A scholar of 19th and 20th century North American Christianity, and especially the history of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), courses offered by Dr. Imbler in recent years have included Disciples History and Polity, Disciples Theology, Christianity in the United States, and the Church from Reformations to Post Modernism.
With a strong interest in the study of Christian ministry, his publications include Beyond Buffalo: Alexander Campbell on Education for Ministry (Nashville: Disciples of Christ Historical Society, 1992), Discerning the Call: Advancing the Quality of Ordained Leadership, co-edited with Linda Plengemeier (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1992), “Disciples of Christ Colleges, Universities, and Seminaries,” in Religious Higher Education in the United States: A Source Book, ed. Thomas Hunt and James Carper (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1996), "The Council of Agencies" and "The Louisville Plan," in The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement, ed. Douglas A. Foster, et. al. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005), A Passion for Christian Unity, ed. (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2009), and numerous book reviews. He is currently working on the centennial history of Phillips Theological Seminary.
An ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Dr. Imbler serves on the regional ministerial commissions of Kansas and Oklahoma in his capacity as the seminary’s director of Disciples of Christ ministerial formation. He is a member of the Delegate Assembly and sits on the Lead Team of Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry. A member of the American Academy of Religion and the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, he joined the PTS faculty in 1993.