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Episode 5.16: Joseph Small on Ecclesiology in a Divided Age (audio)

Rev. Dr. Joseph Small talks about church unity, denominations, and living as the Body of Christ:

“There’s something about the faith that impels us into relationship with each other. Now what happens, especially in American culture, is that denominations become institutionalized, become businesses that sell goods and services to their member congregations, become political institutions where significant issues of faith and morals are decided by voting. And of course, voting divides a question into two sides, as if any question that’s worth asking has only two sides… …the very method we have chosen to resolve disputes guarantees that the disputes will continue, because there are winners and losers of every single vote that’s ever taken.” -Rev. Dr. Joseph Small

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Episode 5.16: Joseph Small on Ecclesiology in a Divided Age

Rev. Dr. Joseph Small talks about church unity, denominations, and living as the Body of Christ:

“There’s something about the faith that impels us into relationship with each other. Now what happens, especially in American culture, is that denominations become institutionalized, become businesses that sell goods and services to their member congregations, become political institutions where significant issues of faith and morals are decided by voting. And of course, voting divides a question into two sides, as if any question that’s worth asking has only two sides… …the very method we have chosen to resolve disputes guarantees that the disputes will continue, because there are winners and losers of every single vote that’s ever taken.”

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An Augustinian Theology of Mass Incarceration

Thursday, February 27, 7:00 p.m., Mulder Chapel

Lecture with Dr. Greg Lee, Wheaton College

 

The United States incarcerates far more individuals than any nation in the world at radically disparate rates for different racial groups. In this lecture, Dr. Lee will draw on the thought of Augustine to encourage new approaches toward criminal justice. Augustine’s understanding of personal sin stresses the possibility of redemption for individual wrongdoers, and his account of collective evil exposes systemic injustice as a pervasive feature of humanity’s fallen condition. These insights commend Christians’ solidarity with oppressed communities and the exercise of mercy and restorative practices in response to criminal offenses.
This lecture is sponsored by the Girod Chair of Western Theological Seminary in partnership with the Saint Benedict Institute.
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Episode 5.15: Jana Bennett on Marriage & Singleness

Today’s guest is Dr. Jana Bennett, Professor of Religion at the University of Dayton. Dr. Bennett is a moral theologian and author of Water is Thicker than Blood: An Augustinian Theology of Marriage and Singleness. Dr. Bennet was on campus for a colloquy hosted by the Girod Chair in Reformed Theology, during which she also participated on a panel discussing “A Theology of Singleness.” WTS student James Schetelich sat down to talk with her about her books and why marriage and singleness are important topics for the church.

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Episode 5.15: Jana Bennett on Marriage & Singleness (audio)

Today’s guest is Dr. Jana Bennett, Professor of Religion at the University of Dayton. Dr. Bennett is a moral theologian and author of Water is Thicker than Blood: An Augustinian Theology of Marriage and Singleness. Dr. Bennet was on campus for a colloquy hosted by the Girod Chair in Reformed Theology, during which she also participated on a panel discussing “A Theology of Singleness.” WTS student James Schetelich sat down to talk with her about her books and why marriage and singleness are important topics for the church.

 

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Ecclesiology in a Divided Age – A Public Lecture with Joseph Small

Mon., February 10 at 1:30 PM in Mulder Chapel

In such a time of division, politically and ideologically, it becomes difficult for us to live in fellowship with one another. The church is not exempt from this type of division. The Reformed Church in America, like many denominations, faces major questions regarding unity in the face of stark disagreement. Is unity possible? Is our vision of the church as a unified body of Christ idealistic and unattainable?

Rev. Dr. Joseph Small, former director of the PCUSA Office of Theology and Worship, is no stranger to these conversations. In his book Flawed Church, Faithful God: A Reformed Ecclesiology for the Real World, he explores the following questions: What is the Church? Why does it matter for the world we live in? He says, “The church is a communion of intimacy and solidarity because of what it cannot justify about itself coupled with recognition that its justification lies in the grace of God. Only as the church knows that its life is not self-generated and maintained can it witness faithfully to the God who generates and maintains it” (xiv).

Join Rev. Dr. Small for a public lecture, with responses from Rev. Dr. Dan Griswold and Rev. Jennifer Ryden, in which Dr. Small will explore these and other questions related to the communion of the church in this divided age.

This event is sponsored by the Girod Chair of Western Theological Seminary.

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Girod Fellowship Cultivates Pastor-Theologians

Photo: The Girod Fellows and other research assistants meet for a discussion over lunch with their mentor, Dr. Todd Billings.

