Latest Blog Entries

For his “Learning to See” podcast, Brian McLaren of the Center for Action and Contemplation interviewed photographers Thomas Jay Oord and Christy Lubbers Berghoef. Here’s a link to the interview. Much of the conversation revolved around Christy and Tom talking about experiences in nature as photographers. They told stories, discussed the effects of climate change, […]

An essay I wrote on imitating God has just been published. My essay is in an academic book called Exemplars, Imitation, and Character Formation (Routledge). Eric Yang is the book’s editor, and contributors examine the relevance of exemplars and the practice of imitation in character formation. My arguments use Ephesians 5:1,2a as a springboard. This […]

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. After being found guilty at my queer church trial, I have been talking with news sources, radio (BBC), podcasts, and more. And there are more developments in the works. I’m writing this while in Britain. I’m living out of a backpack for a month as I travel […]

On July 25, 2024, I underwent a church trial for being LGBTQ+ affirming. I was charged with teaching contrary to the Church of the Nazarene’s stance on human sexuality (I’m queer affirming). And I was charged with conduct unbecoming a minister for the various things I did to advocate for change in the denomination’s stance […]

I face a church trial near the end of July. I’m charged with teaching against the Church of the Nazarene’s statement on Human Sexuality. I’m queer affirming; the denomination is not. I’m also charged with conduct unbecoming of a minister for arguing the denomination should be fully inclusive. I fully affirm queer people; I want […]

I face a church trial in late July 2024 for being queer affirming. To prepare, I’ve written a lengthy defense. And I’ve decided to publish it before the trial to make my arguments available to the public and not just the jurors. My arguments are published in My Defense. The eBook version can be purchased […]

I want to bring you up to date on the charges and pending trial I face for advocating for my LGBTQ+ friends and their allies. CLICK THE IMAGE TO WATCH THE VIDEO ABOUT ME First, a bit about me for those who may not know me. I am Thomas Jay Oord, professor of theology at […]

In our book God After Deconstruction, Tripp Fuller and I explore the good reasons people deconstruct and offer an open and relational theological response. We think this theology makes better sense than traditional theologies, and we believe it’s better than atheism. To conclude God After Deconstruction, we offer an overview of this theological perspective to […]

In God After Deconstruction, Tripp Fuller and I explore the problems scripture presents. We show that the Bible has errors, discrepancies, mistakes, and internal inconsistencies. It is not the sure and certain foundation so many people expect, and deconstructors are right to rethink scripture. But if the Bible can’t always be trusted, then what should […]

In our book God After Deconstruction, Tripp Fuller and I explore the problems of both certainty and absolute mystery. The loss of certainty is common among most deconstruction stories. But the alternative — absolute mystery — makes almost as little sense. Our experience and the experiences of others—in multifarious forms—provide reasons to believe in God. […]