Tony Jones (theologian)

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Tony H. Jones
Rev. Dr. Tony Jones
Born	(1968-03-31) March 31, 1968 (age 56)
Nationality	United States of America
Other names	Anthony Hawthorne Jones
Education	Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary (2011)
Occupation(s)	Pastor, author, co-founder of the Emergent Church Movement
Years active	1993–present
Known for	Progressive Theological Views
Notable work	Did God Kill Jesus: Searching for Love in History's Most Famous Execution
Spouse(s)	Julie McMahon (1997-2009) Courtney Perry (2011-present)
Children	3 children (with first wife, Julie McMahon)
Religion	Emerging Church (Progressive Christianity, Christianity)
Church	Colonial Church of Edina, (1997) Solomon's Porch, (2008–present)
Offices held	Police Chaplain, Edina Police Department (1999-2008) Emergent Village National Coordinator, (2005-2008)
Website	tonyj.net

Tony Jones is an American theologian, author, blogger, and speaker who is a leading figure in the emerging church movement and postmodern Christianity.^[1][2][3]

Jones graduated from Dartmouth College in 1990 with a B.A. in classics. He then studied at Fuller Theological Seminary, earning a Master of Divinity and specializing in systematic theology and postmodern philosophy. He then attended Princeton Theological Seminary, but left the school after finishing the coursework for a Ph.D, leaving with All but dissertation (ABD) status. He later completed his Ph.D. in 2011 with a dissertation on the ecclesiology of the emerging church, which was then edited and published as The Church is Flat.^[4] Jones is ordained within the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches.^[5]

Jones began his career as the Executive Director of YouthWorks Missions from 1994 to 1997.^[6] He then served as a youth pastor at a church in Edina, Minnesota and a chaplain to the city's police department.^[7] From 2005 to 2008 Jones was National Coordinator of The Emergent Village, an organization in the emerging church movement. Jones left Emergent Village in 2008 after his position was phased out when the organization tried to create more grassroots involvement, but is still actively involved in the movement.^[8][9]

In 2006, Jones co-convened the first meeting^[10] of Emergent church and "Jewish emergent" leaders;^[11] he recounted the episode, which drew criticism from conservative Christians, in his book The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier.^{[12][13][14][15][16][17]}

Jones serves as the Distinguished Lecturer in the Practice of Theology at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Jones is an adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, although his Christian Spirituality Cohort is currently postponed.^{[18] [19]} He is also an adjunct professor at at Andover Newton Theological School.^[20] Jones is formerly an adjunct instructor at St. Cloud State University,^[21] as well as serving as the Theologian-in-Residence at Solomon's Porch, the church pastored by Doug Pagitt.^[22]

Jones' blog was hosted by Beliefnet in 2009, then self-hosted for a time, then hosted by Patheos. When hosted by Patheos in April 2014, it was 31 in the top 300 Christian blogs online according to churchrelevance.com.^[23] As of January 2015, Jones' blog has become self-hosted again.^[24]

Jones is the author or editor of nineteen books and dozens of academic articles, writing on subjects such as postmodernism, youth ministry, ecclesiology, the emerging church, spiritual formation and theories of the atonement.^[25] He has argued in favor of René Girard's interpretation of the atonement as well as advocating for equal rights for those in the LGBT community.^{[26][27][28][29]}

Jones co-owns The JoPa Group, a "social media consulting and event planning company" with Doug Pagitt.^[30]

Jones has also developed a mobile app, Ordain Thyself, which "lets you experience mock ordinations in more than two dozen religions"^[31]. Jones worked with Tim Urness (developer), Gerardo Obieta (graphics), and Matt Glatzel (project manager) to create the app.^[32]

While Jones intended the app to be educational, a Lutheran minister has said that "the app "belittles" the ordination process,"^[33], with Johnnie Moore of Liberty University saying "contributes to religious stereotyping."^[34] The app contains "brief and humorous summaries of various world religions."^[35] Jones has dismissed criticisms by saying: "Ordination, in a lot of ways, is in the eye of the beholders."^[36] He also reacted by saying: "Honestly, I think that religious leaders often take themselves too seriously."^[37], "Religion is serious business to be sure, ... But it could use a little stand up comedy to lighten us up."^[38] The app's website suggests that concerned users "find an app that can deliver you a better sense of humor."^[39]

Others are concerned at the app's lack of depth, with Moore also saying, "I kind of wish that all of this effort had been put into something a little more educational ... Americans could really benefit from efforts to better understand world religions."^[40] However, he has praised it for its ability "to start a conversation." As well as traditional religions, the app also explores popular-culture faiths such as "the Klingon religion from "Star Trek," the "Dudeist" faith inspired by the film "The Big Lebowski" and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster."^[41]

In October 2014, Jones was invited to travel to Rome to visit the set of "a movie based on Anne Rice’s novel, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt."^[42] This was Jones' fifteenth trip to Rome, and it was funded by Focus Features and A Different Drummer. They have embargoed his comments until the movie is released.^[43]

