The Center for Pastor Theologians is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Emmaus Theological Seminary in Cleveland, Ohio, as they launch their new ThD in Ecclesial Theology. Emmaus is committed to building a seminary that is rooted in the DNA of the pastor theologian vision and the work of ecclesial theology. As the CPT expands our mission, we are committed to building partnerships with institutions that share our heart for forming pastor theologians to shepherd the church. Emmaus Seminary is on the cutting edge of this work. The Emmaus ThD brings together the strengths of the PhD and D ..read more

We seek to train pastors, not professors. This is the goal of Emmaus Theological Seminary’s new Doctor of Ecclesial Theology program in partnership with the Center for Pastor Theologians. For well over a decade the CPT has labored for the center of theological reflection to return to its natural home, the church. At the heart of this laboring is the advocacy for a theology that is distinctly ecclesial. Theology that is for the church and by the church.[1] Such advocacy by the CPT is the impetus for Emmaus’s new ThD program (the question of why a ThD at Emmaus over a PhD or DMin is explored her ..read more

“Doctor. Huh. It’s funny when people call [pastors] ‘doctor.’”[1] Maybe you’ve seen the clip of the late Andre Braugher’s Brooklyn 99 character Captain Raymond Holt in his interrogation-turned-rant about the etymology of the word doctor. The usually composed captain, seeking to get a rise out of his suspect (guest star Sterling K. Brown), begins to poke at dentistry but quickly derails into a passionate defense of the PhD. I will admit that I have referenced the clip once or twice in a joking apology of whether or not I qualify as a “real doctor.” The irony here is that the etymology which the ..read more

We need to recover the call of God to intellectual service. We need to find a way to do it that resists the diminished framework of academic culture, the short-termism of our churches, and the low bar of our times. We need to stop wrecking the call on the rocks of selfish ambition and individualism. We need the courage and vision to become more than we currently are and to take responsibility for growing into who God is calling us to be. We do not need to become giants, but we must refuse to remain dwarves. The Intellectual Vocation We are all given a mind and God expects us to use it, but in ..read more

Plum and periwinkle waxed high-rises tower over the cedar crown. Into the night, the lucent edifices slowly bend before the lowly one, not yet alight. But tomorrow it's flicker will illuminate the ringlet like a star twinkling over an ancient, crowded homestead teeming with farm animals. Andrew Williams is the Lead Pastor at Family Worship Center in West York, PA. He hold a PhD in Theology at Bangor University. Andrew is the author of Washed in the Spirit: Toward a Pentecostal Theology of Water Baptism and Boundless Love: A Companion to Clark A. Pinnock’s Theology. He is a member of the St. B ..read more

In 2015 I was in a pub called The Bobbin in dark recesses of the north of Scotland where my dear friend Kevin Hargaden and I were eating a pile of salty chips (french fries). In between finger licks, we were discussing the increasing hostility to the humanities generally and to theology in particular in universities across the West. Economics was (and is) winning out. Supposedly, that which is worth studying is only worth it if it’s going to measurably boost the economy. It’s a sad state of affairs. But as with every crisis, there’s also opportunity. Kevin looked at me and said, “it’s time for ..read more

The CPT Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Dr. Joel Lawrence has been named as the new President of the Center for Pastor Theologians, effective October 20, 2023. Dr. Todd Wilson, who has served as CPT President for the past five years, is stepping down to invest more energy in serving pastors through his coaching ministry Integrated Leaders, as well as serve as Special Advisor to the President of Southern Wesleyan University. Dr. Wilson will stay on as an advisor to the CPT through the end of 2023, and then plans to join the CPT board in 2024. On this transition, Dr. Wi ..read more

Consider with me an important but under-explored puzzle in Galatians: ‘Why does Paul consistently describe his correspondents’ problem as going back to something they have done before?’ Galatians was written to a group of recently-converted pagans in Asia Minor under pressure to keep the Jewish law. They weren’t just being urged to show up at the synagogue on Saturdays or to revere Moses like the ‘Godfearers’ we read about in Acts. They were being urged to get circumcised – to express exclusive allegiance to the God of Israel. And yet Paul describes all this as going back to something with whi ..read more

The insincere smile on her face couldn’t conceal the hurt in her eyes. She sat across from my in my office, recounting the details of her recent discovery. Her husband of over 30 years had been living a lie, building a family in another town, and had concealed his adultery for over three years. What was she to do? And how could she have any hope in that moment? Most Pastors have been there. They’ve had that conversation. They’ve empathized with the pain. They’ve cried with the broken. But what do we say? How do we shepherd them through such horrific trials? One bit of wisdom I have learned is ..read more

It is rightly said that the gathered community that comes together in corporate worship prophetically points toward a hope and future glorious kingdom in Christ. This is gathered worship as an act of hope, perhaps even defiant hope in the face of a world marred by sin. The body of believers gathered for corporate worship is united by the Spirit, and points toward the hope with have in Christ to be with God. But what about looking at things from the other direction: hope as an act of worship? In this brief reflection I want to explore this way of coming at the issue, which recognizes that hope ..read more