Trinitarian Theology

Update, June 2020: The GCI links have changed again, so I’m in the process of updating the links below
| Intro | What is Trinitarian theology? | Trinitarian theologians: Anderson | Barth | D Campbell | JM Campbell | Colyer | Dawson | Deddo | Feazell | Fee | Hart | Hunsinger | Kettler | Kruger | McKenna | McSwain | McVey | Metzger | Molnar | Morrison | Newell | Nordling | Parry | Purves | Rogers | Root | Thimell | Tkach | Alan Torrance | David Torrance | James B. Torrance |Thomas F. Torrance | Walker | Wauchope | Young |
———————

You’re Included – introduction

The You’re Included videos, a “unique interview series devoted to practical implications of Trinitarian theology,” comprises 110 conversations published by Grace Communion International (GCI) at regular intervals from the first interview in May, 2007, with Baxter Kruger, to an interview in January, 2012, with David Torrance. GCI maintains a You’re Included page on the GCI website and there is a You’re Included youTube channel. Links below are being changed to youTube, given the frequent changes in the GCI website; the GCI website, however, generally offers a transcript and discussion questions.

In addition to the considerable appeal of any particular video, the You’re Included series as a whole displays two particularly noteworthy characteristics:

• Each video is a conversation, not a lecture.
  Propositions are not rehearsed on PowerPoint slides ready to be memorized as part of a logical theological system. Rather, these are fireside chats with notable theologians and writers which offer us a glimpse of their personalities and why they do what they do. Most authors are professional theologians based in universities. Some are popular writers, teachers, pastors or youth ministers. If you’re seeking a way to explore theology through personal dialogue and in an open-ended manner, this conversational style will be attractive in and of itself.
• The series reflects the ecumenical character of Trinitarian theology.
  The guests come from practically every major branch of Christianity, including Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian or Reformed, Methodist and charismatic traditions (I hope we will soon see some representatives of Eastern Orthodoxy as well). Needless to say, they do not agree in many details, but they nevertheless constitute a broad and consensual vision within the Nicene tradition of Christ-centered, Trinitarian theology.

Watching the You’re Included episodes with any given author is a great way to get a sense of any book under discussion.

J. Michael Feazell, host of You’re Included (2007-2012)
Thank you, Michael and GCI, for this wonderful series! More info (now unavailable)

Why this page?

I’m not a pastor or theologian, nor affiliated with GCI; just a lay person trying to think more deeply about my faith (update: In spring 2020, I taught a course at GCS). In “Marriage is the gospel made visible,” I expressed the good news of Christian faith from a Christ-centered and therefore Trinitarian perspective, unlike, say, The Four Spiritual Laws, which makes us and our sin the starting point. In doing so, I’m grateful for the You’re Included video series. In a previous post, “Resources for reflecting on The Shack,” I wrote:

“The simplest way to become acquainted with the tradition of Trinitarian theology reflected in The Shack might be to watch the entire series of You’re Included podcasts, and to explore the authors and publications mentioned in these conversations. These videos offer an excellent resource for pursuing a personal study of Trinitarian theology or for holding a regular discussion group.”

To pursue my own personal study of Trinitarian theology, I compiled the list below which juxtaposes the YI episodes with links to each participant’s published books, institutional affiliations and websites, and to additional videos available outside the YI series.

I stumbled upon the You’re Included series as I was beginning to read through the works of Thomas Torrance, Karl Barth and George MacDonald, and the video conversations proved to be just the guidance I needed at just the right time in this ongoing and ever more exciting journey. (Thanks, Michael and GCI!) So this page remains a program for broadening my own reading, and I will update it as additional episodes appear in the future on an irregular basis, and as the authors publish additional works.

What is “trinitarian theology”?

Trinitarian theology does not refer to an intellectual puzzle or a speculative argument in metaphysics. Nor does it denote a mental assent to the Trinity as an abstract doctrine or secondary belief. Rather, Trinitarian theology refers to a personal approach to theology that arises out of the revelation of God in Christ. Through the Incarnation God reveals himself as an eternal communion of love between the Father, Son and Spirit. Trinitarian thinking is Christ-centered, with the Incarnation as the starting point. Every area of doctrine organically connects to, and is grounded upon, the Trinitarian communion of God revealed in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Our understanding of the Trinity therefore serves not as an isolated doctrine but as a grammar of theology, a way of thinking that searches out the natural connections between every doctrine and the revelation of God in Christ. Here are some helpful preliminary links provided by Grace Communion International which offer a basic introduction to Trinitarian theology:

1. Who is Jesus? by Dan Rogers (12 mins); a short sermon on some Trinitarian passages in the gospel of John. (No longer available)
2. “The Doctrine of the Trinity – Does It Make Any Difference?” by J. Michael Feazell (15 mins); a sermon on the centrality of the doctrine of the Trinity in practice. (Video no longer available; transcript here.)
3. Foundations of Theology (26 min); a condensed outline of Trinitarian theology produced for GCI pastors, featuring Joseph Tkach, Mike Feazell, Dan Rogers, and Michael Morrison Video no longer available; transcript here.
4. “The God Revealed in Jesus Christ” (web article and booklet, which may be read as a précis or companion to the “Foundations of Theology” video).
5. Participatory, Trinitarian Faith, 4 lectures by Elmer Colyer. The first lecture consists of a historical sketch of the eclipse of Trinitarian theology since the 17th century and the consequences of this eclipse for both liberalism and fundamentalism, with some concluding comments on the 20th-century recovery of the doctrine of the Trinity in the work of Karl Barth, Thomas Torrance and others (more below).
6. Thomas F. Torrance, “The Basic Grammar of Theology,” audio lectures [cf. The Ground and Grammar of Theology (T&T Clark, 1980) and other Torrance sources below].

Trinitarian Theologians

(featured in GCI media, alphabetized by last name)

1. Ray Anderson
   • Fuller Seminary; Obituary by Christian Kettler
   • Books:
     • Theological Foundations for Ministry
     • Judas and Jesus
     • Exploration into God
     • Dancing with Wolves while Feeding the Sheep
     • and many more.
     • See also: Christian Kettler, Reading Ray S. Anderson
   • You’re Included:
   1. Anderson 1: The importance of having our theological viewpoint based on God’s revelation of himself in Jesus Christ.
   2. Anderson 2: Relating our lives to God’s reality, what God has become in becoming human, adoption, the parable of the prodigal, our necessary connection with Christ, and the emergent church.
   3. Kettler 3: The ministry and theology of the late Ray Anderson.

2. Karl Barth *
   • You’re Included videos provide conversational yet insightful perspectives on the theology of Karl Barth from a variety of theologians. It’s difficult to choose, but of the many listed on this page I would single out the following ones by Gary Deddo, George Hunsinger and Jeff McSwain as particularly helpful introductions to Barth:
     • Gary Deddo: Karl Barth and his theology.
     • George Hunsinger: What Christ Did Was Effective for All
     • Jeff McSwain 3: The difference between Calvinism and Arminianism, and the Reformed view of Karl Barth.
   • My posts on Barth:
     • kerrysloft.com
       • Listening Long
       • More Barth posts on kerrysloft.com
     • okbarth.org
       • Karl Barth bookmarks
       • Reading Karl Barth: Short Introductions
       • Reading Karl Barth: Select Short Works
       • Reading Karl Barth: Church Dogmatics
       • Preparing to read the Church Dogmatics
       • Central Oklahoma Church Dogmatics Reading Group

3. Douglas Campbell
   • Duke Divinity School
   • Books:
     • The Quest for Paul’s Gospel
     • The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul
     • Four Views on the Apostle Paul
   • You’re Included:
   1. Campbell 1: Our participation with Christ and with each other in communion with God.
   2. Campbell 2: The gospel informs our understanding of sin and ethics in a way that challenges the model of a conditional or contractual grace.
   3. Campbell 3: How did Paul bring the gospel and purpose to the mission field?
   4. Campbell 4: We need a new approach to Paul’s letter to the Romans. (Audio only; no video due to a camera malfunction.)
   • Other videos:
     1. Four Views on the Apostle Paul

4. John McLeod Campbell and the 19th-century Scottish background for 20th-century Trinitarian theology *
   • Along with Edward Irving (1792-1834), Thomas Erskine of Linlathen (1788-1870) and a number of other 19th-century Scottish theologians, Campbell (1800-1872) critiqued the Calvinism of the day and helped inspire the more lively evangelical tradition exemplified by figures as diverse as George MacDonald (1824-1905), F.D. Maurice (1839-1901) and, in the 20th century, Karl Barth and the Torrance brothers. Reading these writers will deepen one’s historical understanding of the evangelical character of modern Trinitarian theology, which took root in 19th-century attempts to think through the doctrines of Incarnation and Atonement together in their natural interconnections.
   • You’re Included videos:
   • Daniel Thimell 1: In this conversation, Thimell discusses John McLeod Campbell at length, explaining how Campbell traced his parishioners’ lack of joy in their Christianity back to a deficient, superficial, merely penal understanding of the Atonement, disconnected from the love of God come in the flesh in the person of Christ.
   • Throughout the You’re Included video series, participants frequently mention Campbell. Two examples of brief mentions include: Ray Anderson 2 (relating our lives to God’s reality, what God has become in becoming human, adoption, the parable of the prodigal, our connection with Christ); and Andrew Purves 2 (theology for pastoral work).
   • Scottish background, some introductions:
     • Thomas F. Torrance, Scottish Theology: From John Knox to John Mcleod Campbell (T&T Clark, 2000). The last chapter is devoted to Campbell; the penultimate chapter discusses Edward Irving and Thomas Erskine, among others.
     • The Devotional Library, ed. James B. Torrance and Michael Jinkins (Edinburgh). The six slim volumes in this series, published by Saint Andrew Press, begin with an accessible essay about the subject’s life, writings and historical significance, followed by thoughtful selections from the author’s works:
       • John Knox, ed. Henry Sefton (1993)
       • Edward Irving, ed. Graham McFarlane (1996)
       • Thomas Erskine, ed. Trevor Hart (1993)
       • John McLeod Campbell, ed. Michael Jinkins (1993)
       • George MacDonald, ed. Gary Deddo and Cathy Deddo (1996)
       • John and Donald Baillie, ed. David Ferguson (1996)
   • Scottish background, a few recent studies and links:
     • John McLeod Campbell:
       • James B. Torrance, “Introduction,” in John MacLeod Campbell, The Nature of the Atonement (2000).
         • Download Nature of the Atonement (Internet Archive).
       • Peter K. Stevenson, God in Our Nature: The Incarnational Theology of John McLeod Campbell, Studies in Evangelical History and Thought, foreword by Trevor Hart (Paternoster, 2004), includes various sermons in appendices.
       • Download works by Campbell (Internet Archive).
     • Edward Irving:
       • David Dorries, Edward Irving’s Incarnational Christology (Xulon Press, 2002).
       • edwardirving.com
       • Download works of Edward Irving (Internet Archive).
     • Thomas Erskine:
       • Don Horrocks, Laws of the Spiritual Order: Innovation and Reconstruction in the Soteriology of Thomas Erskine of Linlathen, Studies in Evangelical History and Thought (2007).
       • Download The Spiritual Order, The Unconditional Freeness of the Gospel and other works by Erskine (Internet Archive).
     • George MacDonald and F.D. Maurice:
       • Kerry Dearborn, Baptized Imagination: The Theology of George Macdonald, Ashgate Studies in Theology, Imagination and the Arts (2006). Discusses both MacDonald and F.D. Maurice.
       • My post: Reading George MacDonald: Introductions.
       • David Young, F.D. Maurice and Unitarianism (Oxford, 1992).
       • Download works by MacDonald and Maurice (Internet Archive).

