Within and outside of church walls, there is mass confusion about who and what God is, and how we should live.

Fundamental issues of family, gender, politics, media, science, tech and art are confronting us with challenges we’re hardly prepared for. As for our kids, statistics reveal our children often leave the church when they leave home. Parents and churches tend to be thin on time, means and resources for developing strong faith, doctrine and discipleship. In both the church and the mainstream there is an increasing sense of spiritual hollowness that is felt deeply, and nationally. Culturally, we suffer from the loss of a common language with which to communicate in matters of faith.

One of the richest books of the Bible, Ephesians, declares: “Be very careful then, how you live” (Eph. 5:15). The original language carries with it a meaning of caution, accuracy and exactness. While it’s always been important for believers to think and act with passion and precision, today’s high tech, media-soaked, digital world makes it more needful than ever.

Enter...“theology.” The word has many definitions, so we begin where millions hunger: Theology as the wonder and study of the existence and nature of God. Where answers to life’s hard questions can be found.

“We have allowed the theology to be drained from the ministry, even as we nevertheless continue to expect it to function in the nurturing of the knowledge of God in the church. We laugh at those who think theology is important, and then are shocked to find in our midst the superficial and unbelieving.”
– From “No Place For Truth, or, Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology?” by David Wells

VISION

The Theology Project’s vision is to shape and elevate the Christian church’s view of theology; to elevate the value and role of theology in our hearts, minds and actions. We foment spiritual revolution for our time, a persistent loving provocation to think and act theologically: We see a landscape where Scripture informs each nuance of thought and practice, yielding rich lives as Christ’s distinct people, glorifying and enjoying God forever.

Our Mission

The Theology Project’s mission is to invite, inspire and instruct. We work together with believers, thought-leading pastors, churches, seminaries and scholars, artists and authors from across the nation, to elevate the church’s understanding of God (theology), bring clarity to the gospel, and actionable hope for life’s most pressing questions. We do this through lively conversations and studies, events, service projects, conferences and other resources. (For details of what we believe and how we view Scripture and interpretation, please go here).

WHAT THE THEOLOGY PROJECT IS NOT

“We just need Jesus” is a popular idea today, and on the surface can seem great. Yet our faith is quickly revealed to be fairly hollow if we can barely articulate it. Additionally, when speaking of God, people often use common language, but with profoundly different meanings. In other words, what does "we just need Jesus" or "Jesus/God/faith is enough" even mean? As soon as you engage that idea (if you think about it for a moment, "we just need Jesus" is actually a doctrine itself), you've landed squarely in the realm of theology and doctrine. Even the historic creeds, while a starting point, are not robust statements of faith or doctrine and have been subject to varied interpretation. And today’s global internet/mobile culture has brought new meaning to the way words and their meaning change.

It's a humbling proposition, but our experience and plenty of research* by others, confirms what we lamentingly call the scandal of the Church in our time: the spiritual anemia, confusion and Biblical illiteracy pervading our culture, both in and outside the church.

The greatest commandment, said Jesus, is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27). While matters of the heart, feelings, and experience are important, the necessity of good orthodox Christian doctrine to inform all we are and do is foundational. The heart needs to see first through the lens of Scripture. As author Jen Wilkin declares “the heart can’t love what the mind doesn’t know.” Romans 12:2 reveals that Godly transformation takes place by the renewing of our mind. And this certainly doesn’t leave out the Holy Spirit! The work of the Spirit is done through the Word of God (Eph. 6:17), which we are to study (2 Tim. 2:15).

The Theology Project is not about having Bible study arguments so we can somehow be impressive. Nor is it about more information when we aren’t living what we do know. Our mission is not to hammer out systematic Bible doctrine per se (e.g. as a church or seminary’s mission might be). Rather, we invite laypersons and leaders to intentionally elevate the role of theology in their personal and congregational life. Nothing energizes a church more than the right understanding of God through his Word and Spirit. And nothing could be more exciting.

Everyone has some sort of theology they live by. We assist individuals and groups to be more precise, accurate and active in their faith by discovering a deeper and clearer understanding of the very nature and character of God, centered on a solid Biblical hermeneutic. It's a pilgrim's progress, but this growing in and working through our faith leads to more joyful, vibrant and discerning lives in our very challenging age, as we seek to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

*A sampling of research: Christianity Today; The State of Theology 2022; Competing Worldviews;
Are Young People Leaving Christianity?; The Scandal of Biblical Illiteracy