Visiting Scholar
About Brian D. McLaren
Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is an ecumenical global networker among innovative Christian leaders.
Born in 1956, he graduated from University of Maryland with degrees in English (BA, summa cum laude, 1978, and MA, in 1981). In 2004, he was awarded a Doctor of Divinity Degree from Carey Theological Seminary in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and in 2010, he received a second honorary doctorate, this one from Virginia Theological Seminary (Episcopal). In 1982, he helped form Cedar Ridge Community Church, an innovative, nondenominational church in the Baltimore-Washington region (crcc.org).
Brian has been active in networking and mentoring church planters and pastors since the mid 1980's,
and has assisted in the development of several new churches. His public speaking covers a broad range of topics including postmodern thought and culture, Biblical studies, evangelism, leadership, global mission, spiritual formation, worship, pastoral survival and burnout, inter-religious dialogue, ecology, and social justice.
His first book, “The Church on the Other Side: Doing Ministry in the Postmodern Matrix”, has been recognized as a primary portal into the current conversation about postmodern ministry. His second book, “Finding Faith”, is a contemporary apologetic, written for thoughtful seekers and skeptics. "More Ready Than You Realize" presents a refreshing approach to spiritual friendship. "Adventures in Missing the Point" explores theological reform in a postmodern context. "A Generous Orthodoxy", is a personal confession and has been called a "manifesto of the emerging church conversation."
"A New Kind of Christianity", won Christianity Today's "Award of Merit" in 2002, and has become one of the pivotal texts for what is increasingly called "Emergence Christianity." It was followed by "The Story We Find Ourselves In", which seeks to tell the Biblical story in a fresh way. Brian concluded this trilogy with "The Last Word and the Word After That", a book that reopened the question of hell and final judgment.
In "A New Kind of Christianity", Brian articulated ten questions that are central to the emergence of a postmodern, post-colonial Christian faith. His 2011, "Naked Spirituality," offers "simple, doable, and durable" practices to help people deepen their life with God.
Brian's books have been translated into many languages. He has written for or contributed interviews to many periodicals, including Leadership, Sojourners, Tikkun, Worship Leader, and Conversations. He is an active and popular blogger, a musician, and a songwriter.
A frequent guest on television, radio, and news media programs, he has appeared on Larry King Live, Nightline, and Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. His work has also been covered in Time (where he was listed as one of American's 25 most influential evangelicals), Christianity Today, Christian Century, the Washington Post, Huffington Post, and many other print media.