Brian D. McLaren (born 1956) is an American author, speaker, activist, public theologian and was a leading figure in the emerging church movement. McLaren is often associated with postmodern Christianity.

Education and career

Raised in

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...

, in the conservative Open Brethren, part of the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...

, McLaren became attracted to the countercultural

Jesus Movement The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement that began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, Central America, Australia and New Zealand, befo ...

in the 1970s. He is a faculty member and Dean of Faculty for the Centre for Action and Contemplation. McLaren attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

where he received both a B.A. (1978) and M.A. (1981) He holds an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Carey Theological Seminary, Vancouver. In 2010 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Virginia Theological Seminary (Episcopal). From 1978-1986 McLaren taught college English. He helped form Cedar Ridge Community Church, a non-denominational church in Spencerville, Maryland, in 1982. He was founding pastor and served in that capacity until 2006. The church eventually grew to include 500 members. In 2011, McLaren defended Rob Bell's controversial book ''Love Wins'' against critiques from figures such as Albert Mohler, who argued that Bell advocated

universalism Universalism is the philosophical and theological concept within Christianity that some ideas have universal application or applicability. A belief in one fundamental truth is another important tenet in universalism. The living truth is se ...

. In 2013, McLaren stated that he did not believe homosexual conduct to be sinful. In 2015, McLaren was recognized by ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine as one of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America.

Personal life

McLaren is married and has four children and five grandchildren. In September 2012, McLaren led a commitment ceremony for his son Trevor and partner Owen Ryan at the

Audubon Naturalist Society Nature Forward (formerly Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic States, or Audubon Naturalist Society) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation and education. The organization holds two properties ...

in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Publications

Children's Books

Sole-authored Books

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Co-authored books

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Books part of a Series

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Co-edited volumes

References

Critical references

* Carson, D. A. ''Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church''. Grand Rapids, Michigan Zondervan, 2005. * Erickson, Millard. ''Postmodernizing the Faith: Evangelical Responses to the Challenge of Postmodernism''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1998. * ________; Helseth, Paul Kjoss; and Taylor, Justin eds. ''Reclaiming the Center: Confronting Evangelical Accommodation in Postmodern Times''. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2004. * Smith, R. Scott. ''Truth and the New Kind of Christian: The Emerging Effects of Postmodernism in the Church''. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2005.

External links

*
"Evangelical Author Puts Progressive Spin On Traditional Faith"
(''Washington Post'', September 10, 2006)
Video interview/discussion
with Richard Land on Bloggingheads.tv

Interviews

Interview with Brian McLaren on "Finding Our Way Again"
by ReadTheSpirit.com

by ReadTheSpirit.com {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaren, Brian 1956 births Living people American evangelists Emerging church movement American Christian religious leaders 21st-century Protestant religious leaders Christian radicals Christian bloggers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers