Thomas Johnston is a first-year Intern Pastor at Calvary Lutheran Church, Richland Hills, Texas. He is also finishing his Master of Divinity degree at Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University. Johnston serves as a steering committee member for Lutherans Alliance for Faith, Science, and Technology, and frequent book reviewer for Currents in Theology and Mission.
Book Review: Christ and the Common Life: The Case for Democracy by Luke Bretherton
December 2024/January 2025: Vocation in Turbulent Times (Volume 24 Issue 6)
[1] In the aftermath of the 2024 United States Presidential Election, Christians are wrestling with more constructive ways of living out their faith-life and civic duties. Unfortunately, political discourse of late has created a gulf within the church catholic in the United States as Christians are drawn into the culture wars and hyper-partisan politics. There […]
Book Review: 4D Formation: Exploring Vocation in Community by Andrew Tucker
April/May 2024: Protecting Children: What Is the Role of the ELCA? (Volume 24 Issue 2)
[1] Quite often church leaders and academics find themselves challenged to interpret the theological dialogue on vocation to their colleagues or students. Some theologians make painstaking attempts to bring abstract theological concepts into modern contexts and everyday parlance. Andrew Tucker is one of those theologians. When I learned that his book 4D Formation: Exploring Vocation […]
Book Review: Chasing the Devil at Foggy Bottom: The Future of Religion in American Diplomacy by Shaun A. Casey
June/July 2023: Book Review Issue (Volume 23 Issue 2)
[1] Chasing the Devil at Foggy Bottom: The Future of Religion in American Diplomacy is an argument for the importance of religious competency in foreign policy. Author Shaun Casey, a religious scholar, was the founding director of the US State Department’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs in the Obama Administration. This book serves as […]
Book Review: What Do We Do When Nobody Is Listening? Leading the Church in a Polarized Society by Robin W. Lovin
[1] As society grapples with growing polarization, one might ask: where is the church in this conversation? Robin W. Lovin, Professor Emeritus of Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University addresses this question in his latest book, What Do We Do When Nobody is Listening? Leading the Church in a Polarized Society. His thesis […]
The Paradoxical Vision: Robert Benne’s Public Theology in the 21st Century
[1] Dr. Robert Benne, prominent Lutheran theologian and ethicist is the closest Lutheran theologian who actively utilizes the theology of Reinhold Niebuhr’s “Christian Realism” within a Lutheran framework.[1] Dr. Benne has been a public theologian for the past 30 years and has explored different theological and ethical concepts, authored numerous books, and served as professor […]