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

Pastoring Post-Election | Caleb Campbell

Pastoring Post-Election | Caleb Campbell

Pastor Caleb Campbell joins the podcast to discuss how pastors might guide their congregations through the results of the 2024 election, drawing from his experience pastoring in Phoenix, AZ. He also discusses his book "Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor." How can we helpfully engage those in their community who align with combative political perspectives? How can pastors support members who are struggling to have conversations with family members, or for whom the election stirs up difficult emotions? This and more on today's episode. 

Reading Scripture Faithfully | Kevin Vanhoozer

Reading Scripture Faithfully | Kevin Vanhoozer

Kevin Vanhoozer joins us on the podcast this week to discuss his recent book, Mere Christian Hermeneutics: Transfiguring What It Means to Read the Bible Theologically. Christians across traditions and vocations have wondered what it means to read Scripture faithfully. Are there essential principles for reading the Bible as Scripture everywhere, at all times?  What does it mean to read the Bible “literally”, or to interpret the text theologically? How do we enter the presence of God as we read? All this and more on today's episode!

What We're Reading | CPT Staff

What We're Reading | CPT Staff

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

An Always-Reforming Church | Gavin Ortlund

An Always-Reforming Church | Gavin Ortlund

This week, Gavin Ortlund joins us to discuss his recent book “What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church.”  Many evangelicals have recently begun to explore more sacramental and liturgical church traditions, such as Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. What underlying desires drive this renewed interest? Can these desires only be met outside of Protestantism? How can the strengths of historical Protestantism aid us when wrestling with issues like the authority of Scripture? What role do platforms like YouTube play in these conversations? All this and more in this week’s episode!

From Ideology to Identity: Tim Keller and the Post-Christian Right | Collin Hansen

From Ideology to Identity: Tim Keller and the Post-Christian Right | Collin Hansen

Collin Hansen, Editor-in-Chief of the Gospel Coalition, reflects on the political vision and legacy of Tim Keller. Politics is not the first subject anyone would associate with the life and work of pastor Tim Keller. And yet when you review his teaching, you find someone who may have written more deeply and insightfully about politics than any other contemporary pastor. In this session, Hansen explains what Keller believed the American church should do as politics increasingly shift from ideology to identity politics.

This is the first talk from the CPT's 2024 conference Kingdom Politics.