5. Elmer Colyer
   • University of Dubuque Theological Seminary
   • Books:
     • How to Read T. F. Torrance: Understanding His Trinitarian & Scientific Theology
     • The Promise of Trinitarian Theology: Theologians in Dialogue with T. F. Torrance
     • The Nature of Doctrine in T. F. Torrance’s Theology
     • Evangelical Theology in Transition: Theologians in Dialogue With Donald Bloesch
     • and more.
   • You’re Included:
   1. Colyer 1: The weaknesses of the concordance method of theology, that the Bible is not an end in itself, and Trinitarian theology.
   2. Colyer 2: The theology of Thomas Torrance, the vicarious humanity of Christ, and the logic of grace.
   3. Colyer 3: Predestination. Some people assume that God is the best of our own ideals; others accept him the way he has revealed himself in Christ.
   4. Colyer 4: The practical theology of Thomas F. Torrance.
   5. Colyer 5: Elmer Colyer discusses how hell and God’s wrath are related to God’s love.
   6. Colyer 6: What is the relationship between judgment and grace?
   7. Colyer 7: Impossible Christianity, and why we don’t repent well on our own.
   8. Colyer 8: True Church Renewal – why church renewal programs don’t work and how gospel-centered congregations need to take the lead.
   9. Colyer 9: Theology or the Bible? – how theology shapes our interpretations of the Bible.
   • Other:
     1. Participatory, Trinitarian Faith. 4 presentations + Q&A (7+ hours), from the GCI 2011 Candadian National Conference, August 10-12, 2011, Ottawa, Ontario. Part 1 outlines the eclipse of Trinitarian theology in the scientific revolution and Enlightenment, and its evangelical and 20th-century recovery. Part 2 provides an overview of the doctrine of the Trinity as the center of Christian faith. Part 3 explores the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Part 4 examines Christian community as an expression of Trinitarian love. In the 5th video, Colyer answers questions submitted by conference participants, including: the doctrine of hell; the continuing Incarnation in the resurrection and ascension; and the struggle to overcome lust and temptation together in Christian community.
     2. Three lectures from the 2010 Orlando GCI conference.

6. Gerrit Scott Dawson
   • First Presbyterian Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
   • Books:
     • Introduction to Torrance Theology: Discovering the Incarnate Saviour (ed.)
     • Discovering Jesus: Awakening To God
     • Jesus Ascended: The Meaning of Christ’s Continuing Incarnation
     • and more.
   • You’re Included:
   1. Dawson 1: The importance of Jesus being human even after his ascension.
   2. Dawson 2: The challenges facing the church today, and the Christian’s role in evangelism.
   3. Dawson 3: The significance of the fact that Jesus Christ is still human, that the incarnation continues into eternity.
   4. Dawson 4: God knows us utterly, loves us passionately and transforms us continually. Before we turn towards Jesus, he has turned towards us.

7. Gary Deddo
   • Brief biography; GCI update and biography – Gary will join GCI full-time in summer 2012!
   • Books:
     • Karl Barth’s Theology of Relations
     • Gary Deddo and Cathy Deddo, George MacDonald (ed.)
     • Gary Deddo and Cathy Deddo, God, the Bible and the Shack, and “Questions and Answers about The Shack: A Supplement to the IVP Booklet,”
     • and more.
   • My posts:
     • Reading George MacDonald: Introductions
     • Resources for Reflecting on The Shack
     • More Deddo posts.
   • You’re Included:
   1. Deddo 1: Why does God tell people what to do?
   2. Deddo 2: God’s plan to share his love throughout the universe.
   3. Deddo 3: What happens to people who don’t seem to have a chance to hear the gospel?
   4. Deddo 4: Theologian Karl Barth is important because he pointed to the gospel, and God as he revealed himself in Scripture.
   5. Deddo 5: Why did Jesus say that it was difficult for people to be saved?
   6. Deddo 6: “Who is God?” and the real meaning of repentance.
   7. Deddo 7: What does it mean to say that we “participate” with God?
   8. Deddo 8: What is Jesus doing in sanctification and evangelism?
   • Other videos:
     1. Gary Deddo:
        • Sharing in Christ’s Life and Ministry – 75 min lecture from the 2010 Orlando GCI conference.
        • Our Union with Christ
     2. Cathy Deddo:
        • The Shape of God’s Love (John 17) – 67 min lecture from the 2010 Orlando GCI conference.

