About

Tony is the author of The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier and is theologian-in-residence at Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis. A doctoral fellow in practical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, he is the author of many books on Christian ministry and spirituality, including and The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life, and he is a sought after speaker and consultant in the areas of emerging church, postmodernism, and Christian spirituality. Tony has three children and lives in Edina, Minnesota.

DOB: March 31, 1968

Education:

Edina, MN public schools

A.B. from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire in 1990 (classics major)

M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California in 1993 (systematic theology/postmodern philosophy)

Ph.D. (A.B.D.) from Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey in practical theology; dissertation topic: the relational ecclesiology of the emerging church movement

Ministry Experience:

Summers 1987-1988, college intern at Colonial Church of Edina (MN)

1988-1990: Volunteer Junior High Ministry Director, Valley Bible Church, White River Junction, VT

1990-1993: Junior High Pastor, Pasadena Covenant Church (CA) (part-time)

1993-1997: Executive Director, YouthWorks Missions (youth missions organization)

1997-2003: Minister to Youth & Young Adults, Colonial Church of Edina (MN)

1999-present: Volunteer Police Chaplain, Edina Police Department (Edina, MN)

2005-2008: National Coordinator, Emergent Village

2008-present: Theologian-in-Residence, Solomon’s Porch (MN)

Ordination: Colonial Church of Edina, September 7, 1997-National Association of Congregational Christian Churches

Publications

Periodicals and Chapters:

“Liberated by Reality,” Books & Culture, September/October, 1999.

“The Postdenominational Church,” Youthworker, January/February, 2000.

“Post-Evangelicalism,” Books & Culture, May/June, 2002.

“On Sabbatical,” Youthworker, November/December, 2002.

“Toward a Missional Ministry,” in Stories of Emergence: Moving from Absolute to Authentic (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003).

“Postmodernism Revisited,” Youthworker, November/December, 2003.

“Inhabiting the Biblical Narrative,” Youthworker, May/June, 2004.

“Choosing Church,” book review, Christian Century, June, 2004.

“Renaissance Man,” Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, May/June, 2006.

“Sparks Column,” The Journal of Student Ministries, bi-monthly, 2006-present.

Books:

Postmodern Youth Ministry: Exploring Cultural Shift, Cultivating Authentic Community, Creating Holistic Connections (Grand Rapids: Youth Specialties/Zondervan, May, 2001).

Soul Shaper: Exploring Spirituality and Contemplative Practices in Youth Ministry (Grand Rapids: Youth Specialties/Zondervan, May, 2003).

Pray (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2003).

The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life (Grand Rapids: Zondervan: 2005).

You Converted Me: The Confessions of St. Augustine, editor (Brewster, Mass.: Paraclete Press, 2006).

Divine Intervention: Encountering God through the Ancient Practice of Lectio Divina (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2006), (revision of Read.Think.Pray.Live (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2003)).

The Most Difficult Journey You’ll Ever Make: The Pilgrim’s Progress, editor (Brewster, Mass.: Paraclete Press, 2006).

An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, co-editor, (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing House, 2007).

The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008).

Lectures and Academic Papers:

“Communicating the Gospel in a Postmodern Context,” Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN (2000-2003).

“Discipling Postmodern Students,” Bethel Seminary, St. Paul, MN (2000-2003).

“Bridging the Ancient and Postmodern Worlds: What the Desert Fathers and Mothers Have to Say about Youth Ministry,” Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry (2003).

“Teaching Vocational Discernment to Young Adults,” Princeton Theological Seminary (2003).

“Postmodern Youth Ministry,” Topics Course, North Park College, Chicago, IL (2004).

“The Emerging Church: Initial Research Questions,” International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry, London (2005).

“Youth Ministry, Adolescence, and the Postmodern Life Cycle,” Princeton Theological Seminary (2005).

“Youth Ministry in the Context of Practical Theology,” Bethel Seminary (2005).

“Empirical Research and the Tasks of Practical Theology,” Association of Youth Ministry Educators (2005).

“The Relational Ecclesiology of the Emerging Church,” Princeton Conference on Faith Practices (2006).

Academic Speaking and Teaching

National Youth Workers Convention; Leadership Network; Youth Leadership; Emergent Village; Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry, National Pastors Convention; Luther Seminary, Bethel Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, Hesston College, Pepperdine University, Campbell University, Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, Bethel University, Wheaton College, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Baylor University, Mid-America Nazarene University; courses taught at Olivet Nazarene University, Alliance Theological Seminary, Southeastern Baptist College.

Church Consulting and Speaking

Peachtree Presbyterian Church (Atlanta, GA), Christ Community Church (Kansas City, MO), Bon Air Baptist Church (Richmond, VA), YouthFront (Kansas City, MO), Episcopal Dioceses of Central Florida and Massachusetts, World Vision, Brethren in Christ Churches (Lancaster County, PA), Azusa Pacific University, Chattanooga Resource Foundation, Indianapolis Center for Congregations, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wheaton College, North Park University and Seminary, Evangelical Free Church in America Central District, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Washington D.C. Presbytery, Spokane Presbytery, National City Christian Church (Washington D.C.), University Baptist Church, Waco, National Cathedral/College of Preachers (Washington, D.C.), Church of Ireland, Belfast Bible College, Mosaic Congregation (Stellenbosch, South Africa).

Boards and Affiliations

Emergent Village, national coordinating group member and board of directors; Emergent/Abingdon Publishing partnership, series editor; Faith as a Way of Life, National Working Group, Yale Center for Faith and Culture; Journal of Student Ministries, contributing editor and columnist; Connecting With Kids positional leaders group, Edina, Minnesota; Highlands Elementary School PTA, executive committee; Edina Police Department, chaplain.

Consulting Endorsement

“Tony Jones is a thought-provoking, articulate facilitator, who is able to create a vibrant interactive learning environment where participants from a wide spectrum of religious traditions can explore new ways of thinking and doing.”  Tim Beuthin, Education Director, Indianapolis Center for Congregations

Praise for The Sacred Way

“In the end, The Sacred Way effectively links past and present, scholarship and humor, high church and low church into a practical guide that takes the Christian deeper into his or her own soul to meet with God.  Used in a class or small group…The Sacred Way welcomes those with a 30-minute quiet-time spirituality and bumper sticker theology into a much larger world.” Skye Jethani, Leadership Journal

“You might just experience a holy fire you thought was reserved for monks and saints.” Joy Fischer, Christian Singles Magazine

“This book provides for the entire Church a reflective, personally-useful, and pastorally-directive manual for what needs to be involved for the person who wants to develop a spiritual rule of life.” Scot McKnight, author of The Jesus Creed

“This is a sturdy book….By using “sturdy” here, I mean to say:

that this book will wear well, because it has a strange kind of candor that seamlessly combines soft intimacy with ecclesial history;

that this book will walk, quiet and unassuming, through your head and among your activities tomorrow just as profoundly as it does today;

that this book will sit easy on your heart, although it may at times disturb the rhythms of your day.  (Such, after all, is its stated intention;)

that this book is sturdy because it is made of sterner stuff than are most books, especially than are most religion books;

that this book is about discipline;

that this book is a map back to the ancient-future.” Phyllis Tickle, from the Foreword.