Girod Fellows James Schetelich, Jake Chipka, & Anna Erickson

In 2017 Western began accepting applications for the Girod Fellowship, a full-tuition scholarship for students with outstanding research and writing skills who display eagerness for deep theological learning and have a heart for the church’s ministry. Girod Fellows also serve as research assistants to the seminary’s holder of the Gordon H. Girod Research Chair of Reformed Theology, Dr. J. Todd Billings. Now with three full-time Girod Fellows, the program is drawing academically-outstanding students to Western and forming thoughtful, theologically-minded leaders for the church.

James Schetelich became the first Girod Fellow during the 2018-2019 school year, and two more fellows followed this year—Anna Erickson and Jacob (Jake) Chipka. The fellowships have helped to widen Western’s drawing power. Jake learned of the Girod Fellowship from WTS Admissions Director Jill English during her visit to Whitworth University in Spokane, WA, where he was serving as an athletics chaplain. James and Anna heard about WTS through professor recommendations at Wheaton College. Anna was attracted to Western because of its Reformed background and evangelical direction, as well as its ecumenical spirit.

Another big draw is the opportunity to work alongside Professor Todd Billings.

“Dr. Billings is so brilliant and has shaped the church in really formative ways, yet he writes and speaks with such humility,” Jake says. “He’s so cognizant and comfortable with the idea that he doesn’t have all the answers. I think for Dr. Billings, study is a form of worship, being drawn into the mystery of God.”

One way Dr. Billings models this humility is by encouraging the Fellows to give feedback on his writing. For the last several months, they have been busy reading chapters for his newest book, tentatively titled The End of the Christian Life.

Dr. Billings writes as a member of the cancer community, as well as one who has studied Christian death and dying extensively after he received a $25,000 grant from the Louisville Institute to research “Congregational Life and the Dying: Renewing Resurrection Hope in a Medical Age.”

The End of the Christian Life, set to release in the fall of 2020, will explore the idea that a daily embrace of mortality is an important part of discipleship. It will examine cultural factors that prevent this exercise as well as personal stories from members of the cancer community, sociological research, and theological insight.

“I don’t want feedback that’s just compliant,” Dr. Billings says. Rather, he encourages the Girod Fellows to be brutally honest—something they get more comfortable with as they get to know him.

“80% of the time their feedback leads to some type of revision,” he explains. “One time I started a chapter completely over, and I think it ended up better.”

Dr. Billings encourages the Girod Fellows to research areas of their own interest, as well, and take ownership of the events that the Girod Chair hosts. Some of the 2019-2020 events include weekly Pastor-Theologian Lunches, a colloquy and public panel on the theology of marriage and singleness, and a lecture in February on “An Augustinian Theology of Mass Incarceration.” His assistant, WTS alumna Katlyn DeVries ‘19, plays a large role in organizing these events and mentoring the Fellows as well.

Oct. 17 panel on “A Theology of Singleness: A Conversation on Singleness and the Church”

Since the Girod Fellows are all in-residence M.Div. students, they have also become active leaders on campus through participating in chapel, serving as representatives on student council, and living in the Friendship House alongside young adults with cognitive disabilities.

A large focus of the fellowship and the work of Dr. Billings in general is doing theological research and study on behalf of the wider church. James says this is done not in a remote “high-tower” but more cooperatively, in order to be theologically rich and applicable to the church’s needs.

“Remember that you are small,” Anna recalls Dr. Billings telling her. In other words, remember that Jesus is already at work in the church, and that studying these topics is merely entering into the work He’s already doing.

Jake, Anna, and James have research interests of their own that they hope to examine through the Fellowship as they prepare for ministry.

Jake is passionate about those on the margins of the church, especially those experiencing mental illness. He is currently working with Dr. Billings on a project that examines illness, healing, and the Gospel, comparing how the medical world approaches these topics. His background in studying medicine as an undergrad is well-suited to this work.

Anna is currently working with Academic Dean Kristen Johnson on a research project around discipleship and the Great Commission. She would like to delve deeper into American Evangelicalism and is also interested in reading Karl Barth and learning more about the Reformed tradition.

James is enthralled by John’s gospel in the New Testament and would love to dive deep into it—something he often talks about with Dr. Billings while taking him to medical appointments for cancer treatments. James plans to apply for Ph.D. programs and is interested in becoming a pastor-theologian.

Several summers ago, Dr. Billings held listening sessions with local pastors about the scope of the Girod Research Chair, gauging what they were most interested in—was it the events? Opportunities for congregational learning? He found that pastors were most excited about the Girod Fellows—a program for forming thoughtful, theologically-minded leaders for the church who can engage in difficult topics with humility and depth.

That’s what the church needs, and we trust that’s what the Girod Fellowship is accomplishing.

Interested in applying for the Girod Fellowship? Connect with our Admissions department today!