8. J. Michael Feazell
   • Mike Feazell hosts the You’re Included video series. Until his retirement in December, 2011, he served as Vice-President of Grace Communion International and Executive Editor of Christian Odyssey magazine. He earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Azusa Pacific University, and has written many articles on the GCI website. Read the GCI Update on Mike’s retirement – Mike, thank you! I wish you all the best, although I hope to see additional episodes with you from time to time. 🙂
   • Books:
     • Liberation of the Worldwide Church of God. Feazell played a significant role in the extraordinary transformation of the Worldwide Church of God from a legalistic sect preoccupied with end-times prophecy to an evangelical denomination, later renamed Grace Communion International. For more on this story, see the section on Joseph Tkach, Jr., below.
   • GCI videos:
   1. GCI Together: part 1; part 2 (autobiographical interview).
   2. A Word from our Sponsor: many videos.
   3. Feazell appears in Foundations of Theology.
   4. Seated with Christ – 54 min lecture from the 2010 Orlando GCI conference.

9. Gordon Fee
   • Regent College, Vancouver, Wikipedia
   • Books:
     • Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (at Accordance)
     • Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible Book by Book: A Guided Tour
     • Revelation
     • and many more.
   • You’re Included:
   1. Fee 1: The book of Revelation, and basic principles of understanding Scripture.
   2. Fee 2: How should we read the Bible?
   3. Fee 3: Dr. Fee talks about the renewed image of the Father through his likeness shared in Christ the Son.

10. Trevor Hart
    • St. Mary’s College, School of Divinity, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
    • Books:
      • Faith Thinking: The Dynamics of Christian Theology
      • Regarding Karl Barth: Toward a Reading of His Theology
      • Christ in Our Place: The Humanity of God in Christ for the Reconciliation of the World (ed.)
      • Tree of Tales: Tolkien, Literature and Theology (ed.)
      • Richard Bauckham and Trevor Hart, Hope against Hope: Christian Eschatology at the Turn of the Millennium
      • and many more.
    • You’re Included:
    1. Hart 1: God the Father, Reflected in Jesus Christ. There is positive encouragement and assurance in knowing that God’s eternal purpose is to be God in Jesus Christ for us – that God the Father is fully reflected in the face of Jesus.
    2. Hart 2: Art and Imagination in the Church. There is a place for the various arts and for imagination in the church.
    3. Hart 3: Zooming in on Salvation. God’s heart beats with love for everyone he’s made, so he calls them into fellowship with himself. This is good news, not just for Christians but for everyone.

11. George Hunsinger
    • Princeton Theological Seminary
    • Books:
      • How to Read Karl Barth: The Shape of His Theology
      • Disruptive Grace: Studies in the Theology of Karl Barth
      • The Eucharist and Ecumenism: Let us Keep the Feast
      • Thy Word is Truth: Barth on Scripture (ed.)
      • For the Sake of the World: Karl Barth and the Future of Ecclesial Theology (ed.)
      • and many more.
    • You’re Included:
    1. Hunsinger 1: What Christ Did Was Effective for All. The election that really counts: We are elected or chosen in Jesus Christ, the Chosen One.
    2. Hunsinger 2: Colossians 3:3 has been called a decisive verse for the entire New Testament. Our lives in Christ are real, and yet can’t always be seen.
    3. Hunsinger 3: It’s important to keep our focus on Christ and the relational nature of the eucharist; it can serve to break down denominational barriers.
    4. Hunsinger 4: The Eucharist and Ecumenism – the theology of the Eucharist across different Christian heritages.

12. Christian Kettler
    • Friends University, Wichita, Kansas
    • Books:
      • The Vicarious Humanity of Christ and the Reality of Salvation
      • The God Who Believes: Faith, Doubt, and the Vicarious Humanity of Christ
      • The God Who Rejoices: Joy, Despair, and the Vicarious Humanity of Christ
      • Reading Ray S. Anderson
      • Incarnational Ministry: The Presence of Christ in Church, Society, and Family. Essays in Honor of Ray S. Anderson
      • and more.
    • You’re Included:
    1. Kettler 1: How theology affects the average person, the importance of Jesus’ humanity, and how we share in the faith of Christ. The gospel and the vicarious humanity of Christ.
    2. Kettler 2: People like to talk about the potential of salvation, but the Bible refers to the actuality of salvation. The vicarious humanity of Christ and the reality of salvation.
    3. Kettler 3: The ministry and theology of the late Ray Anderson.
    4. Kettler 4: The Word of God is threefold: Jesus Christ is the living Word, the Bible is the written word, and preaching is the spoken word.

