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Bryan P. Stone, an innovative educator, researcher and bridge-builder, is the Leighton K. Farrell Dean of ÕýÆ·À¶µ¼º½’s Perkins School of Theology. He joined ÕýÆ·À¶µ¼º½ on June 1.

Learn more in the Q&A below about Dean Stone’s background, why he chose to come back to ÕýÆ·À¶µ¼º½ and what he considers the biggest opportunities and challenges facing theological education today.

Q: Can you share a bit about your background and what led you to theological education?

I grew up very active in the church and was a religion major and philosophy minor in college. I went on to seminary, where I was drawn both to philosophical questions about religion and theologies of social justice and liberation. Those might seem like two very different and separate intellectual paths, but for me they came together at every turn, and I read everything I could get my hands on in philosophical theology and liberationist and feminist theologies. What I love about theology is its capacity to point, however falteringly, to God as the mystery of the universe, while at the same time inspiring and undergirding liberative action and loving communities that have the capacity to change the world.

Q: What aspects of Perkins’ mission resonate most with you?

The breadth and expansiveness of the Perkins’ mission resonates strongly with me as well as its stated mission of making theological education accessible to persons throughout the region, nation and world. I love that the mission of the school is holistic in bringing together service to the church, the academy and the world . . . and I believe it is possible (and necessary) to do all three without sacrificing any one of them.

Q: What drew you to Perkins School of Theology, and what excites you most about joining this community?

I was drawn to the Graduate Program in Religious Studies at ÕýÆ·À¶µ¼º½ because of Dr. Schubert Ogden, who became my advisor. I only ever applied to one school because of him. I had fallen in love with Wesleyan and Process theologies and wanted to study with Ogden and in a school that had a notable strength in Wesleyan studies. Originally, I did not understand that all my classes and professors would be Perkins classes and faculty, but once I was in the GPRS program, I got fully immersed in the Perkins community.

Q: What made you want to come back?

My decision to come back is a confluence of several factors. I was not looking to become a dean, but I am currently ending 15 years as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Boston University School of Theology. I found myself contemplating next steps in my career and my life when the Perkins search team came knocking. What I love most about returning to my alma mater is that Perkins is embedded as a progressive Mainline Protestant seminary in a major research university, is an important center for Wesleyan studies and is deeply committed to serving the United Methodist Church. The school has the full support of the President and Provost and is well-positioned to build on its historic strengths and legacy to face immense challenges facing theological schools at this point in history.

Q: What do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges facing theological education today?

Theological education in the U.S. is in a time of critical transition. Religious affiliation has changed radically in the U.S.; online and AI technologies have revolutionized the way people socialize, think and learn; and we are situated in a country with deep political and cultural polarization. The future of theological education must be more expansive than the sole purpose of clergy preparation. Clergy preparation is still central, but this is a time to recover the aim and purpose of theological education as much more fundamentally the practice of knowing and loving God and the things of God. Theology is for all the people of God.

Q: How do you hope to engage with students, faculty and alumni as you begin your tenure?

I love hanging out with students, faculty and alumni informally, and have, for example, hosted a regular dean’s pub night each semester while at Boston University. I’d love to do things like that, and I certainly believe strongly in attending community events, worship, lunches and student group activities (when invited!). If there is interest in developing a weekly Perkins podcast, I would love to be a part of developing that. I will be looking for ways to engage alumni and friends in virtual spaces and by holding alumni gatherings in cities where they live.

Q: What are one or two key books, theologians, or mentors that have had the greatest impact on your academic and spiritual life, and how have they influenced your career trajectory?

John Wesley’s writings have always been important in my life, and I try to read Ted Jennings’ Good News to the Poor: John Wesley’s Evangelical Economics every couple of years. Charles Hartshorne’s The Divine Relativity, John Cobb’s God and the World, and Schubert Ogden’s The Reality of God expanded my vision of a God who genuinely feels and relates to the cosmos, giving me new lenses through which to read the Christian theological tradition. The writings of theologians like Rosemary Radford Ruether, Letty Russell, Gustavo Gutierrez, Juan Luis Segundo and James Cone had a powerful early influence on the trajectory of my theology and ministry, ultimately leading me into an urban ministry I developed in Fort Worth (called “Liberation Community”) in the late 1980s. John Howard Yoder’s The Politics of Jesus, the sermons of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the writings of Gandhi influenced me greatly toward the form of pacifism to which I subscribe. More recently, I’ve been helped by the trauma-informed theology of Shelly Rambo (including especially Spirit and Trauma) and the writings of Elizabeth Johnson.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of work?

My wife and I love to travel, and we have a dog named Floyd (a cockapoo) who is the love of our lives. I am also passionate about music (my favorite is still Pink Floyd after all these years), and a couple years ago I decided to learn the guitar. It has been a blast. I only wish I had more time to play; I really want to get better at it. One of my biggest passions is cinema, and for about 30 years now, I have been integrating theology and cinema in my teaching and writing as part of my larger interest in theology and culture. But film is also a personal love in my everyday life.