Biographical Sketch of J. Todd Billings

Raised as an American Baptist in McPherson, KS, I had a number of “life-shaping” experiences in high school as I spent several months in countries such as the Congo, Thailand, and Gibraltar on various mission and service trips. I attended Wheaton College for my B.A., entering as a Christian Education major, and ending with majors in Philosophy and English. I fell in love with the texts of Nietzsche and Gadamer. But during a six month immersion trip doing community development in Uganda my senior year, I also fell in love with Christian ministry. This was further confirmed after teaching at a theological school in Ethiopia for a year after graduation. So I scrapped the plans for a Ph.D. in philosophy and went to Seminary instead.

I went to Fuller Theological Seminary for my M.Div., attracted largely by the opportunity to take classes from Miroslav Volf. Volf ended up being my first theological mentor and guide, and I was a Teaching Assistant for Volf at Fuller. While I was appreciative of many of the professors at Fuller, two others had a particularly significant impact: John Thompson instilled in me a love for historical theology and the Reformed tradition in particular. And Marianne Meye Thompson helped me take my first baby steps toward the necessity of developing a theological hermeneutic of scripture.

Having come to love learning and teaching, I continued on for a doctorate in theology. I attended Harvard Divinity School, working with a variety of professor there including Francis Schussler Fiorenza, David Lamberth, and Kevin Madigan. My advisor and mentor for this time was Sarah Coakley – a superb theologian and teacher. In the diverse context of Harvard, ecumenical aspects of my identity where accented, but I also found myself growing deeper into the Reformed tradition. So when the Professor of Reformed theology position opened up at Western Theological Seminary, I felt like it was a very strong match.

While in Massachussetts I was active as an elder in the Presbyterian Church USA, and served on staff for five years at First Church Shelter in Cambridge. After moving to Western Seminary, I became an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America. I am delighted to serve at Western which is a sacramentally-minded school in the Reformed tradition. It draws its identity from the synergy in three words – evangelical, ecumenical, and Reformed.

I am married to Rachel Billings, who is a doctoral candidate in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Harvard (and a fabulous baker!) The most relaxed member of our household is Max, our Welsh Corgi.

©2008 J. Todd Billings