Center for Pastor Theologians
Becoming a Pastor Theologian | Ben Burkholder

This week we are joined by CTP Fellow Ben Burkholder. Ben shares how he developed an interest in learning how people grow as disciples. Reflecting on his time as a student, Ben also shares insights about the relationship between psychology and spiritual formation. This and more on today’s podcast! 

Becoming a Pastor Theologian | Ben Burkholder
Center for Pastor Theologians
Becoming a Pastor Theologian | Eric Rivera

Join us this week as we get to know Eric Rivera. Eric will be a plenary speaker at the 2025 Pastor Theologians Conference, Good Shepherds: Pastoral Identity and the Future of the Church. On this episode, Eric talks about how his story shaped his interests and calling in church history and pastoral ministry. Drawing from his context as a pastor at a multi-ethnic church in the greater Chicago area, he also shares what he has learned it means to be a Good Shepherd in the 21st Century. 

Becoming a Pastor Theologian | Eric Rivera
Center for Pastor Theologians
To Gaze upon God | Samuel Parkison

Samuel Parkison joins the podcast today to talk about his recent book, To Gaze upon God: The Beatific Vision in Doctrine, Tradition, and Practice (InterVarsity Press 2024.) He also shares with us his story and calling to academic ministry at the Abu Dhabi Extension Site at Gulf Theological Seminary in the United Arab Emirates. 

What is the beatific vision? What does the beatific vision have to do with this moment in history for the church? This and more on today's podcast!

To Gaze upon God | Samuel Parkison
Center for Pastor Theologians
What We're Reading — April 2025

For our April episode on books, we, the CPT staff, have been reading:

What We're Reading — April 2025
Nadya Williams
Mothers, Dignity, and Utility | Nadya Williams

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! 

Mothers, Dignity, and Utility | Nadya Williams

The Road of Technology, The Path of the Church | Dan Brendsel

The Road of Technology, The Path of the Church | Dan Brendsel

This episode features a presentation from our 2019 conference on technology, given by CPT Fellow Dan Brendsel. Dan joins Zach Wagner to reflect on his talk in a now post-Covid world. Technology is like a road, a tool that is formed with pre-determined purpose and utility that separates us from something naturally vital to reality. A path on the other hand is different. A path is a way of moving through the world that does not view the environment around it as something to be used and torn through. The church is to be a path, a distinct culture that orients itself around creation rather than technology. The technology of the church, its liturgy, should not resist its context but cultivate its sense of place. How does the liturgical "technology" of bread and wine inform the way we as Christians view technology in general?

Theologizing as a Pastor

Theologizing as a Pastor

CPT co-founder and board chair Gerald Hiestand joins the podcast to discuss some of the recent history of the CPT and how his transition from an associate pastor to senior pastor role affected his research and theological reflection. What are the challenges and advantages of doing theology from a pastoral post? Is it possible to live out the historic vision of the pastor theologian in today's cultural and church climate? How does the pastoral vocation tend towards simplicity but not "dumbing it down" in theological reflection?

Writing, Relationships, and the Intellectual Public Square

Writing, Relationships, and the Intellectual Public Square

In this episode, we continue our conversation with award-winning author Carolyn Weber. We discuss her story of life and her academic career, including balancing her witness while engaging fruitfully in her discipline. How should Christians and aspiring pastors think of cultivating their writing and word-craft? How can faithful Christian thinker maintain a posture of humility and openness to new ideas and thinkers that challenge them?

What Is an M.A. in Ecclesial Theology?

What Is an M.A. in Ecclesial Theology?

Beginning in Fall 2021, the CPT will partner with the Wheaton College Graduate School in offering an M.A. in Theology with a concentration in Ecclesial Theology. This program is designed for students interested in studying theology with a specific orientation toward ministry in the local church. On this special mid-week podcast episode, CPT staff are joined by Marc Cortez, a Professor of Theology at Wheaton, to discuss this new program, its unique value for students, and how you can find out more and apply.

Rehearsing the Story of Redemption | Paul van der Bijl

Rehearsing the Story of Redemption | Paul van der Bijl

Is there a liturgical renewal movement in low-church evangelicalism? How can pastors and worship ministers rehearse the story of redemption through the liturgy of worship every week? How can we view music and preaching not as separate parts of the worship service, but as synchronized ways of embedding the gospel in our hearts? Listen now to our interview with Paul van der Bijl, Director of Worship and Music at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Chicago.

The Enneagram and Pastoral Ministry | Todd Wilson

The Enneagram and Pastoral Ministry | Todd Wilson

In this episode, we continue our conversation with CPT President Todd Wilson about his new book, The Enneagram Goes to Church: Wisdom for Leadership, Worship, and Congregational Life. How can the Enneagram help us cultivate pastoral wisdom and relational, emotional intelligence? What self-knowledge can it offer pastors? What insight can it give in to the insecurities and compulsions that drive us to protect ourselves from shame, fear, or our own anger? How can Christ work in our hearts and minds through a tool like the Enneagram?

Why I Wrote a Book about the Enneagram | Todd Wilson

Why I Wrote a Book about the Enneagram | Todd Wilson

Why did a trained New Testament scholar and longtime pastor become so interested in the enneagram? On today's episode, CPT President Todd Wilson shares his journey of discovering the enneagram and discusses many of the common objections and questions about it within evangelical circles. What are the theological convictions undergirding its "appropriation" for pastoral and formational use in the church? Todd's new book, The Enneagram Goes to Church: Wisdom for Leadership, Worship, and Church Life, releases on March 16, 2021 (Intervarsity Press).

Becoming a Pastor Theologian | Jennifer Powell McNutt

Becoming a Pastor Theologian | Jennifer Powell McNutt

On today's episode, we are joined by CPT Fellow Jennifer Powell McNutt. She serves as the Dyrness Chair of Biblical and Theological Studies at Wheaton College and is an ordained minister in the PCUSA. We discuss her story of family, faith, and education, including discerning a call to ministry as a woman. We also explore some of her research on the Enlightenment, Calvin, and Reformed tradition's legacy of the pastor theologians in Calvin's Geneva.