Theologizin' Bigger is a book by bestselling author, pastor, podcaster, and public theologian Trey Ferguson that offers readers a common-sense, accessible, and modern perspective on the nature of God.
If you believe there is an active, divine force impacting the world around you, congratulations. You’ve been theologizin’ this whole time. Theologizin’ isn’t just for the theologians. It’s for everybody who’s thinking thoughts about God. Good thoughts. Bad thoughts. Skeptical thoughts. Undoubting thoughts. Old thoughts. New thoughts.
In Theologizin’ Bigger, Trey Ferguson tackles the messiness of believing through thoughtful interrogation and shows the unlimited potential of faith. With personal stories and some lo-fi truth-telling, Ferguson leads us through topics like how we read the Bible, our inherited traditions, accountability, our value, and a faith that can shape tomorrow.
“Ferguson’s book has deep importance for those who know (or don’t know) they’re stuck, and for anyone who feels the questions bubbling up, even those who hadn’t realized it was okay to ask them.” —Englewood Review of Books
I’ve been listening to and engaging Trey’s theologizin’ for a while now, and this book did not disappoint. It’s super readable and tackles weighty and important spiritual and theological concerns with grace, humor, and insight.
Pastor Trey is one of my favorite Twitter follows for the way he engages everyone, sincere and insincere, who shows up in his mentions. His posts have gotten me laughing, and thinking, about what it means to take seriously the things we believe about G-d, who He is, what He is like, and why we think this way or why we want to. (The ongoing conversation around penal substitutionary atonement is something else, like it always is, and it's immensely valuable to watch the implications play out in online dialogue vs. abstractly in systematic textbooks.)
He says early on in this book that this is an in-house discussion, and i know that means that this book is not primarily for me. But as scripture is also an in-house discussion (i do appreciate that framing) and yet it benefits me as i listen humbly to it, i also benefit as i listen humbly to perspectives outside the tradition i was born into. i'm grateful that Trey is willing to let us sit in on these in-house discussions. And his focus on how our beliefs shape us, in particular how our beliefs form our imaginations and lead us to either more love or more smallness, resonates deeply with me.
One paragraph i loved from one of the appendices: "People say that I have changed. That I have untethered myself from the Truth. I have yet to find the words to explain that the Mountain of Known Things is not itself the Truth. The Mountain of Known Things can prohibit you from seeing that the Truth is alive. Indeed, I have changed. Because my desire is now to see, I have seen the Truth. And what I see helps me to follow the Truth where it leads me."
i'm currently writing the last chapter of my MA thesis, trying to put into words how our theological and philosophical commitments can overshadow in our imaginations G-d's own scriptural claims to care for us. We'd often rather see Him as angry or unconcerned than see Him weep. i haven't sorted out yet how all these things fall together, but reading Trey's conclusion the same day as reading Abraham Heschel's conclusion in The Prophets, while just yesterday flipping through multiple systematic theologies along with James Cone's Black Theology of Liberation, is energizing and comforting me. Thank you, Trey. i'm grateful to learn from you.
This arrived at a perfect time. Read it too fast for a good summary, but Ferguson’s book is a great first step as an antidote to a lifetime of dogmatic, discipleship-via-information faith. Really need to re-read this one.
Summary: Essays exploring the role of hermeneutics and theology for the Christian life.
I am the kind of person who picks up an audiobook of theology because I have a full day of work to do in my yard, and I need something to keep me motivated. Theologizin’ Bigger is exactly what I needed to keep me going.
There are a lot of books that I will listen to while working and then I will get the broad overview and decide if they are worth coming back to more slowly in print later. This is a book that I think is worth revisiting in print later, not because it is hard to understand but because it is well-written and deserves careful reading.