13. Baxter Kruger
    • Perichoresis Ministries, Perichoresis.org (books, sermons, teaching series audios, videos, articles and other resources).
      Support Perichoresis Ministries.
    • Blog
    • Podcasts: and
    • Books:
      • A Parable of the Dancing God (free pdf)
      • The Great Dance: The Christian Vision Revisited (pdf)
      • Jesus and the Undoing of Adam (pdf)
      • God is For Us (pdf)
      • Across All Worlds: Jesus Inside Our Darkness (pdf)
      • The Shack Revisited: There is More Going On Here than You Ever Dared to Dream (2011);
      • and more
      • Also available as pdfs from perichoresis.org
    • My posts:
      • Baxter Kruger’s starting points for reading Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics
      • Resources for Reflecting upon The Shack
      • Thank you, Celtic Praise Troupe
    • You’re Included:
    1. Kruger and Steve Horn (audio only): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
    2. Kruger 1: Jesus is the center of all things.
    3. Kruger 2: Jesus has united himself with us.
    4. Kruger 3: Jesus’ role as the center of all things, and God’s plan for our adoption before the foundation of the world.
    5. Kruger 4: The Western world has two views of God: a harsh and unapproachable God, and a Jesus who came to save us from the harsh God. But the Father is actually just like Jesus.
    6. Kruger 5: William Paul Young’s book The Shack illustrates the triune God’s love for all humanity.
    7. Kruger 6: Dr. C. Baxter Kruger discusses the goodness of God and our moments of darkness.
    • Other videos:
      • Free to Live conference: Understanding who we are in Jesus. A GCI conference held in May, 2011 in Grand Junction, CO. Four sessions (4 hrs total; DVD files available).
        • Session 1: On the first evening of the conference, Baxter introduces the themes of who we are in Christ in a relaxed, story-telling format with some sharing from his own personal journey. Key verse: “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (John 14:20).
        • Session 2: Our understanding of who God is and what he is like is the foundation for understanding everything else, including who we are. What would it be like to see God through Jesus’ eyes, and to know the Father as Jesus knows him? Key passage: Luke 15.
        • Session 3: How we hear the whisper of evil: “I am not… (wanted, worthy, special, loved…)”; how we respond psychologically by self-salvation, attempting to fill the void of our “I am nots”; how God dwells inside our darkness and how Jesus gets his “I am” inside our “I am nots.” Cf. Baxter’s “soul diagrams“. Key verses: Romans 8.15 (“you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!””) and Galatians 4.6 (“God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!””).
        • Session 4: The Father, Son and Spirit knew, loved and claimed us, in our brokenness, before the foundation of the world, and now find their way into our darkness and pain to meet and heal us, bringing us with all our brokenness into their embrace. Key passage: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (Ephesians 1:3–5; cf. 2 Timothy 1.9).
      • GCI Conference, Perth, Australia, 2011, “How the Gospel works out in our lives.” Website and program. Part 1 (Baxter Kruger); Part 2 (Bruce Wauchope); Part 3 (Kruger); Part 6 (Wauchope).
      • Additional videos at perichoresis.org

14. John McKenna
    • Grace Communion Seminary, Pasadena, CA
    • Books:
      • The Great AMEN of the Great I-AM: God in Covenant with His People in His Creation
      • The Setting in Life for The Arbiter of John Philoponus
    • You’re Included:
    1. McKenna 1: The difference our view of non-Christians makes in our relationship with them.
    2. McKenna 2: The freedom we have because God loves us and is not angry with us.
    3. McKenna 3: The freedom we have in God, and that God will not be who he is without us.
    4. McKenna 4: The Little Credo of the Great I AM in Exodus 34:6 and the continuity of grace in Old and New Testaments.
    5. McKenna 5: The importance of the vicarious humanity of Christ.

15. Jeff McSwain
    • Reality Ministries, Durham, NC
    • Book: Movements of Grace: The Dynamic Christo-Realism of Barth, Bonhoeffer, and the Torrances
    • My Post: “Movements of Grace”
    • You’re Included:
    1. McSwain 1: How to help young people experience the loving embrace of Jesus Christ.
    2. McSwain 2: Some people think that the Father is angry, and Christ is appeasing his anger. But the truth is quite different.
    3. McSwain 3: The difference between Calvinism and Arminianism, and the Reformed view of Karl Barth.
    4. McSwain 4: Are we sinners, or saints? If we are new creations, why do we still have old habits? Jeff McSwain talks about sanctification.
    5. McSwain 5: We all bring a personal persuasion to our interpretation of Scripture, so it’s important for us to read the Bible through a Christ-centered lens.
    6. McSwain 6: Jeff McSwain describes the goal of Reality Ministries – to help adolescents understand that they belong.

16. Steve McVey
    • Grace Walk Ministries
    • 101 Lies Heard in Church every Sunday (video series)
    • Grace Walk doctrinal statement
    • Personal Reflections From My Own Grace Walk (Steve’s blog)
    • Books:
      • Grace Walk
      • 52 Lies Heard in Church every Sunday
      • and more.
    • You’re Included:
    1. McVey 1: Christians live by trusting in the grace of Christ.
    2. McVey 2: Dr. Steve McVey shares the theological insights he has gained over the years.
    3. McVey 3: It’s important to understand the cross, and how it affects our view of the whole being of God, Father, Son and Spirit.
    4. McVey 4: What Is God’s Wrath? The frequently misunderstood topic of God’s wrath, and its relationship with God’s love.
    • Dimensions in Ministry:
    1. McVey 1: 52 Lies Heard in Church Every Sunday, Part 1.
    2. McVey 2: 52 Lies Heard in Church Every Sunday, Part 2.

17. Paul Louis Metzger
    • Institute for the Theology of Culture: New Wine, New Wineskins; Multnomah Biblical Seminary, Portland, OR
    • Books:
      • Trinitarian Soundings in Systematic Theology
      • The Word of Christ and the World of Culture: Sacred and Secular Through the Theology of Karl Barth
      • New Wine Tastings: Theological Essays of Cultural Engagement
      • Connecting Christ: How to Discuss Jesus in a World of Diverse Paths
      • The Gospel of John: When Love Comes to Town
      • Exploring Ecclesiology: An Evangelical and Ecumenical Introduction, with Brad Harper
      • A World for All?: Global Civil Society in Political Theory and Trinitarian Theology, co-editor.
      • and more.
    • You’re Included:
    1. Metzger 1: Relationships are important in the way we share the gospel.
    2. Metzger 2: The church needs to include all peoples.
    3. Metzger 3: Dr. Metzger talks about participation in the triune life of God.
    4. Metzger 4: Converted Christians will be led by the Holy Spirit to care for others, reflecting the communion within the Triune God.

