The views expressed in this article are of the author only and do not necessarily represent those of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
Know the Theologians
Jennifer Powell McNutt & David W. McNutt
Zondervan (2024). 257 pp.
On a flight to a pastors’ conference I was completing some pre-conference reading and found myself sitting next to a college graduate who had recently become a Christian. Excited to see I was reading “Christian stuff,” she looked closer at my packet and asked: “Should I know who Karl Barth is?” A great question, and one that is answered well in the latest installment of Zondervan’s Know Series (edited by Justin S. Holcomb) in which Jennifer Powell McNutt and David McNutt offer a hearty invitation for believers to know the theologians.
Perhaps the most compelling part of the book comes as the McNutts address the objection increasingly made in our day to that imperative: “Why bother?” They ground the call for Christians to familiarize themselves with at least some of the church’s theologians (particularly those who have had the greatest impact throughout church history) by reminding us that “when we are adopted by God, we are adopted into a big, global family” (p. 4). In other words, we should “know the great cloud” (Heb 12:1) because there is a great conversation that we join when we place our faith in Jesus: “a conversation about who God is and what God has done for us in Christ” (p. 4). Now’s that something to talk about!
The McNutts rightly place the fact that theology is for “living as members of Christ’s family” (p. 4) front and center. Coming to know the theologians of yesteryear is part of how believers today gather around the table to join this enduring, expansive family conversation. If I am to participate well as a member of this family that extends through all times, peoples, and places, I need to know my family history. I need to behold the pitfalls and triumphs of my ancient grandparents; I need to remember that the strange uncle from a far part of the family tree is my brother in Christ; I need to see how the blind spots and triumphs of my spiritual forebears are relevant for the church’s life today.
In this work the McNutts provide an initial orientation to some of these formative family members by examining sixteen theologians running from Irenaeus to Gutiérrez. (They actually introduce twenty, since they consider the “Cappadocian Four” and the “Wesley Brothers” together). And when you throw in the fifty or so brief “profiles” sprinkled throughout the work, the number of family members introduced climbs to over seventy-five theologians. At only 250 pages, this book certainly delivers bang for its buck.
The book’s strengths are many. It provides enough historical and cultural background to grasp each theologian’s claims and context without bogging down in unnecessary details. It connects each theologian’s reflections to the witness of Scripture in meaningful ways. It offers an opening prayer for each chapter (often from the theologian under consideration), reiterating the central theme that this is an ongoing conversation with our triune God. It provides suggested readings for those who want to go further and offers helpful discussion questions to prime small group discussions. Perhaps the biggest “bonus prize” is that the work comes with free access to streaming digital content, providing a video summary of each chapter and setting one up swimmingly for leading a Sunday school class through the book.
The book’s weaknesses stem mostly from editorial constraints. As the McNutts fully acknowledge, theirs is a selective list. Their work is best viewed as an appetizer rather than the main course. It invites further conversation and, in some cases, requires further clarification. For example, since the McNutts are largely descriptive rather than prescriptive, readers are left to evaluate whether theological claims made by their sixteen interlocutors represent doctrinal developments or corruptions, ecclesial progress or regress. A second volume is needed to help believers evaluate the contributions of each family member (and that from their own ecclesial tradition). This relates to another question the book does not answer: what are the limits of the expansive family of God in view? Amidst the unfortunate history the McNutts recount, one of mutual anathemas and persecution of Christians by other Christians, one wonders: How does one truly become a child of God? Can one be “cut off” from the family tree? Is Schleiermacher, to take one example, part or prodigal? By what criteria would this be determined, and by whom? These important issues go unaddressed. But, of course, one book cannot do it all!
When I was younger, I did not much care about my own family history (sad to say). As I have grown, I have recognized how life-giving it is to know “where I came from” (the good, the bad, and the ugly!). How much more is that true of the spiritual family I am adopted into by faith in Jesus. It is for pastors and ministry leaders to help the church communities we serve learn about the broader “family tree” we have grown out of. This book provides a wonderful first step in this hard but vital work. Why know the theologians? Why study church history? The McNutts provide a wonderful answer: it is not a mere intellectual exercise but a deeply spiritual and life-giving work of discipleship—one we benefit tremendously from as we build upon the insights—and learn from the missteps—of brothers and sisters who have gone before us in setting their eyes on Christ.
C. Ryan Fields (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the Senior Pastor at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Acton, MA. He is a member of the St. Hildegard Fellowship of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
