John Nugent is the Professor of Theology at Great Lakes Christian College and Co-host of the weekly After Class Podcast (in its seventh season). He is an ordained minister within the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ and a devoted member of Delta Community Christian Church. He has written five books, edited six books, written multiple articles, presented at multiple conferences, and holds leadership positions within and beyond the local church. He is married to Beth and together they have three wonderful daughters: Alexia, Sierra, and Alissa. John is a Long Island native who still roots for the Yankees, yearns for New York pizza, loves the ocean, and works pretty much all the time. Above and through all of this, John aspires to be a faithful follower of Jesus, member of Christ's body, mentor of church leaders, and teacher of God's Word.
Education
- Ph.D. in Theology, Calvin Theological Seminary (2009)
- Th.M., in Theology and Christian Ethics, Duke Divinity School (2001)
- M.Div., with concentration in Old Testament, Emmanuel Christian Seminary (2000)
- B.R.E., Great Lakes Christian College (1995)
Current Service to the Church, World, and Academy
- Professor of Theology & Vice President of Academic Affairs at Great Lakes Christian College
- Elder for Delta Community Christian Church (Lansing)
- Co-Host of the weekly After Class Podcast
- Editor for the Stone-Campbell Journal
- Bible commentator for David C. Cook's Standard Lesson Commentary
Prior Service
- Conference Planner for The Ekklesia Project (2016-2018)
- Assistant Editor of the Stone-Campbell Journal (2017-2018)
- Consulting editor for the Stone-Campbell Journal (2012-16)
- Associate Professor of Old Testament at GLCC (2004-5)
- Instructor in Bible and Theology and Campus Minister at GLCC (2003-4)
- Instructor in Bible and Theology and Registrar at GLCC (2002-3)
- Adjunct Instructor for Prophetic Literature class at GLCC (2002)
- Church Planter for North Shore Christian Church, Rocky Point, NY (2001-2)
- Residence Manager for Aid to the Developmentally Disabled, Riverhead, NY (2001-2)
- Associate Campus Minister at NC State University, Raleigh, NC (2000-1)
- Associate Minister at First Christian Church, Erwin, TN (1997-2000)
- Youth Minister at Duplain Church of Christ, St Johns, MI (1995-6)
- Residence Supervisor for GLCC (1995-6)
- Program Director at Oddfellow and Rebekah Youth Camp, Baldwin, MI (1994-5)
Books
- Priestly Presence: A Church for the World's Sake (Fortress 2024 May)
- The Fourfold Office of Christ (Cascade Books 2024)
- Editor of Restoration Appreciation: The Rich Legacy and Hopeful Future of the Stone-Campbell Movement (Wipf & Stock, 2022)
- Genesis 1-11, Polis Bible Commentary (Urban Loft 2019)
- Endangered Gospel: How Fixing the World is Killing the Church (Cascade Books 2016)
- Theologies of Baptism and the Formation of Children and Youth, with Debra Dean Murphy, Pamphlet 22 in the Renewing Radical Discipleship series of Ekklesia Project Pamphlets, ed. Joel Shuman (Wipf & Stock, 2016)
- Co-Editor of John Howard Yoder, Real Christian Fellowship (Herald Press 2014)
- Co-Editor of John Howard Yoder, Revolutionary Christian Citizenship (Herald Press 2013)
- Co-Editor of John Howard Yoder, Radical Christian Discipleship (Herald Press 2012)
- Editor of The End of Sacrifice: The Capital Punishment Writings of John Howard Yoder (Herald Press 2011)
- The Politics of Yahweh: John Howard Yoder, the Old Testament, and the People of God (Cascade Books 2011)
- Editor of Radical Ecumenicity: Pursuing Unity and Continuity after John Howard Yoder (Abilene Christian University Press 2010)
Published Articles
- "The Old Testament" in The T&T Clark Handbook of Ecclesiology (T&T Clark, 2021)
- “The ‘Weaker Sex’ or a Weak Translation? Strengthening our Interpretation of 1 Peter 3:7,” Priscilla Papers 32, no. 3 (Sum 2018): 8-11
- “Beyond Pacifism and Militarism: A Canonical Approach to Christians and Warfare,” Stone-Campbell Journal 19, no. 2 (Fall 2016): 205-217
- “Why We Need a New Wave of Restorationism,” in Restoration Appreciation Week 2016, a GLCC pamphlet (Wipf and Stock 2016)
- "End of Sacrifice: John Howard Yoder’s Critique of Capital Punishment” in Let Us Attend: The Theological Reading of Scripture as Political Act (Fortress Press 2015)
- “Nation and Nationalism,” in The Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ethics (Oxford University Press 2014), 76-84
- “A Yoderian Rejoinder to Peter J. Leithart's Defending Constantine” in Constantine Revisited (Wipf & Stock 2013)
- “Politics of YHWH: John Howard Yoder’s Old Testament Narration and Its Implications for Social Ethics” Journal of Religious Ethics 39.1 (Mar 2011): 71-99
- “A Yoderian Rejoinder to Peter J. Leithart's Defending Constantine” Mennonite Quarterly Review 85.4 (Oct 2011): 551-73
- “Kingdom Work: John Howard Yoder’s Free Church Contributions to an Ecumenical Theology of Vocation” in Radical Ecumenicity (ACU Press 2010)
- “Biblical Warfare Revisited: Extending the Insights of John Howard Yoder” in Power and Practices: Engaging the Work of John Howard Yoder (Herald Press 2009)
- “Was Alexander Campbell Enslaved to Scottish Baconianism” Stone-Campbell Journal 12 (Spr 2009): 15-30
- "Karl Barth” in The Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, and Culture (Sage Reference Library 2009)
- Feature article, “The Full Story” Standard Lesson Commentary (Standard Publishing 2008)
- “Kingdom-Driven Church” Christian Standard (September 18, 2005)
- “Why Christians Should Not Ask Whether it is Appropriate to Watch Rated-R Movies” Christian Standard (June 2, 2002)
- “The Enduring Value of Small Churches” Christian Standard (May 12, 2002)
- “A Communion Meditation” Christian Standard (August 12, 2001)
Online Publications
- “Chris Pratt Preaches” Think Christian (Jun 21, 2018)
- “Voting for God’s Kingdom” Think Christian (Aug 22, 2016)
- “Are you Voting Christianly or Christendomly” Think Christian (Aug 5, 2016).