18. Paul Molnar
    • St. John’s University, NY; Theopedia
    • Books:
      • Thomas F. Torrance: Theologian of the Trinity
      • Divine Freedom and the Doctrine of the Immanent Trinity
      • Incarnation and Resurrection: Toward a Contemporary Understanding
      • Karl Barth and the Theology of the Lord’s Supper
      • and more.
    • You’re Included:
    1. Molnar 1: The importance of keeping Christ at the center of our thoughts about God.
    2. Molnar 2: Saved by the God Who Freely Chose to Enter into Our Humanity – Salvation is us as humans being drawn into Christ’s relationship with God the Father who is not imprisoned by his changelessness to become human.
    3. Molnar 3: God’s Will and Our Decisions.
    4. Molnar 4: The Giver Is the Gift

19. Michael Morrison
    • Michael serves as an occasional host of You’re Included. He is Dean of Faculty for Grace Communion Seminary; Media Director and Senior Editor for Grace Communion International; Managing editor of Christian Odyssey; and has a PhD from Fuller Seminary. He has written many articles on the GCI website.
    • Books:
      • Sabbath, Circumcision and Tithing; Amazon and online (pdf, free).
      • Who Needs a New Covenant? The Rhetorical Function of the Covenant Motif in the Argument of Hebrews
    • GCI videos:
    1. GCI Together: Michael Morrison (autobiographical interview).
    2. Morrison appears in the Foundations of Theology video.
    3. A Word from our Sponsor: many videos.
    4. A Brief Guide to Bible Study.

20. Roger Newell
    • George Fox University, Newberg, OR
    • Books:
      • Passion’s Progress: The Meanings of Love
      • The Feeling Intellect: Reading the Bible with C. S. Lewis
    • You’re Included:
    1. Newell 1: Mary’s response to Gabriel’s announcement that she would give birth to the Son of God; the importance of the Incarnation.
    2. Newell 2: Theological insights in C.S. Lewis’ fiction.
    3. Newell 3: The relationship between theology and German history in the 20th century.

21. Cherith Fee Nordling
    • Book:
      • Knowing God by Name: A Conversation between Elizabeth A. Johnson and Karl Barth.
    • You’re Included:
    1. Nordling 1: The humanity of Jesus Christ, and what it means to be human.
    2. Nordling 2: The nature of the resurrected body and the significance of Jesus becoming fully human.
    3. Nordling 3: What Jesus’ humanity means for us: Jesus is truly human, and that shows us what it means for us to be truly human.
    4. Nordling 4: From the beginning God has wanted his people to bear his image.

22. Robin Parry
    • Theological Scribbles (blog); Wikipedia
    • Books:
      • Worshipping Trinity: Coming Back to the Heart of Worship
      • Lamentations
      • Great Is Thy Faithfulness?: Reading Lamentations as Sacred Scripture (ed.)
      • The Evangelical Universalist
      • Universal Salvation?: The Current Debate (ed.)
      • All Shall be Well: Explorations in Universal Salvation and Christian Theology, from Origen to Moltmann (ed.)
      • The Futures of Evangelicalism: Issues and Prospects (ed.)
      • and many more.
    • You’re Included:
    1. Parry 1: The importance of having a trinitarian perspective in our worship.
    2. Parry 2: Dr. Parry discusses the importance of “lament” and the role of Israel in salvation history.
    3. Parry 3: Hope for All Humanity – God’s purpose for salvation. Christ’s salvation is already achieved for everyone, and we can participate in that.

23. Andrew Purves
    • Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Wikipedia
    • Books:
      • The Crucifixion of Ministry
      • The Resurrection of Ministry
      • Pastoral Theology in the Classical Tradition
      • Reconstructing Pastoral Theology: A Christological Foundation
      • Encountering God: Christian Faith in Turbulent Times
      • Andrew Purves and Mark Achtemeier, Union in Christ: A Declaration for the Church
      • and more.
    • You’re Included:
    1. Purves 1: The primary pastoral question: What is Jesus up to that I can bear witness to?
    2. Purves 2: Theology for pastoral work.
    3. Purves 3: Dr. Purves recounts valuable learning experiences he has had in ministry and stories of people who have had an impact on his life.
    4. Purves 4: Let the Lord be the Lord. Ministers are not messiahs – their role is to join the Messiah in the work he is already doing.

24. Dan Rogers
    • Dan Rogers earned his PhD in historical theology from Union Institute and University. He serves as the Director of Church Administration & Development in Grace Communion International.
    • Videos:
      1. Foundations of Theology (26 min)
      2. Many episodes of GCI’s A Word from Our Sponsor
      • Example: Who is Jesus? (12 mins); a sermon on the Trinitarian passages in the gospel of John.
      3. Personal interview on GCI Together
      4. Ministry and mission in the power of the Holy Spirit lecture from the 2010 Orlando GCI conference.
      5. and many more GCI articles.

25. Andrew Root
    • Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN; personal website
    • Books:
      • The Promise of Despair
      • Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry: From a Strategy of Influence to a Theology of Incarnation
      • Children of Divorce
      • and more.
    • You’re Included:
    1. Root 1: The importance of building relationships in youth ministry.
    2. Root 2: The difference between influence and place-sharing in youth ministry.
    3. Root 3: God turns death into life.
    4. Root 4: Relational youth ministry arises out of place sharing rather than patterns of influence.

