A warm smile and a kind greeting are common occurrences when encountering Jared Compton, either in the classroom, at the beginning of chapel each week, or as he is grabbing coffee before heading to teach Biblical Greek to undergraduate students and hermeneutics to seminary students. Compton is known for his love of the ancient languages and biblical theology, but more than that, he is personable, deeply caring, and never too busy to sit down for a long conversation with anyone who seeks more delight in God and His Word.
Compton has always delighted in making the riches of Scripture known to anyone he encounters. After receiving his M.Div. from Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, he considered pursuing cross-cultural missions as a way to minister to those who have not heard the good news of the gospel. Being deeply influenced by his father, who was a professor at Detroit Seminary, Compton instead chose to seek further education so that he could train others who wanted to be sent to the nations. He pursued doctoral studies under Dr. D. A. Carson at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, desiring to grow deeper in his knowledge of the relationship between exegesis and theology, and quickly fell in love with the narrative of Scripture found in the study of biblical theology. His dissertation work focused on the role of the Old Testament in the New, namely the use of Psalm 110 in the book of Hebrews and how it serves as a structure for the book as it proclaims Jesus as a king who sits at God’s right hand and a priest who serves forever. Compton has been immensely blessed by his pursuit of Ph.D. studies, as he has seen his work be beneficial to his own love of the Scriptures as well as to local church congregations, in the classroom, and in conversation with other scholars. The gift of being able to receive and labor over an interdisciplinary education at Trinity continues to bear fruit as Compton shares his love for the Scriptures with so many in the Bethlehem community.
Early on in his time at Trinity, Compton sought out Dr. Carson’s advice regarding where to attend church. Dr. Carson directed him to Crossway Community Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Compton and his family discovered the joy of the gospel for believers in their every day lives. They were deeply ministered to in their time there, such that, after Compton completed his doctoral work at Trinity, he accepted a pastoral role in Kenosha and served there from 2015 until 2020. Compton notes that this season was particularly sanctifying for him, as the Lord used his seminary and doctorate education to minister to the congregation and shape him as he grew to love the flock.
In 2020, Compton considered taking on a more significant role at the church in Kenosha, while also being presented with the opportunity to teach at Bethlehem College and Seminary. After a period of discernment, the Compton family moved to Minneapolis and Compton began teaching at Bethlehem in various disciplines. He is currently the Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology, and teaches courses in these disciplines across all three of Bethlehem’s programs, alongside Intermediate Greek and Biblical Hermeneutics. Compton has a heart for his students such that he doesn’t have a favorite class or topic which he teaches, but a delight in individual moments in his classroom where the Lord meets a particular student and their eyes are opened to His glorious purposes in the Word and world around them. One student notes that, “Dr. Compton is the only professor that can handle the Bible with such reverence that he stirs his students to worship, and with such whimsy that his students get a temporary tattoo of the biblical hermeneutic: RBLBRB (Read the Bible Like the Bible Reads the Bible).”
Beyond his scholarship and love for teaching, Compton is also a joyful husband and father. He has been married to Charisse for over 20 years, and they have three children, Asher, Jude, and Haven. When he is not in the classroom, Compton is present in his family and church life; joyfully watching his children play soccer and run track, and worshiping as a member at The North Church by serving in small groups, leading men’s retreats, and teaching Sunday School from time to time. He also has increasing opportunities to share his love for the Scriptures and cross-cultural missions outside of the Bethlehem community, by serving various congregations through preaching and writing on the importance of the storyline of Scripture, and equipping missionaries with doctrine and theology before they are sent to the field. These varying expressions of Compton’s vocation bring him and so many others such delight, and are a wonderful example of the gifts with which God has equipped one of Bethlehem College and Seminary’s finest.