There are 17 chapters split into four sections, and I don’t know which is my favorite. I spent a lot of time grappling with hermeneutics (how we understand the role and message of the Bible) about 10 or so years ago. I went to seminary in my early 20s. I am glad I did because it was easier to do grad school when I was young, but there are questions that I didn’t have in my early 20s because I did not have the life experience yet. For me the role of scripture was a question for my late 30s. I was aware of a number of technical issues around the Bible and biblical interpretation, but it took me longer to see more bad uses to really start grappling with the ways that the methods of our bible reading were a real part of the problem of Christianity. The chapters of on the bible may seem simple, but they are not simplistic.
I started following Trey Ferguson on Twitter because I met one of the other co-hosts of the Three Black Men podcast at a conference back in 2019. My grappling with issues of race is why I was at a Jude 3 conference in the first place. I am not new to issues around distortions of Christianity because of Whiteness, but the second section of the book, on distortions of Christianity and how his life experience matters to correcting those distortion. The reality that Christianity and Jesus was about freedom does matter. A Christianity that is not about liberating people isn’t a real Christianity.
There is a real thread that goes through the third and fourth sections of the book, but I think it is more subtle than the first two sections. In many ways it is a continuation of the theme of liberation. Part of liberating people from bad Theologizin, that has a God and vision for faith that is far too small is confronting the wrong ideas. Trey Ferguson was on the Gravity Common’s podcast talking about the problems with Penal Substitutionary Atonement as it is normally presented and at the end of the podcast he was asked to preach the real gospel. That podcast I think showed the real focus of the last two sections, not that they are concerned solely with PSA but that like PSA, we have to “lean into mystery” and focus on a “rehumanizing project” as his last two chapters are called.
Faith matters, and part of why Ferguson is calling us to a large view of theology and our role in it, is because the small view of what it means to understand our role in the world needs a bigger view. A strong view of boundary setting, which is what many in the Christian world want to focus on, will limit what it is that we can do in the world. Even if our understanding of God is often too small, God is not a small God.
My one complaint is a standard complaint for me. I really do prefer that authors read their own books. Trey is a pastor and speaker. He hosts two podcasts and is regularly on other people’s podcasts. He has a distinctive voice, not just the sound of his voice but the content of his voice and while this audiobook was fine, it wasn’t his voice. And I would have preferred it to be his voice.
This is our June read for our local book club and I cannot WAIT to discuss this with my friends. There were numerous times I'd read something, catch my breath, read it again, and just sit in awe at Trey's words. I have dozens of sections that I highlighted for myself, so narrowing it down for this was not easy.
"Theologizin' bigger is not about seeing the cards God is holding. It's about partnering with God long enough to know you've found a trustworthy partner. The path to wholeness is paved by the helper who's fully committed to seeing you thrive...
"There is no conclusion to theologizin' bigger. It's the never-ending commitment to living and loving more freely each and every day...
"Theologizin' bigger is an act of love...
"Love is the commitment to wholeness. Theologizin' bigger is the journey we take to understand God in light of this ultimate commitment. It's how we become better neighbors. It's how we learn to love better."
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"Reading and interpreting the Bible often tells us more about ourselves than it tells us about God."
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"The truth of the matter is that the Bible is not as concerned with conveying *facts* as it is with communicating *truths.*"
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"In a fair world where community is valued, interpretations would be put in conversation. In a world where inequality passes for order (and order is valued over justice), one interpretation has to dominate the others. And so we call questions slippery slopes. We treat seekers as threats. We search for the facts that secure our position."
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"The American dream, the way of Jesus, integrity. Pick two."
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"The choice before us is whether we will lean on Jesus's life--or his death--as gospel...
"There is a gospel that centers the reality of death. It will make some sense of who Jesus *was.* And there is a gospel that centers the possibilities of life. It will show you where Jesus *is.*"
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"Jesus stands with the marginalized and vulnerable. Every time. And on purpose."
Trey Ferguson’s book of sermons is the most honest and insightful, and the least tiptoeing writing on Christianity I’ve read since discovering Borg and Crossan about twenty years ago. Ferguson calls out various unhealthy Christianities— taking the time to consider how we end up there—all while telling an inspiring true story about Jesus. The one who lived and taught as well as dying. And yet, this is not a book of moralizing despair; it is so focused through a lens of love, it can’t help but be encouraging. If you’re intrigued by any of this, go for it: this book is a welcoming space. Feel free to bring your fondness for Jesus, your curiosity about God and human history— and your questions for Christianity.