26. Daniel Thimell
    • Oral Roberts University
    • Books:
      • God, Grace and Salvation (forthcoming)
      • Christ in Our Place: The Humanity of God in Christ for the Reconciliation of the World (ed.)
      • Charismatic Faith and Ministry.
      • and more…
    • You’re Included:
    1. Thimell 1: John McLeod Campbell: People had no joy in their Christianity, because they had not understood how effective the work of Christ was.
    2. Thimell 2: Jesus Christ won a completed salvation for each of us.
    3. Thimell 3: Christianity is not primarily about right behavior, but about relying on Christ’s completed work.
    4. Thimell 4: The Trinity is the foundation for both the doctrine of God’s love and the knowledge of God. We are called to participate in the life of Christ.

27. Joseph Tkach, Jr.
    • Joseph Tkach, Jr. – GCI President and Pastor General – contributes to Trinitarian theology in his ministry of serving the church as the leader of GCI. Tkach is on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Evangelicals, for Grace Communion Seminary, and for the GCI Office of Reconciliation & Spiritual Mediation. He serves on the Doctor of Ministry Committee at Azusa Pacific University and contributes numerous articles and videos to the GCI website.
    • Books:
      • Tkach, and his father Joseph Tkach, Sr., led GCI through its extraordinary transformation after the death of Herbert Armstrong. At that time GCI, then known as the Worldwide Church of God, was caught up in legalistic and prophetic preoccupations, but in the 1990’s it became an evangelical denomination, later renamed Grace Communion International. This remarkable story, outlined on the GCI website, is illuminated in Joseph Tkach, Jr., Transformed by Truth (also see the autobiographical interviews in GCI Together and the section on Mike Feazell, above). Because of its prior history, GCI appears to be ideally prepared to appreciate the implications of the gospel of grace as understood in Trinitarian theology.
    • GCI videos:
    1. Foundations of Theology
    2. GCI Together (autobiographical interview)
    3. Speaking of Life – a weekly series, each episode about 3 minutes long, available in video or audio, and from iTunes. I recommend Speaking of Life as a devotional and conversation-starter here. Tkach introduces the You’re Included video series in this episode of Speaking of Life.
    4. Other GCI videos and contributions by Tkach.

28. Alan Torrance
    • St. Mary’s College, School of Divinity, University of St. Andrews, Scotland; Wikipedia
    • Books:
      • Persons in Communion: Trinitarian Description and Human Participation
      • and more.
    • You’re Included:
    1. Alan Torrance 1: What the Incarnation means to us and how grace leads us to godly living.
    2. Alan Torrance 2: The wrath of God and hell come about because of God’s love. Science cannot disprove God’s existence.
    3. Alan Torrance 3: Being in Christ – How should the work of Christ affect our lives and relationships?

29. David Torrance
    • Books:
      • David Torrance and Thomas Torrance, eds., John Calvin, Commentaries on the New Testament.
      • The Witness of the Jews to God
      • David Torrance and George Taylor, Israel God’s Servant: God’s Key to the Redemption of the World
      • God, Family and Sexuality (ed.)
      • Thomas Torrance, James Torrance, David Torrance, A Passion for Christ
      • and more.
    • You’re Included:
    1. David Torrance 1: God pours out his love, granting us grace by the finished work of Christ, and our thankful response to that
    2. David Torrance 2: To receive Christ means that we share in his death and his resurrection – death to our old life of sin, and a new life in Christ
    3. David Torrance 3: Not My Will, But Yours: how God led him into ministry.
    4. David Torrance 4: Ministry Is Not a Normal Job. Lessons learned about parish ministry. The vicarious humanity of Christ, and being “in Christ.”
    5. David Torrance 5: Already Forgiven. How to approach our sin, personally and with others.

30. James B. Torrance *
    • University of Aberdeen, The Sunday Times obituary
    • Books:
      • Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace
      • Thomas Torrance, James Torrance, David Torrance, A Passion for Christ
      • J.B. Torrance’s many influential articles include the following:
        • “Covenant or Contract? A Study of the Theological Background of Worship in Seventeenth-Century Scotland,” Scottish Journal of Theology, 1970, 23:51-76.
        • “The Contribution of McLeod Campbell to Scottish Theology,” Scottish Journal of Theology, 1973, 26:295-311.
        • “The Covenant Concept in Scottish Theology and Politics and its Legacy,” Scottish Journal of Theology, 1981, 34:225-243.
        • “The Vicarious Humanity of Christ,” in T.F. Torrance, ed., The Incarnation (Edinburgh, 1981), 127-147.
        • “Calvin and Puritanism in England and Scotland – Some Basic Concepts in the Development of ‘Federal Theology,'” in Calvinus Reformator: His Contribution to Theology, Church and Society (Potchefstroom, 1982), -.
        • “Strengths and Weaknesses of the Westminster Theology,” in Alasdair I.C. Heron, ed., The Westminster Confession in the Church Today (Edinburgh, 1982), 40-54.
        • “The Incarnation and Limited Atonement,” Evangelical Quarterly, 1984, 55:83-94.
        • “Interpreting the Word by the Light of Christ or the Light of Nature? Calvin, Calvinism, and Barth,” in Robert V. Schnucker, ed., Calviniana: Ideas and Influence of Jean Calvin, Sixteenth Century Journal Monograph, vol. X (Kirksville, 1986), 255-267.
        • “The Concept of Federal Theology: Was Calvin a Federal Theologian?” in W.H. Neuser, ed., Calvinus Sacrae Scriptura Professor: Calvin as Confessor of Holy Scripture (Grand Rapids, 1990), 15-40.
        • James B. Torrance, “Introduction,” and ed., John MacLeod Campbell, The Nature of the Atonement (2000).

        .

