Knowing And Loving God

With J.T. English and Jen Wilkin

Theology is a passion of mine. It wasn’t until seminary school that I realized how little I knew about the things that shape our perception of God. Since then, I have dedicated my life and ministry to sharing this knowledge with others because it shapes everything about our lives.

I was recently joined by my friends J.T. English and Jen Wilkin, who love theology as much as I do. They have written a whole book about it. Their new book ‘You Are a Theologian: An Invitation to Know and Love God Well’ is honestly every Christian’s bookshelf essential.

We had a chat about the book and their writing process. This is our (edited) conversation:

Jennie: What made you fall in love with theology?

Jen: I was a practitioner in the local church. I didn't have the tools I needed to do the work well, and I didn't have a lot of access points. I never had access to the option of a seminary education either. I had to cobble together what I could learn about theology on an as-needed basis as I was teaching Bible Studies or leading the seventh-grade girls’ Sunday school in the local church.

My husband became my dialogue partner, and we fumbled our way forward. I eventually started working with J.T. at The Village, and we partnered in this for the local church. Part of the joy in this is in giving this knowledge away. I remember thinking “How have I been a Christian this long, and no one has told me that this historic understanding of the faith is out there?” I realized that it's much bigger and deeper than I was ever taught. Partnering with J.T. and bringing that into the local church context has been an absolute joy.

J.T.: I didn't grow up in the church or with an understanding of God or scripture. The Lord saved me during my freshman year at Colorado State University. I spent a lot of time in nonprofit parachurch ministries. And although I was thankful for these ministries, I realized that I didn't know my Bible very well. I didn't know how to think about God properly.

I went to my pastor at the time and expressed my desire to grow. He said I needed to go to seminary. I didn't even know what seminary was. So, I started looking them up. I ended up at Dallas Seminary, and I felt so intimidated and out of place in those classrooms. All of a sudden, I realized the riches that I was being given to know and love God. I remember thinking, “How can I not give these things away?”

I realized in those classes that this would bring life to so many Christians. It would invigorate the life of local churches, home groups, and Bible studies. I have since decided to find ways to help people know and love God well in the context of local churches and conversations.

Jennie: You’ve written your book in such an easy-to-grasp way. Talk to the person who has no intention of teaching. Why do they need this book?

J.T.: The basic idea of the book is that you are a theologian. That can feel like an academic word to most, but everyone has thoughts and beliefs about who God is and what He has done. This essentially makes us all theologians. You are a theologian. So, be a good one.

God has made himself known in Scripture and Christ. So, we have the opportunity to know and love God well.

And so many people don’t, both outside and within the church.

My mom and stepdad have recently come to faith. They're not the kind of people who’ll pick up a 500-page book with more footnotes than our book has pages. So, we wanted to show everybody that you can do this.

This is the kind of book we wanted to put in the hands of everyday Christians who've never thought of themselves as theologians.

We wanted to show them that they can know and love God in deeper ways.

Jen: Over the last 20 or 30 years, we've also seen a pattern in discipleship that's more therapeutic than formational. We've gotten to a place where people want to have deep feelings for God, but they don't know how to think deeply about Him. You can see it in some of the statistics we pulled in the book.

We realized that many Christians did not know the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. So, we feel a sense of urgency around this. Every believer must pass the good deposit from one generation to the next. But how do we pass the good deposit that was given to us if we can't articulate or even learn to love it because we've not even been exposed to it?

Jennie: There's some theology you didn't put in the book, and I think it was intentional. I read that you wanted to stay simple. Let's talk a bit about what got left out.

J.T.: One of the reasons people are scared of theology is that most of what they know divides Christians among Christians.

We're beginning to realize that there's so much that unites Christians in this increasingly post-Christian-secularizing world. And so, we wanted to highlight the things we agree on.

Churches have been putting the wrong emphasis on the wrong syllable for a long time. Of course, we need to talk about topics like baptism and communion practices. But we wanted to make sure that Christians in all places are agreeing on the things we know to be true about God. We wanted this book to facilitate charitable and loving brotherly or sisterly conversations around the things we disagree on.

