which he does in his latest book. The “Epistle of James” is a collection of essays about the book of James with multiple linguistic perspectives. Dvorak’s book can be purchased on Amazon for anyone to read, but the scholarly content is directed toward a post-graduate audience, such as educated church leaders, pastors and seminary students.

“The goal for all of my books is similar to ministry,” Dvorak said. “I want to help people understand the Bible, not make money.”

By teaching all levels of Greek and purposefully learning from a sociolinguistic viewpoint, Dvorak brings new insights to the New Testament book. However, he humbly acknowledges how his biblical interests were stirred. 

As a 1995 OC alumnus, Dvorak talked about the impact his old Bible teacher Don Vinzant had on him. 

“Engaging in dialogue prepared me how to write,” Dvorak said. “I had to seek understanding before being understood.”

Visit Dvorak's blog to access his books, read more about his life and view his wish list of books. Those interested in Dvorak’s latest book can purchase “The Epistle of James: Linguistic Exegesis of an Early Christian Letter” on Amazon.