Mission

   Our goal is an ambitious one: to rekindle powerful Christian theologies that have a transformative effect on church and society. It is widely believed that only the conservative church knows how to speak in a distinctively Christian voice, that only conservatives are qualified to represent Jesus' message and mission. We believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is far more complex, far more interesting, and far more relevant than what the Religious Right has offered for consumption in recent years.

Transforming Theology

Blest be the tie that binds...


   The mission of the Transforming Theology network is to tighten the bonds between theology and transformative action in the church and the world. Some churches and denominations possess robust and potentially revolutionary theologies but are rather less active in successful in bringing about the changes that their beliefs imply. Others are deeply involved in transformative action but seem to have trouble formulating exactly what are the distinctively Christian beliefs that motivate these actions.

Transforming the Church

   Transforming theology, transforming the church — these two tasks go hand in hand. What pastors say in the pulpit is theology; what church people say in Bible studies or discussion groups is theology; and when one explains why she works for social justice or against racism, her explanation is also theology. Theology means everything that Christians say when they describe what they believe and why they act as they do. Thus there is no church transformation without theology — indeed, there is no church at all without theology.

Seminaries & Divinity Schools

   No transformation of theology can bypass the seminaries and divinity schools. They are the institutions that exist for the purpose of theological education -- where students go who seek it and where instructors go who are able to provide it.
The Transforming Theology movement works to support American seminaries and divinity schools in their project of teaching the theory and practice of theology -- and to challenge those who would offer graduate study of Christianity without wrestling with theological questions.