Center for Pastor Theologians

Christians have an increasingly complex and often conflicted relationship with technology. As Genesis 1 succinctly and profoundly declares, God created humanity in his image, and as part of that vocation, we are called to make something of the world. Technology is one of the most important and powerful ways that human beings exercise this dominion. But while technology can extend our humanity in powerful and exciting ways, many of us feel that it can compromise or fracture our humanity at its core. As a result, questions quickly emerge. What does it mean to be human? How does our creation in the image of God affect the way we use, design, and understand technology? Should our general posture toward technology be cautious or optimistic? This collection of scholarly and pastoral essays, drawn from the 2019 annual theology conference of the Center for Pastor Theologians, offers substantive Christian reflection on a wide range of issues pertinent to a distinctly Christian vision of technology today-and in the future.

One of the greatest crises facing the church is the crisis of racial injustice that has so long marred the body of Christ in America. Evangelicals have traditionally had a set of biblical, theological, and cultural tools we have used for dealing with questions about race: the necessity of personal responsibility, the possibility of heart renewal through faith in Jesus, the transformative impact of interpersonal relationships, and the bedrock conviction that every human being is made in the image of God and is thus of equal worth and dignity. But in the world after 2020, the evangelical church must now recognize that our theological playbook has been ineffective in rooting out racism from the church and in confronting our own complicity in racial injustice. We must now ask: What other theological convictions are required of us as we consider the image-bearing humanity of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others? Confronting Racial Injustice explores theological vistas to aid the church in our pursuit of racial justice.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus consistently demonstrated his concern and love for the whole person: soul, mind, and body. That task is carried forward today by pastors and church leaders, who are called to care for people in the midst of individual circumstances as well as seismic cultural shifts. How might that calling be informed by recent developments in psychology? How should the church attend to matters of mental health? How might psychology and counseling aid us in our spiritual formation? Based on the 2018 Center for Pastor Theologians conference, this volume brings together reflections by pastors, theologians, and psychologists who explore the relationships among three fields of study-theological anthropology, spiritual formation, and modern psychology. The result is a vibrant whole-person theology that can aid the church today in its centuries-old call to care for the soul, mind, and body.

Humans are sexual creatures. Our sexuality can be a beautiful and mysterious expression of what it means to be human. But it can also become distorted and sinful. Perhaps no issue is as urgent for the church today, or confronts it with as many questions, as human sexuality: What does it mean to fulfill God's will through our sexuality? To what extent should our sexuality define who we are? How can we navigate cultural trends around sexuality while being faithful to Scripture? The Center for Pastor Theologians (CPT) seeks to assist pastors in the study and production of biblical and theological scholarship for the theological renewal of the church and the ecclesial renewal of theology. Based on the 2016 annual CPT conference, this volume brings together the reflections of church leaders and academic theologians who seek to answer the urgent questions concerning human sexuality. Contributors engage with Scripture, draw on examples from church history, and delve into current issues in contemporary culture, including embodiment, marriage, homosexuality, pornography, transgenderism, and gender dysphoria. Beauty, Order, and Mystery tackles difficult questions with discernment in order to offer a theological vision of faithful human sexuality for the church.

The doctrine of creation is crucial to the Christian faith, but it has often been maligned, misinterpreted, or ignored. Some, such as pagan philosophers and Gnostics, have tended to denigrate the goodness of the material world. More recently, new questions have emerged regarding human origins in light of the Darwinian account of evolution. What does it mean today to both affirm the goodness of God's creation and anticipate the new creation? The Center for Pastor Theologians (CPT) seeks to assist pastors in the study and production of biblical and theological scholarship for the theological renewal of the church and the ecclesial renewal of theology. Based on the third annual CPT conference, this volume brings together the reflections of church leaders, academic theologians, and scientists on the importance―and the many dimensions―of the doctrine of creation. Contributors engage with Scripture and scientific theory, draw on examples from church history, and delve into current issues in contemporary culture in order to help Christians understand the beginning and ending of God's good creation.