Biography
Dr. David A. Escobar Arcay was born and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico (United States territory). Having attended and graduated from the public schools in the Caribbean Island, he was then educated in the United States. Dr. Escobar Arcay has considerable experience in a range of educational settings as an ESL & bilingual educator, U.S. citizenship instructor, and public-school teacher and principal.
Prior to arriving at PBA, he was associate professor of theology and director of the Hispanic ministry program at Western Theological Seminary (Holland, MI) where he also taught for and directed DMin programs in Florida, Brazil, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. He was also professor of education at Nova Southeastern University (Orlando & Davie, Florida) where teaching and mentoring doctoral (ED.D.) students took him to South Korea, Malaysia, Ecuador, Mexico, Belize, Dominican Republic, Colombia and Puerto Rico. He has a B.A. from the University of Rhode Island, multiple master’s degrees in TESOL and educational leadership and administration from Rhode Island College and Harvard University Graduate School of Education, as well as in divinity and theology from several seminaries. Dr. Escobar Arcay earned his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development. He is presently studying for his second Ph.D. in divinity (systematic theology) focusing on contemporary trinitarian theology and creation at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, United Kingdom.
His life-long teaching, reading and research interests include: dogmatic and constructive theology, trinitarian theology, classical and contemporary pneumatologies, theologies of retrieval, theological interpretation of Scripture, the intellectual and moral virtues, Reformation and Post-Reformation theology and history, modern Protestant theology, Christian/religious education, the leadership, theological education and spiritual formation of pastor-theologians, the Christian intellectual tradition, theology and culture (modernity and postmodernity), and theology and the social sciences (particularly theology’s relationship to philosophical, political and social foundations of education).
Dr. Escobar Arcay has published numerous book reviews, several articles and two books in educational change. He has served and collaborated with local church Bible institutes, theological seminary students and professors, lay leaders and pastors from all walks of life, at various educational levels and in many ecclesiastical settings. Dr. Escobar Arcay has also lectured widely for diverse theological seminaries and congregations in the United States, South Africa, the English (Jamaica) and Spanish speaking Caribbean (Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico), Central America and South America most recently in Buenos Aires, Argentina at Facultad de Teología Integral. He has served the church in a variety of roles and capacities some of which include Sunday school teacher and local church Bible institute instructor, pastor of education, theologian-in-residence and educational consultant.
Dr. Escobar Arcay is an ardent and passionate believer in the imperative and power of education to equip the church, enhance the human condition and improve society. He is an avid baseball fan (New York Yankees) and enjoys basketball, traveling, running, reading and spending time with his family in Central Florida.
In Addition to the Degrees Below:
THM in Reformation and Post-Reformation Theology, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary | THM in Systematic Theology, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary | MA in Christian and Classical Studies, Knox Theological Seminary | THM in Theology and Culture, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Degrees
PhD in Educational Administration, Boston College | PhD (in process) in Divinity, University of Aberdeen | MDIV in Divinity, Knox Theological Seminary | MAT in Teaching English as a Second Language, Rhode Island College | BA in Communication Studies, The University of Rhode Island