While this is definitely a book about theology (along with psychology, history, and culture), it is not written for theologians. It’s for everybody with spiritual hunger and a need for authenticity. Sermons should feel more like conversations than lectures, and that is what makes this book fly by so fast. Ferguson has a pastoral heart that never seems to tire of telling and interrogating the truth. My own heart is stronger and wiser for having read this one.
Preview copy received from the author. All opinions are my own.
I loved this book! Pastor Trey has been one of my favorite social media follows for a while and always makes me laugh and also makes me think. His wit alone compels me to read pretty much anything he writes. His storytelling reminds me of Michael Harriot’s writing… hilarious but not just for the sake of being funny; laugh-out-loud humor in the service of making a thought-provoking point.
This is one of the best books I’ve read on how to read the Bible and engage in a more expansive faith. I’d especially recommend this to folks who are reevaluating their relationship with God and the Bible. I especially liked the section titled “The White Man’s Religion” and the chapter “Anything is a Heresy If You Try Hard Enough.” Pastor Trey offers an expansive, compelling vision of an embodied Christian faith that embraces mystery and challenges earthly power structures.
"If theology is art, then theologizin' is painting outside the lines"
[ N.B:one thing about my reviews is that I often have to happily teach autocorrect new words ]
This is some book! in less than 200 pages, the Rev Trey Ferguson, an African American minister and writer has taught this white middle class preacher with three Masters degrees one big lesson: that imagination is a manifestation of G-d embodied in those who call themselves Christian.
THIS is my theology with legs on it. THIS is why -almost 40 years working in ministry that I can still get excited about another facet about why I too answered G-d's call. Can a retired Caucasian woman minister theologize bigger? Thanks in part to Rev Ferguson perhaps I can. Highly Recommended 5/5
Just finished "Theologizin' Bigger" by Trey Ferguson
It was *refreshing*.
In my soul, I've been thinking: White American church experience *can't* be all there is in the US. If you too need to be reminded that there is a whole big, wide world of Jesus following out there, this is the book for you. Trey did a masterful job at navigating me past the culture war and straight to the mystery and beauty of Jesus.
It made me feel like I've spent many decades sitting in a camp chair in the middle of the hot, busy, asphalt parking lot of the beach only to have someone yell, "Hey! The beach is down here!"
This book is no less than I expected after following Trey on Twitter for some time. It’s written in a friendly manner that is like Trey patting the seat beside him for you to come and chat with him. He addresses questions that most of us have mulled over inwardly at some point in our lives. He walks through the dynamic of how we relate to God and others in a way that’s both comforting and challenging. Whether you practically live at church or have sworn to never return to one, this book is for you.
I was excited to read Theologizin’ Bigger, even though I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, I quickly realized this book is like a breath of fresh air. I have been crying, gasping, highlighting, feeling validated, & also getting mad because I keep asking myself, “Where was this when I needed it sooooo many years ago?!” Trey speaks with such knowledge & credibility, in a way that both inspires and heals. I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially those who have been hurt by toxic theology, whatever that looks like in your life. It releases this week. Buy it today!
Pastor Trey Ferguson talks in this book about how he is a provocative Twitter presence and so he is in his book "Theologizin Bigger" as well. In the book, he discusses his views on the Bible, his wrestling with Scripture as well as his own personal story of being raised in the black church and attending a mostly white Evangelical seminary. He speaks of a Christianity rooted in conviction (that the guardians of the timeless truths of the faith are important) while also calling people to a greater imagination. Really enjoyed reading this book!
There’s no way for me to write a review that captures how changed I feel by this book. So, I’ll leave you with a quote about theologizin’ bigger, the concept, to explain how I feel about the book of the same name. “It calls into question whether things have to stay the way the way they are. It expands our capacity for redemption and renewal. It helps us to empathize with the many people who struggle under the conditions we’ve inherited, and it energizes us to work alongside them to eradicate those conditions.”
