The Pastor Theologians Podcast

Nadya Williams joins the podcast to talk about her recent book, Mothers, Children, and the Body Politic: Ancient Christianity and the Recovery of Human Dignity (IVP Academic, 2024.) How do our attitudes towards motherhood reflect either a commodification of human life or, by contrast, a rich affirmation of the imago dei ? This and more on today’s podcast!  Join us at the CPT Conference

Stephen Campbell joins us today on the CPT podcast. Stephen tells us about witnessing his family's ministry through his childhood. He also shares how the Lord prepared him for his current context pastoring in Germany, and his research on the book of Deuteronomy. This and more on today's podcast! Join us at the CPT Conference

Matt O'Reilly joins us today to talk about his recent book Free to Be Holy: A Biblical Theology of Sanctification .  What does the Bible teach us about holiness? How can the broader Evangelical community learn from historically Methodist theologies of sanctification? How can ecclesial styles of theological writing serve pastors and congregations as they work through topics like this one? This...

Brad Littlejohn joins the podcast today to talk about his new book, Called to Freedom: Retrieving Christian Liberty in an Age of License . What is human "freedom"? Where do American theological, moral, and political concepts of freedom and liberty come from? How do Scripture and our culture view "freedom" differently, and how can pastors help the Church's ability to think...

Steve Turnbull joins the podcast to share his journey of becoming a pastor and Biblical scholar. As a pastor theologian, Steve has worked to develop a rich Biblical narrative imagination. Today, he serves as a senior pastor of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in Ohio, as well as the provost and professor of New Testament at The Master's Institute in Minnesota.  Join us at the CPT Conference

We are excited to have Carl Trueman on the podcast today. Carl discusses his some of his recent books, including To Change All Worlds: Critical Theory from Marx to Marcuse ,  which provides an introductory intellectual history of Critical Theory, primarily non-polemically. In this episode, Carl walks us through the key figures and orienting ideas of Frankfurt School and Critical Theory. What is th...

Aaron Friesen joins the podcast today to share his story of becoming a pastor theologian. Aaron describes how, in part though his seminary education at Fuller, he developed a vision and sense of calling for integrating theological education and service to the local church within his pentecostal tradition. Today, Aaron serves at CitySalt church in Eugene, OR and teaches in an adjunct capacity.  Joi...

Today we are joined on the podcast by Rhys Laverty as we discuss Life on the Silent Planet: Essays on Christian Living from C.S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy  (Davenant Institute, 2024). This volume, edited by Laverty, is a collection of essays highlighting Lewis's insights on topics such as gender, contraception, bureaucracy, and transhumanism, as he wove them into the Ransom Trilogy. What questio...

Jon English Lee joins the podcast today to discuss his book, There Remains a Sabbath Rest for the People of God: A Biblical, Theological, & Historical Defense of Sabbath Rest as a Creation Ordinance . What is the theological significance of rest in Scripture? What does it mean for a pastor to lead from a restful soul? This and more on today's podcast episode! Join us at the CPT Conference

Jennifer Powell McNutt joins the podcast once again to discuss her recent book, The Mary We Forgot: What the Apostle to the Apostles Teaches the Church Today (Brazos Press 2024). Mary Magdalene's story has often been undervalued and confused, in part due to what Jennifer calls the "muddle of Marys" in the Gospels. What can we gain by a more careful analysis of Mary's story? How...

Matthew LaPine joins the podcast to share his journey of faith through mental health challenges in his family and more. How can "playing the long game" shape our perspective as we navigate life's challenges? This and more on today’s episode! Join us at the CPT Conference

Charles (Chad) Kim joins the podcast to talk about his book, The Way of Humility: St. Augustine’s Theology of Preaching. How is Augustine’s theology and specifically the virtue of humility reflected in Augustine’s Sermon? Hear this and more on today’s episode.   Join us at the CPT Conference

Ryan joins the podcast today to share his story, including his background in the Pentecostal tradition. Find out how that tradition has shaped him as a pastor theologian. Further, how can we learn from themes of doubt, deconstruction, and anti-intellectualism? How do we think about these themes as ministry leaders? All this and more on today’s podcast.  Join us at the CPT Conference

As we wrap up 2024, in this episode the CPT staff reflects on the past year, and looks ahead to what the Lord might do through our ministry in 2025.  Join us at the CPT Conference

Jonathan Huggins joins us on the podcast today with a sermon for the season of Advent reflecting on peace. How does the Gospel redefine shalom—peace—with God, within ourselves, and with others? How can we maintain relational and psychological rest in our souls when facing the anxiety-producing situations of our modern world?  Join us at the CPT Conference

For our December episode on books, we, the CPT staff, have been reading (and, on this occasion, watching): JRR Tolkien, Return of the King, (1955) Mark A. Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (1995) Stephen King, Carrie (1974) Cormac McCarthy, The Border Trilogy , (1999) Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen, American Nietzsche: A History of an Icon and His Idea , 2011 Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin....

Today, Chris Ganski shares a sermon on Acts 17:1-9. In the wake of the 2024 election, the book of Acts can be an excellent resource to consider the relationship between church and politics. In the context of Acts 17, does Caesar have anything to fear from the church? What is the church, and what does it mean to belong to the church? How does the church’s identity influence our understanding of the...

Pastor Caleb Campbell joins the podcast to discuss how pastors might guide their congregations through the results of the 2024 election, drawing from his experience pastoring in Phoenix, AZ. He also discusses his book " Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor ." How can we helpfully engage those in their community who align with combative political perspectives? H...

Douglas Estes joins the podcast once again to discuss the second volume of a collection of essays he edited on theology in the works and worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien. We talk about the role of narrative fiction in shaping pastoral theology and how works like The Lord of the Rings can serve those who lead the church in the present day. Join us at the CPT Conference

Kevin Vanhoozer joins us on the podcast this week to discuss his recent book, Mere Christian Hermeneutics: Transfiguring What It Means to Read the Bible Theologically . Christians across traditions and vocations have wondered what it means to read Scripture faithfully. Are there essential principles for reading the Bible as Scripture everywhere, at all times?  What does it mean to read the Bible “...

For our November episode on books, we, the CPT staff, have been reading: Claire Keegan,  Small Things Like These  (2021) James Davison Hunter,  Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America's Political Crisis  (2024) Yuval Noah Harari,  Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI  (2024) Kelly Kapic, You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God&...

We are joined on the podcast today by Justin Allison. Justin shares his story of faith and how the Lord has worked through different seasons in his life, from a bout with illness as a child, to serving as a hospital chaplain, and now in his current ministry context.   Join us at the CPT Conference

This week, Gavin Ortlund joins us to discuss his recent book “ What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church .”  Many evangelicals have recently begun to explore more sacramental and liturgical church traditions, such as Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. What underlying desires drive this renewed interest? Can these desires only be met outside of Protestantism? How...

Cory Wilson joins the podcast to tell his story of becoming a pastor theologian. He shares about his work as a missionary in West Africa and how that significantly shaped the trajectory of his life and ministry. What is the nature of theology? Why do we pursue it? And why does it find its home in the church? Join us at the CPT Conference

Nathan Chang joins the podcast to tell his story about becoming a Pastor Theologian. Nathan shares about his experiencing growing up with deaf parents and in a deaf church and the impact that had on his vision of and for the church. He explains his journey of faith, his passion for the word of God, and his journey of education and ministry.  Join us at the CPT Conference