Concordia Seminary, St. Louis announced today that Dr. Jeff Kloha, provost and professor of exegetical theology, has accepted a position as director of Collections Operations at Museum of the Bible effective late July 2017.

In his new position, Kloha will oversee the staff, operations and exhibits for the largest private collection of biblical manuscripts and artifacts in the world. Museum of the Bible’s collection numbers more than 100,000 individual items and is growing. Kloha also will have the opportunity to continue his academic research on New Testament manuscripts.

Museum of the Bible’s home office is in Oklahoma City, where Kloha will be based. In November, the organization will open a 430,000-square-foot, six-story museum in Washington, D.C.; in addition, there are traveling exhibits on display in Germany and England, and plans for more in other European countries and Southeast Asia. The museum also is engaged in three archeological excavations in Israel, creating biblical curricula for private and public schools globally, manuscript research programs involving 60 colleges and universities, college student study programs held at the University of Oxford and in Israel, and a book publishing division. The museum is developing a series of micro-museums in the United Kingdom and a similar program for Asia which launches in 2018.

“As our organization continues to expand at a rapid rate into various forms of biblical presentation, all designed to engage the general public with the Bible, there is a need to expand our operating departments and to attract top scholars and support staff,” said Cary Summers, president of Museum of the Bible. “Everything we do hinges upon our collections department which provides the undergirding of all of our activities. As director of Collections Operations, Jeff Kloha will lead the department where everything that Museum of the Bible creates starts. This department houses our curators, registers, restoration labs, artifact photographers and the research center, and works closely with our education and curriculum departments, the traveling exhibit team and our Washington, D.C. content team. Jeff’s work history and academic accomplishments come at a very critical time as we launch into the very important opening of our D.C. museum and our overseas expansion. Museum of the Bible’s 200 associates will benefit greatly from Jeff’s involvement in our effort to put the Bible back into the center of global conversation.”

Until his departure, Kloha will continue to serve as provost and professor. During this time, he will assist the other members of the Seminary’s Executive Management Team in transitioning to new academic leadership. Kloha also will continue to advise his graduate students and he will return in January to teach a Winterim intensive elective course. In Oklahoma City, he will offer to assist in a local congregation and remain active in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

Kloha was called to the faculty in 1999. Previously, he served as associate pastor at Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Lakewood, Ohio, beginning in 1993 after graduating from the Seminary. An in-demand speaker and prolific author, Kloha’s areas of expertise include the Pauline epistles and the manuscripts of the New Testament.

“As professor and provost, Dr. Kloha has rendered exemplary service to the mission of the Seminary and our Savior,” said Dr. Dale A. Meyer, president of Concordia Seminary. “Among his legacy of service are his innumerable hours and days guiding the development of the revised residential Master of Divinity curriculum that will have generational impact upon the church. While saddened at his departure, we also rejoice in the extraordinary opportunity Jeff has to lead so major a collection as the Museum of the Bible. This is a testament to his scholarship of the New Testament and his leadership ability. His selection also is an example of the far-reaching impact of our Concordia Seminary. Certainly the blessings of the Lord of the church will go with Jeff and his wife, Susan, in this new season of their lives.”

About Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). To learn more, visit www.csl.edu.