Dr. Todd Billings Joins North America’s Oldest Theological Society

Recognized for his significant contributions to theological scholarship, Dr. Billings has been elected to the American Theological Society

Western Theological Seminary (WTS) celebrates Dr. Todd Billings, Gordon H. Girod Research Professor of Reformed Theology, on his election to the American Theological Society (ATS)—the oldest theological society in North America.

Membership in the ATS is one of the highest honors in the field, reserved for theologians whose “achievement in the discipline of theology is of sufficient merit to promise significant contributions to the field.” Membership is by recommendation only, limited to one hundred members, and requires affirmative support from two-thirds of the existing membership.

The Society’s distinguished roster represents a “Who’s Who” of North American theology, including Reinhold Niebuhr, H. Richard Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, James Cone, Cornel West, Walter Brueggemann, Willie James Jennings, Kathryn Tanner, and many others whose work has shaped theological thought across generations.

Dr. Billings’ election places him among this esteemed company and recognizes his deep and sustained contributions to theological scholarship. He is the author of six books and numerous scholarly essays, contributing chapters to major reference volumes such as the Oxford Handbook of Reformed Theology, the Cambridge Companion to Reformed Theology, and the Cambridge Companion to Christian Doctrine. In addition to his academic writing, he regularly engages wider audiences through publications in Christianity Today, The Christian Century, Relevant, and other venues.

His books have received awards from Christianity Today, the Templeton Foundation, the Center for Catholic–Evangelical Dialogue, and the Academy of Parish Clergy. While best known for scholarship on Calvin, Reformed theology, and union with Christ, Billings also writes for pastors and students on a range of themes: the theological interpretation of Scripture, sacramental theology, lament, theologies of health, and Christian hope in the face of death.

In recent years, Billings has led the Faith and Illness Initiative, developing a theology of vocation for persons living with chronic illness. He also participates in a collaborative working group of physicians and theologians on faith and “medicalization,” coordinated through Duke Divinity School.

His next book—Generously Reformed: Theology Rooted Deep and Reaching Wide, co-authored with his Western Theological Seminary colleagues Dr. Suzanne McDonald and Dr. Alberto La Rosa Rojas—will be published by Baker Academic in February 2026. Dr. Richard Mouw, president emeritus of Fuller Theological Seminary, commends the book as “surely destined to take its place among the classics of Reformed theology.”

Billings becomes only the second theologian from Western Theological Seminary to receive the honor of election to the American Theological Society, following Dr. I. John Hesselink in 1988.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Billings on this remarkable achievement and in celebrating his ongoing contributions to theological scholarship and the mission of Western Theological Seminary.