I know Trey from Twitter. When he’s not roasting herbs for being proudly ignorant in public, he drops his own style of commentary on a variety of topics, including religion. From the jump, it was evident that this man was composing enough material to fill a book and more.
There are no prerequisites for engaging with this book as it’s written for anyone who has come into contact with religion, meaning pretty much everyone. It’s excellent & I could not be more excited to see this happen!
Trey’s writing resonates with me at the deepest level. Many people are waiting and yearning for a description of faith like this. This book is packed full of wisdom. Trey affirmed some of my deepest yet subversive convictions, and he challenged me to think deeper and bigger in other areas. For anyone who believes that God and theology must be bigger than the binaries and battles today, this is your book!
Absolutely beautiful. I loved it all and plan to return to various homilies in the foreseeable future. I’m a “fan” of Pastor Trey and have always appreciated his thoughtfulness. This work is better than I could have imagined. Simple, yet deep. I was stirred thinking about how to help others (and myself) live in wholeness and tap into the imaginations we have thanks to our Creator. I’ll be pondering these words for quite some time.
Pastor Trey has a wonderful way of using his voice to help you to think about theology and Jesus and community in a slightly different way. He gives narrative to an open handed view of God, love, community and religion. It's been almost a year and I want to reread this book as I think I have left some thoughts on the table that I want to review to see where they sit with me now. It is an excellent work and I highly recommend if for no reason to stir up your own internal dialogue.
This book is encouraging, challenging, and inspiring. It’s a call to imagine better and then create a better world patterned after the life of Christ. The theological imagination many of us have inherited isn’t serving us well, but we can go bigger.
I cannot recommend this insightful and powerful book enough!
I love this book. I have enjoyed listening to Trey on Three Black Men and The new living Treyslation podcast. Trey puts into words, so many thoughts I have about God. I appreciate being given the permission to not know all the answers. To break past the boundaries that have been built around God and religion. The permission to think deep, ask questions. I enjoy Trey’s voice throughout this book.
Do you want a book about faith that doesn’t box you in, but encourages you to think critically? That encourages you to be curious and ask questions of God? That still honors Him, but also honors the brain that He gave you? This is a book for you! This is not your seminary teacher’s theology book, this is a “textbook” for public and real life theology.
Trey's book is one for dreamers and imaginers. He deftly writes personally and biblically about how his theology has expanded and grown. He motivates us to do the same. He is firmly rooted in scripture, tradition, in social justice, but gives us permission to imagine, to play, and to dream of new possibilities as we relate to God. Loved this book. Recommended for pastors and laypeople alike.
I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say every page I read had my brain going “!!!!!!” Trey’s book had me laugh, crying, and feeling so seen. I look at the world differently because of this book. I’m more hopeful. I’m more fiercely committed to humanity. Trey wrote a whole dang book, and it’s an excellent one.
Trey has been a favorite of mine on Twitter and this book didn’t disappoint. It’s funny yet deep and made me think of certain things: like heresy, deconstruction and shame in totally different ways. We are discussing this book as our next book club with Trey himself making an appearance and I’m super excited!
A fantastic read! Trey Ferguson is a much needed voice in Christian spirituality and religious imagination. This book keeps it simple without making you feel dumb; it warms the heart without stroking your ego. May we all seek to theologize bigger!
It didn’t take me long to feel as though this book was written for people like myself. It is a great challenge and reminder to keep pushing for wholeness, expanding and growing in theology, and to be liberated in the image God called for us to be. Definitely recommended as a must read.
As part of my Lenten process, I'm going slowly through books like this so I can appreciate them for their excellence. I've followed Pastor Trey on Twitter for a while and found myself regularly challenged and comforted. This book is more of the same, bless him. Come join us in theologizin' bigger.
Pastor Trey helps us to imagine bigger and better what God might really have for us. But to see that we also must have faith and courage to allow God to help us imagine better. Super thought-provoking, and guaranteed to challenge your status quo.