The Gordon H. Girod Research Chair of Reformed Theology

“To be Reformed is to hold within one’s heart a deep conviction concerning the most basic truths set forth in the Word of God.”[1] That was the sentiment of Gordon H. Girod, for whom the Chair is named. Girod was a passionate preacher and pastor who cared deeply about Reformed theology.

In 2013, Girod’s daughter Carol and her husband, David Van Andel, gave a generous gift that would ensure the continuation of the seminary’s focus on training pastors committed to deep theological engagement in the Reformed tradition.

The person chosen to fill this esteemed Chair was Dr. J. Todd Billings, a professor who cares deeply about encouraging pastors to see ministry as a creative theological space.

This combination of care for the church and deep theological thinking exemplifies the focus of the Girod Research Chair today.

Current Girod Initiatives:

The Girod Fellows Scholarship

PTL! Pastor Theologian Lunches for students

Girod Grants and Colloquy Groups for pastors

Events featuring scholars and speakers

Upcoming Girod Events:

February 10, 1:30pm – Dr. Joseph Small, author of Flawed Church, Faithful God: A Reformed Ecclesiology for the Real World

February 27, 7pm – Dr. Greg Lee, Wheaton College, public lecture on “An Augustinian Theology of Mass Incarceration”

[1] Girod, Gordon. The Deeper Faith: An Exposition of the Canons of Dort (Grand Rapids: Reformed Publications, 1958), 7.

 

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A Theology of Singleness: A Conversation on Singleness and the Church

Thurs., October 17, at 7 p.m., in Winants Auditorium, Graves Hall, Hope College

This panel will bring together scholars and pastors from around the country who have written about the challenges and opportunities in developing a theology of singleness for the church. With adult singleness at historic highs in the American context, this is a pressing issue on both practical and theological levels. Please join us!
Welcome given by Dr. Todd Billings
Panel moderated by Dr. Trygve Johnson
The panelists:

Dr. Jana Bennett (pronounced Yanna) is Professor of Theological Ethics in the Religious Studies Department at the University of Dayton. She holds a PhD from Duke University, where she studied with Stanley Hauerwas and wrote her dissertation, published as Water is Thicker than Blood: An Augustinian Theology of Marriage and Singleness (Oxford, 2008). Her most recent books include a co-edited book (with David Cloutier), Naming Our Sins: How Recognizing The Seven Deadly Vices Can Renew the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Catholic University of America Press, 2019), as well as Singleness and the Church: A New Theology of the Single Life (Oxford, 2017). She is married with three children. Despite being married, she is intensely interested in conversations about Christian singleness because the church universal cannot be wholly the Body of Christ with attention to, and celebration of, the many single people in its midst.

Dr. Wesley Hill is associate professor of biblical studies at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. He is the author of Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality (Zondervan, second edition 2016), Paul and the Trinity: Persons, Relations, and the Pauline Letters (Eerdmans, 2015), and Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian (Brazos, 2015). His book on the Lord’s Prayer is forthcoming in 2019 from Lexham Press. A contributing editor for Comment magazine, he writes regularly for Christianity Today, The Living Church, and other publications, including SpiritualFriendship.org which he co-founded.

Dr. Matt Jenson is Associate Professor of Theology in the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University in La Mirada, CA.  Dr. Jenson teaches across the humanities and biblical and theological studies in a Socratic pedagogy, closely mentoring students throughout their four years. Having grown up in southern California, Jenson holds a B.A. in literature and philosophy from Wheaton College and a Ph.D. in systematic theology from the University of St. Andrews (Scotland), where he was part of the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts. He is also ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church. According to Dr. Jenson,  “…the great surprise of my life — and a part of my life that has brought much sorrow, anxiety, and, thanks be to God, real transformation — has been that I remain single at 43. Single, and now dating (what a strange thing to do in your 40s), so I am currently experiencing these questions neither as someone who is single and knows he will remain so nor as someone who is married.”

 

Rev. Steven Rodriguez is the pastor of Lakeview Community Church in Rochester, New York, a congregation of the Reformed Church in America. He has been married to his wife Joanna for thirteen years, and they have three young children. He is currently working on a book with his friend, Rev. Kevin Slusher, on how marriage and celibacy both witness to the cross and the new creation in Christ. 

 

 

 

Rev. Kevin Slusher is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Reformed Church in America. For the past five years he has served as pastor of the Reformed Church of Port Ewen in Port Ewen, NY. He blogs at kevinslusher.com. As a gay and celibate Christian he has also contributed to Spiritual Friendship. Some of his favorite theologians, and those most influential for him are: Augustine, Barth, Bonhoeffer, and W. H. Auden, among others. For his book project with Rev. Steven Rodriguez, Peter Brown and Eugene Rogers have been significant interlocutors as well. 

This event is co-sponsored by the Gordon H. Girod Chair of Reformed Theology at WTS and the Hope College Campus Ministries Office

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