Jennie: I love the heart behind that. And I agree that there's so much we all agree on. What was the most fun thing to write about?

Jen: I loved writing on the attributes of God the most. We tried to play to our strengths in the generation of the content. But J.T. is a Ph.D.-educated theologian, so I had him review a lot of passages. He wrote on The Trinity and the doctrine of salvation.

J.T.: What was hard for me in the whole process is that I've written at an academic level, but we wanted to make this accessible to every reading level. My favorite chapter was the one I thought would be the least exciting for me. And it's the chapter about the end times.

I was nervous about the chapter, but the book ends with the highlight that Jesus is King and He's coming back to make everything new.

Jennie: There's something powerful about male and female friendships and being able to write a book together. Talk about that choice; it feels a bit rare. How did y'all decide to do this together, and what was that process like?

Jen: We're friends who've been doing the work together for a long time. I also think male-female friendships that yield ministry fruit are rare in the church. J.T. and I are committed to a vision of the church as the family of God. When the church is a true family, then it has brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers. And so, I'm grateful for how he has held the door for me on so many occasions to show me someone who is a church Mother.

In addition to giving me a way to enter into that space, we like each other and enjoy doing ministry together. He is my brother. I have four earthly brothers, and the idea that I get to have this spiritual brother to do this good work with is amazing.

This is the way it should look, and you don't see it enough. I wouldn't say we wake up in the morning going, “How can we prove a point to people?” We have a great working relationship and a deep friendship and we're happy to show others that it's possible. Not only is it possible, but we’re also made for it.

Jennie: We all experience God differently based on the way we were built. It doesn't change His attributes or who He is, but the way we experience Him is different. Talk about the freedom in the way we express the truths we believe.

J.T.: When I got into college, I suddenly began loving theology because it helps me experience and interact with God in ways that might be different for somebody else. For me, it was opening the scriptures, reading, writing, and having conversations that lit a fire in me.

This book is the fruit of ministry together. We’ve knocked on each other's doors on several occasions to ask for the other’s help or opinion. And that's how we experience God differently; it’s in the context of community. I needed Jen as my sister. I needed her experience with God in growing, loving, and knowing Him in deeper ways to help me know, love, and grow in deeper ways.

Not every theologian needs to be an academic. This book is not inviting everybody on an academic journey. Rather, it is inviting everybody on a journey to love God as whole people – head, heart, soul, mind, and body. Some people experience God by reading a heavy book on theology and others experience Him through preaching. Other people might do it in the context of community.

What we're trying to say in this book is that we all need each other in those experiences.

Not one experience can be elevated over another, but we need each other in the context of local churches or communities so we can learn from one another and grow deeper into the love and knowledge of God.

Jennie: What do you hope happens because of this book? What's your dream?

Jen: We're hoping the conversation starts. It's not meant to be done alone, but we're in a heavily individualistic culture. And so, people can get wrapped up in that as it relates to their belief system. But the Bible says we’re not built for that. We’re built to be in communion with God and community with each other.

We're hoping that this book is an entry point into a good conversation. It's not exhaustive; it is an introduction. So, we're hoping it will pique people's curiosity. Conversations will ensue from there.

We have spent a lot of time in all-female spaces. But J.T. and I are hoping some of these conversations would cross from all-female or male spaces to being shared conversations.

Although there’s a need for single-gender spaces, you also want spaces of shared dialogue because men and women inhabit the world differently. So, we need to learn from each other.

J.T.: Many people may have been intimidated to enter into a theological dialogue, or they don't see themselves as learners. But that's essential to discipleship. So, I hope people who pick up the book realize that they can do this. We aren't expecting finished products who read the book and analyze it. We're expecting people who haven't felt invited to the conversation. We’re welcoming beginners on the journey.

J.T. and Jen’s book belongs on your bookshelf! It is a wonderful introduction to theology that will leave you longing for more and equip you for those conversations we all need to have around our view of God. You can get your copy of ‘You Are a Theologian: An Invitation to Know and Love God Well’ right here and at book retailers near you.