In 2010 Jones encouraged Minnesota clergy to stop performing legal marriages, as a show of solidarity with LGBT people who could not be legally married in the state at that time.^[44] Lisa Miller of the Washington Post questioned whether Jones' position was influenced by his acrimonious divorce from his first wife, and "a wish to avoid legal entanglements the second time around."^[45] Miller also criticized the likely outcomes of Jones' position, calling it impractical, "muddled and retrograde."^[45] Miller's concerns were that an absence of legal safeguards was "bad for the financially vulnerable partner (historically the woman) and for children," "a promise to God will not make a deadbeat parent pay child support."^[45] Tony Jones' ex-wife, Julie McMahon, was critical of Jones' political position, writing: "It is a total cop-out to have just a sacramental marriage ... I am old school and I think that loving someone wholly is to share in legal property and assets as well."^[45] Marriage historian Stephanie Coontz also criticized Jones' refusal to issue state marriage licences because it "penalizes heterosexual couples who are coming to the church without actually winning anything for same-sex couples."^[45]

Jones' concerns were that the US same-sex marriage debate "has been bogged down … by a blurring of religious and legal definitions of marriage." Two factors contribute to these blurred definitions: religious groups' activism against same-sex marriage, and clergy acting as both religiously sanctioned and state-sanctioned agents during a wedding.^[45] Jones advocated for a European model of marriage, where the religious and legal elements are administered by separate authorities at separate times and locations. The advantage of this model is that the state could grant couples marriage licenses regardless of gender, and then "individual churches or denominations could decide to bless the committed, loving union of same-sex couples. Or not."^[45]

In 2011, Jones turned his blog posts on marriage theology into an eBook on Amazon, There Are Two Marriages: A Manifesto on Marriage. This book was withdrawn by the author in 2015.^[46]

In 2012 Jones testified before the Minnesota Senate, arguing for changes in the state's laws regarding parental custody following a divorce.^[47] He has also described his views on equal parenting time, and how (heterosexual) divorce laws and courts favour the mother, on his blog.^[48][49]

In 2015, Jones released a statement documenting his Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) clinical diagnosis in 2009, and his ongoing therapy.^[50] He also alluded to his condition in a 2013 book review, where he de-stigmatizes, humanizes, and normalizes "somewhat narcissistic" behavior as common amongst authors, preachers, and lecturers. He writes: "Those of us who want to change the world ... are inherently confident of our position, and we’re out to convince others."^[51] However, he also acknowledges the dark side of wanting to change the world: "A lot of people have gone down in flames ... They’ve lost sight of their loved ones and ended up with broken relationships."^[52]

In 2015, Jones' colleague Peter Rollins also engaged in activism to de-stigmatize "narcissistic defenses." He writes: "Narcissism seems particularly easy to hate because ... an individual ... thinks they are better than everyone else."^[53] He then normalizes narcissism as a universal behavior: "We all have defenses." ^[54] Rollins speaks about embracing humility through religious "rituals and communities that help us face our struggles and narcissism."^[55] His goal is that "Here we come to embrace the fact that we are not the center of our own universe at a deeply personal level."^[56] Rollins also raises concerns that the New Atheism is unable to "help people experience the humility it proclaims," and free them from narcissism.

Jones is divorced and has three children.^[57] He lives in Minnesota with his second wife, Courtney Perry.^[58] In 2011, they participated in what Jones called a "sacramental marriage," a ceremony without a legal marriage contract. They wished to show solidarity with same-gender couples, who could not be legally married in Minnesota at the time.^[45] Jones and his second wife were legally married in 2013, once same-gender couples could marry in their state.^[59][60]

• Postmodern Youth Ministry: Exploring Cultural Shift, Cultivating Authentic Community, Creating Holistic Connections (Youth Specialties/Zondervan, 2001)
• Soul Shaper: Exploring Spirituality and Contemplative Practices in Youth Ministry (Youth Specialties/Zondervan, 2003).
• Pray (NavPress, 2003).
• Read.Think.Pray.Live (NavPress, 2003).
• The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life (Zondervan, 2005).
• You Converted Me: The Confessions of St. Augustine, editor (Paraclete Press, 2006).
• Divine Intervention: Encountering God through the Ancient Practice of Lectio Divina (NavPress, 2006) (revision of Read.Think.Pray.Live, 2003).
• The Most Difficult Journey You’ll Ever Make: The Pilgrim’s Progress, editor (Paraclete Press, 2006).
• The Practice of the Presence of God, editor (Paraclete Press, 2007).
• An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, co-editor with Doug Pagitt (Baker Publishing House, 2007).
• Ask Seek Knock: Prayers to Change Your Life (NavPress, 2008) (revision of Pray, 2003).
• The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier ( Jossey-Bass, 2008).
• The Teaching of the Twelve: Believing and Practicing the Primitive Christianity of the Ancient Didache Community (Paraclete Press, 2009)
• There Are Two Marriages: A Manifesto on Marriage (The JoPa Group, 2011), withdrawn from Amazon by the author in 2015.
• The Church Is Flat: The Relational Ecclesiology of the Emerging Church Movement (The JoPa Group, 2011)
• A Better Atonement: Beyond the Depraved Doctrine of Original Sin (The JoPa Group, 2012)
• Questions That Haunt Christianity: Volume 1 (The JoPa Group, 2013)
• Phyllis Tickle: Evangelist of the Future (Paraclete Press, 2013)
• Did God Kill Jesus: Searching for Love in History's Most Famous Execution (HarperOne, 2015)

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