31. Thomas F. Torrance *
    • Website: T.F. Torrance Theological Fellowship, Participatio journal; biography
    • Books:
      • The Mediation of Christ
      • The Incarnation
      • The Atonement
      • The Trinitarian Faith
      • The Christian Doctrine of God: One Being Three Persons
      • Divine and Contingent Order
      • The Ground and Grammar of Theology, also available as free audio lectures
      • Theological Science
      • and many, many more!
    • Some excellent introductions to Thomas F. Torrance:
      • Thomas Torrance, James Torrance, David Torrance, A Passion for Christ
      • Elmer Colyer, How to Read T. F. Torrance: Understanding His Trinitarian & Scientific Theology
      • Alister McGrath, T.F. Torrance: An Intellectual Biography
      • Gerrit Dawson, ed., Introduction to Torrance Theology: Discovering the Incarnate Saviour
      • Elmer Colyer, The Promise of Trinitarian Theology: Theologians in Dialogue with T. F. Torrance
      • Paul Molnar, Thomas F. Torrance: Theologian of the Trinity
    • Some You’re Included episodes which discuss Thomas F. Torrance:
      • Elmer Colyer 2: The theology of Thomas Torrance, the vicarious humanity of Christ, and the logic of grace.
      • Elmer Colyer 4: The practical theology of Thomas F. Torrance.
      • Baxter Kruger 2: Jesus has united himself with us.
      • John McKenna 2: The freedom we have because God loves us and is not angry with us.
      • Paul Molnar 1: The importance of keeping Christ at the center of our thoughts about God.
      • Paul Molnar 2: Saved by the God Who Freely Chose to Enter into Our Humanity – Salvation is us as humans being drawn into Christ’s relationship with God the Father who is not imprisoned by his changelessness to become human.
      • Paul Molnar 4: The Giver Is the Gift
      • David Torrance 3: Not My Will, But Yours: how God led him into ministry.
      • Robert Walker 1: Who Christ is for us, and he has faith for us.
      • Robert Walker 2: God the Father was in Jesus Christ, as God become human, who took our humanity into the very heart of God and gave us a new humanity in the process.
    • My Posts:
      • Listening Long
      • Evangelicals and Evolutionary Creation
      • Christmas reflections – Immanuel
      • Hilary on Divine Omnipotence
      • and more.

32. Robert Walker
    • Nephew of T.F. Torrance, IVP bio page
    • Books: editor of Thomas F. Torrance, The Incarnation and The Atonement.
    • You’re Included:
    1. Walker 1: Who Christ is for us, and he has faith for us.
    2. Walker 2: God the Father was in Jesus Christ, as God become human, who took our humanity into the very heart of God and gave us a new humanity in the process.
    3. Walker 3: Implications of Jesus’ Resurrection – Jesus resurrection is our freeing from death and sin, and it is the beginning of the reconstitution of everything in Christ.

33. Bruce Wauchope
    • Perichoresis Australia; online store
    • Videos:
      • GCI Conference, Perth, Australia, 2011, “How the Gospel works out in our lives.” Website and program. Part 1 (Baxter Kruger); Part 2 (Wauchope); Part 3 (Kruger); Part 6 (Wauchope).
      • A compact version of “What is the good news?” appears on the Grace Walk doctrinal statement (scroll down to find it).
      • “What is the good news?” Part 1; Part 2; Part 3.
      • The Gospel and Mental Health
      • Trinity, Relationships and Sexuality
      • “Living as God Lives.” Presented at two monthly Perichoresis meetings: Part 1, August 2011; Part 2, Sept 2011.

34. Paul Young
    • Windrumors (website); The Shack website
    • Books:
      • The Shack
      • The Shack: Reflections for Every Day of the Year
      • Cross Roads
    • My posts:
      • Is God really good? Can I trust Him in my Shack?
      • Resources for Reflecting upon The Shack
    • You’re Included:
    1. Young 1: How The Shack was written, and the nature of relationship is embedded in the Trinitarian character and nature of God.
    2. Young 2: The popular view of God as a Christianized Zeus or Gandalf-with-an-attitude as opposed to the loving Father portrayed by the “prodigal’s father.”
    3. Young 3: The disconnect many people experience in trying to trust the “angry” God who requires his Son’s death.
    4. See also Young’s talks at Mariner Church and Fuller Seminary (download the latter at iTunes by searching for “William Paul Young”).
    5. Baxter Kruger 5: William Paul Young’s book The Shack illustrates the triune God’s love for all humanity. See also Baxter Kruger, The Shack Revisited: There Is More Going On Here than You Ever Dared to Dream (2012).

* Note: John McLeod Campbell, Karl Barth, Thomas F. Torrance and James B. Torrance do not appear in any of the You’re Included episodes, but they are listed above because they are often discussed in these conversations. Indeed, they are discussed so frequently that watching the entire You’re Included series is one of the most effective ways to be introduced to their theology and influence.

To all of the above participants: Thank you for sharing in such an accessible way! You and your books are providing me a path through the desert and a shining light in the darkness.

——————
This page will remain a work in progress, revised as new episodes, books, videos and other resources appear.

| Intro | What is Trinitarian theology? | Trinitarian theologians: Anderson | Barth | D Campbell | JM Campbell | Colyer | Dawson | Deddo | Feazell | Fee | Hart | Hunsinger | Kettler | Kruger | McKenna | McSwain | McVey | Metzger | Molnar | Morrison | Newell | Nordling | Parry | Purves | Rogers | Root | Thimell | Tkach | Alan Torrance | David Torrance | James B. Torrance |Thomas F. Torrance | Walker | Wauchope | Young |
———————