Where is God in the Nepal Earthquake?

Last updated on: April 27, 2015 at 2:50 pm By Kyle Roberts

It is impossible to try to digest the magnitude of the loss: suffering, death, pain, and destruction caused by the earthquake in Nepal. We know that over 3,600 people were killed, numerous buildings destroyed (including some landmark structures in Kathmandu), and many roads rendered impassable. Over a dozen Mt. Everest climbers were also killed, with others left stranded on the mountain. While at one level, “natural disasters” have a way of being “no respecters of persons,” at another level, they... Read more

Should Seminaries Train the Churches?

Last updated on: April 24, 2015 at 10:24 pm By Kyle Roberts

The primary objective of seminaries has long been (primarily) to train pastors and ministers for the work of ministry in churches. The other week I was involved in a discussion with a church group about changes happening in churches and seminary. Someone asked what I thought was a pretty interesting question. I paraphrase: “Seminaries are focused on training pastors, but should seminaries also be working with churches to prepare them better for the pastors that they are training?” The question... Read more

Creflo Dollar, the Devil, and the Kingdom of God

Last updated on: April 23, 2015 at 9:31 pm By Kyle Roberts

Creflo Dollar’s dream of acquiring a $65 million dollar jet to facilitate his ministry may not be dead after all. That is, if you believe his words in a recent sermon to his church. A Huffington Post article linked to a YouTube sermon in which Dollar recently thumbed his nose at his (many) critics: I can dream as long as I want to. I can believe God as long as I want to. If I want to believe God for a... Read more

A Brief Theology of Creation for Earth Day

Last updated on: April 22, 2015 at 8:13 pm By Kyle Roberts

God brought a world into being, and thereby became vulnerable, instilling within creation a measure of freedom for its own continued development. Gen 1 suggests that God’s spoken, creative word entrusts creation itself with the glorious responsibility of freedom. God sanctions its self-emergence: “let the water…be gathered…”; “let the land produce vegetation;” “let there be lights in the vault of the sky”; “let the water teem with living creatures”; “let the land produce living creatures.” Throughout Gen. 1-3, creation is... Read more

Join Cornel West and Robert George at Biola

Last updated on: April 22, 2015 at 8:04 am By Kyle Roberts

Biola University is putting on a unique event on April 30: A dialogue between Cornel West and Robert George, moderated by Rick Warren. The topic is “The Cost of Freedom: How Disagreement Makes Us Civil.” If you–like me–can’t make it out to Southern California for this, I’m told the event will be live-streamed. I plan to take it in. These are two significant public intellectuals, representing very different sides of the political/theological/ideological spectrum. Perhaps if they can model cordial dialogue... Read more

10 (More) Books Every Seminary Graduate Should Read (Dead Theologian Edition)

Last updated on: April 21, 2015 at 4:20 pm By Kyle Roberts

My post on the “10 Books Every Seminary Graduate Should Read” seemed to strike a chord, but it also generated a few questions. One of the questions is, “what about the dead theologians” (my paraphrase)? There were a few in that list, but I thought it would be fun to go back in the annals of church history and offer up a list of 10 “best books,” or “most important books” for seminarians, up through the nineteenth century. I’m a... Read more

Theology in the Warehouse: A New Program in the Twin Cities

Last updated on: April 20, 2015 at 9:37 pm By Kyle Roberts

On May 1, we’re throwing a party to celebrate the inauguration of a new theology program: the Twin Cities School of Theology in the warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. And yes, some of our classes meet in a literal warehouse. “TwinSot,” as we affectionately calling it, is a venture of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. We’ve already had classes running this year. I taught Public Theology last Fall and Missional Theology this Spring. My colleague Thorsten Moritz, who... Read more

My Journey Through Evangelicalism (and Seven Reasons I Left)

Last updated on: April 20, 2015 at 7:59 pm By Kyle Roberts

I have decided to write a series of posts in which I explain my own theological journey through evangelicalism–and outside the other side. I have contemplated doing this for some time, and now with the end of my first year teaching behind me (at an ecumenical seminary decidedly not identified with evangelicalism), I feel a bit freed up to think about my journey more reflectively. It’s a hot topic too, thanks to the release of Rachel Held Evan’s book, Searching... Read more

10 Books Every Seminarian Should Read (Even After Graduation)

Last updated on: April 14, 2015 at 9:43 pm By Kyle Roberts

Graduation is coming up quickly. Seminarians all around the country are frantically finishing up papers, wondering how they will re-introduce themselves to their families, and asking where the past three, four (in some cases, seven) years went? In my senior seminar the other day, we had a great conversation about the “best books” from seminary education. And that’s one thing seminary provides, by the way, is an introduction to some of the best texts (new and old) in theology, biblical... Read more

LGBT, Forgiveness, and the Church: A Real-Life Redemption Parable

Last updated on: April 10, 2015 at 8:59 am By Kyle Roberts

The other night in class, a student shared a testimony of sorts that touched me greatly. When he came out as a young man (19), his mother disowned him. She no longer wanted him to go to her church because she was ashamed. The church didn’t go out of their way to embrace him, either. That painful rejection of his humanity, his identity, by the very one who was supposed to love and care for him above all else in... Read more