For our June episode on books, we, the CPT staff, have been reading:
JD Vance, Hillbilly Elegy (2016)
Rémi Brague, Kingdom of Man: Genesis and Failure of the Modern Project, (2018)
Elizabeth Goudge, The Dean's Watch, (2012)
Today on the podcast we are joined by Rev. Dr. Michael Niebauer as he shares about his recent book, Four Mountains: Encountering God in the Bible from Eden to Zion. How can Christians encounter Jesus on every page of the Bible? What can we learn from how the earliest Christians read Scripture, and connect seemingly disparate stories in the text? What is distinct about this style of reading as opposed, for example, to 6-week Bible studies or academic study? This and more on today's episode!
Jason Meyer, lead pastor of Urban Refuge Church in Minneapolis, MN, joins the podcast today to tell us about his journey towards becoming a pastor theologian. After serving eight years as a pastor at Bethlehem Baptist, Jason shares what he learned about his own calling, and the identity of a "pastor." This and more on today's episode!
CPT board member Doug Sweeney joins the podcast today. He previews his topic for the 2025 CPT Conference, Good Shepherds: Pastoral Identity and the Future of the Church. What are good Christian pastors supposed to be like? On the other hand, what malformative models of pastoral identity are common in our culture today? Doug also tells us about his 2024 book, Substance of Our Faith: Foundations for the History of Christian Doctrine. Check it out on today's episode!
Casey Hough joins us to talk about his recent book,When Poets Were Warriors: Retrieving a Biblical Vision of Masculinity (B&H Publishing, 2025). “Masculinity” is an increasingly popular subject for public discourse. Drawing on his experiences as a pastor and father, Hough argues that Christians ought to return to the complex and challenging example of Jesus, instead of relying on cultural stereotypes, to form our vision of masculinity. If we consider Jesus Christ to be a model for masculinity, how do we then think about femininity, and any differences or similarities between the two? What should pastors consider as they shape their discipleship ministries? This and more on today’s episode!
How should students and young pastors think about celebrity preachers? What is the relationship between homiletics and other pastoral disciplines like biblical and theological studies? How does the pastoral call to discipleship interface with the call of preaching? These questions and more in part two of our interview with Matthew Kim, Associate Professor of Preaching and Ministry at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.
Rev. Dr. Matthew Kim joins the podcast to share his story and talk about a new book he has published with IVP Academic. Matthew is an Associate Professor for Preaching & Ministry and Director of the Haddon Robinson Center for Preaching at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. He shares his story of discerning a call to ministry, his doctoral work, and the role that mentorship relationships have played in his life. Matthew also discusses how his Asian-American background and shy personality have shaped him as a preacher. A Little Book for New Preachers is available now from IVP Academic.
How does the pastoral vocation shape our theological reflection? The life and work of a pastor is embedded in the life of the worshipping community. As such, pastors share in the joys and the pains of people in the congregation. CPT President Todd Wilson shares how the suffering-shaped life of the pastor uniquely positions them for speaking and writing of the mysteries of Christ crucified.
How does the pastoral vocation shape our theological reflection? The life and work of a pastor is embedded in the life of the worshipping community. As such, pastors share in the joys and the pains of people in the congregation. CPT President Todd Wilson shares how the suffering-shaped life of the pastor uniquely positions them for speaking and writing of the mysteries of Christ crucified.
How does the pastoral vocation shape our theological reflection? The life and work of a pastor is embedded in the life of the worshipping community. As such, pastors share in the joys and the pains of people in the congregation. CPT President Todd Wilson shares how the suffering-shaped life of the pastor uniquely positions them for speaking and writing of the mysteries of Christ crucified.
CPT Director of Fellowships, Jameson Ross, joins the podcast again to discuss his PhD research on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and theological interpretation of scripture. In this episode we explore Bonhoeffer's hermeneutical approach, the relationship between the church and biblical interpretation, and the logical and pedagogical ordering of theological reflection.
CPT fellows Amy Peeler and Jennifer McNutt join the podcast to discuss their recent article on Mary the Mother of Jesus published in Christianity Today. What does and doesn’t the biblical text say about Mary? How has the Protestant Tradition reacted and overreacted to Roman Catholic veneration of Mary? How does this woman’s story inform the story of other women in scripture and in Christian history?
CPT fellow Chris Castaldo, Lead Pastor of New Covenant Church in Naperville, IL, joins the podcast. Chris tells his story of growing up as an Italian Catholic in New York and his eventual conversion to Protestantism. Chris goes on to tell his story of education and training for pastoral ministry.
Get to know our newest staff member, Jameson Ross. Jameson was hired at the CPT as the new Director of Student Theologian and Local Theologian fellowships earlier this year. For the past three years, Jameson has been studying for a PhD in Durham, England, under the supervision of Francis Watson. In this episode Jameson shares his story of faith, education, and over a decade of pastoral ministry experience at a thriving megachurch in the Chicagoland area.
This episode features two short presentations from CPT fellows at our 2019 theology conference. The first presentation, "Every Sermon Should Answer: Why?" was given by Matt O'Reilly, Pastor of Hope Hull United Methodist Church. The second presentation, "Are We Present in the Church?" was given by Chris Bruno, Professor of New Testament at Bethlehem College and Seminary.
ARTICLE: “The Gospel Terrifies Me”
COLEMAN FORD
PODCAST: Encountering God in the Bible
MICHAEL NIEBAUER
ARTICLE: The “This Is That” Character of Pentecostal Preaching
AARON FRIESEN
NEWS: Announcing Two New Learning Cohorts
CPT NEWS UPDATE