- "The Pretense of Lesser Evil Voting" Think Christian (July 19, 2016)
- “Time for Another Purge?” Think Christian (July 22, 2014)
- “Different But Not Equally Defensible: A Response to Leithart’s Defense of Defending Constantine” Englewood Review of Books (Oct 25, 2013)
- Review of Andy Crouch’s Playing God, Englewood Review of Books (Oct 4, 2013)
- “A Truly Biblical Wedding Feast” Think Christian (Sept 29, 2013)
- “Embracing a Zealous Jesus” Think Christian (Aug 22, 2013)
- “Antoinette Tuff and Romans 12:21 in action” Think Christian (Aug 23, 2013)
- “A Yoderian Rejoinder to Leithart’s Defending Constantine” Englewood Review of Books (Dec 17, 2010)
Book Reviews
- John Goldingay, Do We Need the New Testament? in the Stone-Campbell Journal 19, no. 2 (Fall 2016): 275-276
- Jerome F. D. Creach, Violence in Scripture, Stone-Campbell Journal 18 (Spr 2015): 108-9
- Eric A. Seibert, The Violence of Scripture, Stone-Campbell Journal 17 (Spr 2014): 129-30
- David T. Lamb, God Behaving Badly, Stone-Campbell Journal 16 (Fall 2013): 119-20
- Thomas Yoder Neufeld, Killing Enmity, Englewood Review of Books 2.1 (Advent 2011): 17-18
- Victor Matthews' Old Testament Themes, Stone-Campbell Journal (Fall 2006)
- Alister McGrath, “I Believe”: Exploring the Apostles’ Creed, Stone-Campbell Journal 2 (Fall 1999): 271-272
- Robert Alter, Genesis: Translation and Commentary, Stone-Campbell Journal 1 (Spring 1998): 124-126
Conference Presentations
- “Getting Our Story Straight: OT Beginnings, NT Fulfillment, and the Church’s Ultimate End,” three plenary addresses at the Michigan Christian Convention (Lansing 2019)
- “Beyond Pacifism and Militarism: A Canonical Approach to Christians and Warfare” plenary address at the Stone-Campbell Journal Conference (Knoxville 2016)
- “Believers Baptism and the Formation of Youth” The Ekklesia Project (Chicago 2015)
- “Conversations about Christian Anarchism” Christian Scholars Conference (Nashville 2013)
- "Kingdom of Priests: An Underdeveloped Image of the Church" Christian Scholars Conference (Nashville 2013), Ecclesia and Ethics (Online 2013), and Stone-Campbell Journal Conference (Lincoln, IL 2012)
- "The Emergence of Non-Earthly Conceptions of Afterlife in Second Temple Jewish Literature: A Challenge to the Second Century BCE Dating" Stone-Campbell Journal Conference (Nashville 2013) and Society of Biblical Literature Conference (Chicago 2012)
- A Conversation about Peace with Richard Hughes at the Stone-Campbell Journal Reception, Society of Biblical Literature (Chicago 2012)
- “With and Against the Grain: Stanley Hauerwas and the Tumultuous Tale of Natural Law” Christian Scholars Conference (Malibu 2011)
- “The End of Sacrifice: John Howard Yoder’s View of Capital Punishment” Christian Scholars Conference (Malibu 2011)
- “The Politics of YHWH: John Howard Yoder’s Old Testament Narration and Its Implications for Social Ethics" Stone Campbell Journal Conference (Cincinnati 2011) and Society of Biblical Literature and Society of Christian Ethics (New Orleans 2009)
- “Kingdom Work: John Howard Yoder and the Possibility of a Free Church Theology of Vocation” Stone-Campbell Journal Conference (Cincinnati 2010) and John Howard Yoder and the Stone-Campbell Churches Conference (Indianapolis 2009)
- Panel Review of Radical Ecumenicity, Christian Scholars Conference (Nashville 2010)
- “Primeval Matriarchy and the Fall of Leadership: John Howard Yoder’s Provocative Reading of Genesis 1-3 and 1 Timothy 2” Stone-Campbell Journal Conference (Cincinnati 2009)
- “Biblical Warfare Revisited: Extending the Insights of John Howard Yoder” Stone-Campbell Journal Conference (Cincinnati 2008) and Inheriting John Howard Yoder: A New Generation Examines His Thought Conference (Toronto 2007)
- “Was Alexander Campbell Enslaved to Scottish Baconianism” Stone-Campbell Journal Conference (Cincinnati 2006)