Becoming a Pastor Theologian

The roles of pastor and theologian have gone their separate ways.Throughout much of the church's history, these two roles have been deeply intertwined, but in our contemporary setting, a troubling bifurcation between them has developed. The result has been a theologically weakened church and an ecclesially weakened theology. The Center for Pastor Theologians (CPT) seeks to overcome this divide by assisting 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 first CPT conference in 2015, this volume brings together the reflections of church leaders and academic theologians to consider how pastoral ministry and theological scholarship might be reconnected once again. The contributors consider several facets of the complex identity of the pastor theologian, including the biblical, public, and political dimensions of this calling. In addition, the essays explore the insights that can be gained from historical examples of pastor theologians-including John Calvin, John Henry Newman and Dietrich Bonhoeffer-as well as the essential role of Scripture within the ministry of the pastor theologian.

Todd Wilson (PhD, Cambridge University) is senior pastor of Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Illinois. He is the cofounder and chairman of the Center for Pastor Theologians, a ministry dedicated to resourcing pastor theologians. He is the author of Real Christian: Bearing the Marks of Authentic Faith and Galatians: Gospel-rooted Living, and the coauthor of The Pastor Theologian: Resurrecting an Ancient Vision and Pastors in the Classics. Gerald L. Hiestand (PhD candidate in classics and archeology, University of Kent, Canterbury) is the senior associate pastor at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Illinois, and the cofounder and director of the Center for Pastor Theologians. He is the coauthor of The Pastor Theologian: Resurrecting an Ancient Vision.