Revd Dr Jacob Lett |

Revd Dr Jacob Lett

Vice Principal (Academics), Dean of the Faculty, and Senior Lecturer in Theology

I joined the faculty of Nazarene Theological College in the summer of 2021. Prior to arriving at NTC, I was the Associate Professor of Theology at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Kansas, my native state. I was “thrown into” (Heidegger’s geworfen) theology while living in remote region of Asia. It was in my interactions with people from various Asian minority areas that I was confronted with the strangeness of Christian ideas and developed a passion for testing the elasticity of Christian theology. The questions that arose during our time in Asia led me to pursue theological research at NTC as a MA and a PhD student and continue to inform the way I theologize.

I teach and supervise research in the areas of theology, historical theology, and contextual/integrative theology. My recent research is on Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. I have published articles on his theology and am due to publish a book on his Christology in 2022 with the University of Notre Dame Press. My current interests include Christology, the doctrine of God-Trinity, contemporary Wesleyan theology, the doctrine of creation, theological language, and theological contextualization/integration. Inquiries from students who want to study or research theology in these areas or others are welcome.

When I’m not in the office, I’m with my family: Whitney and our children, Rowan and Beatrice. We spend most of our time walking in parks, riding bikes, reading, tree watching, and gardening. I also roast my own coffee, and, when I had spare time before having kids, I enjoyed woodworking and remodeling our home.

Nazarene Theological College, University of Manchester (2021-)
Senior Lecturer in Theology
VP of Academics and Dean of the Faculty Fellow at Manchester Wesley Research Centre

Nazarene Theological Seminary (2019-)
Faculty Advisor (DMin Research Supervisor) Adjunct Instructor

MidAmerica Nazarene University (2011-2021)
Associate Professor of Theology Scholar of Center for Science and Faith Previous Roles (pre-2015):
Visiting Lecturer of Theology Adjunct Professor
Director of Continuing Education Resources for Pastors Graduate Assistant
College Church of the Nazarene (2014)
Pastor of Cross-Cultural Mission

Chuxiong Normal University in China (2010-2011)
English as a Second Language Instructor
*5 years of experience working with Chinese; 4 years of experience teaching ESL

Revd Dr Jacob Lett has a comprehensive educational background in theology, with his studies primarily conducted at Nazarene Theological College, University of Manchester. Here is a summary of his educational qualifications:

Doctor of Philosophy in Theology (2019): Jacob completed his PhD at Nazarene Theological College, University of Manchester. His dissertation was titled “Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Dramatic Soteriology: A Theology of Representation,” which was recognised as the Outstanding Dissertation of the Year by the Wesleyan Theological Society in 2020. During his doctoral studies, he was also a Junior Fellow in Theology at the Manchester Wesley Research Centre.
Master of Arts in Theology (2013): He earned his MA in Theology with distinction from Nazarene Theological College, University of Manchester. His thesis focused on “Jurgen Moltmann’s Doctrine of Creation: Towards a More Integrative Approach to His Doctrine of Creation.”
Bachelor of Arts in Intercultural Studies (2010): Jacob completed his undergraduate studies at MidAmerica Nazarene University, achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.96. He graduated with honours, including the President’s Honor Roll, Summa Cum Laude, Alpha Chi Honor’s Society, and was recognised in Who’s Who.

Revd Dr Jacob Lett has made significant contributions to theological scholarship through various publications, including books, journal articles, and book chapters. Here is a detailed list of his works:

Books

A Theology of Representation: God, Drama, and Salvation in Hans Urs von Balthasar, with a foreword by Cyril O’Regan, published by University of Notre Dame Press in 2023.
Sanctifying Theology: At the Intersections of Wesleyan Theology, Dogmatics, and Practice, edited with Jonathan Platter, published by Pickwick in 2023.

Academic Journal Articles and Book Reviews

“Transcendence, Holiness, and the Interruption of the Spirit” in Didache (Autumn 2023).
“A Christology of History and Contextualization: Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Mission Christology and Kosuke Koyama’s Contextualizing Christology” in Missiology (Spring 2023).
“Christ Who is Our Peace: Ephesians 2 and a Theological Ontology of Place,” co-authored with Jonathan Platter, in Journal of Theological Interpretation (Spring 2022).
“Emplaced Theosis: The Incarnational Metaphysics of Hans Urs von Balthasar and the ‘Place’ of God” in Wesleyan Theological Journal (Fall 2020).
Review of Homo Abyssus: The Drama of the Question of Being by Ferdinand Ulrich in Wesleyan Theological Journal (Spring 2020).
Review of Christ the Heart of Creation by Rowan Williams in Reviews in Religion and Theology (December 2019).
“Divine Roominess: Spatial and Musical Analogies in Hans Urs von Balthasar and Robert Jenson” in Pro Ecclesia (August 2019).
Review of The Uncontrolling Love of God: An Open and Relational Account of Providence by Tom Oord in Philosophy, Theology, and the Sciences (April 2016).
“Jurgen Moltmann’s Doctrine of Divine Action: Towards a More Integrative Approach to His Doctrine of Creation” in Wesleyan Theological Journal (Fall 2014).

Book Chapters

“When the Spirit Descends: Wesleyan-holiness Foundations for Women in Ministry” in Faithful to the Call: Women in Ministry, edited by Carla Sunberg, forthcoming.
“Why Spiritual Formation: A Trinitarian Understanding of the Formation of Holiness in Wesley’s Pastoral Letters” in Why Holiness, edited by Carla Sunberg, Foundry Publishing, 2019.
“Salvation” in Basic Beliefs: A Wesleyan Paradigm, edited by Diane Leclerc and Mark Maddix, Beacon Hill, 2016.
“The Beauty of Holiness: Changing Our Rhetoric” in Renovating Holiness, edited by Josh Broward and Thomas Jay Oord, SacraSage Press, 2015.

Revd Dr Jacob Lett has presented at various academic and theological conferences, including:

“An Evangelical Analogia Entis?” – Tyndale Fellowship Study Groups Conference, July 3, 2024.
“Transcendence, Holiness, and the Interruption of the Spirit” – Global Theology Conference, Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 5, 2023.
“Christology, Drama, and Vicarious Representation: Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theology of Stellvertretung” – Tyndale Fellowship Study Groups Conference, June 23, 2022.
“Counselor as Stellvertretung: the Counselor as the Embodiment of the Metaphysics of the Trinity” – Co-presented with Todd Frye at the Christian Association for Psychological Studies, Atlanta, Georgia, March 13, 2020.
“Emplaced Theosis: Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Incarnational Metaphysics and the ‘Place’ of God” – American Academy of Religion, San Diego, CA, November 22, 2019.
“Divine Roominess and Eschatology: Spatial and Music Analogies in Hans Urs von Balthasar and Robert Jenson” – Wesleyan Theological Society, Washington, DC, March 16, 2019.
“Death, Drama, and Liberation in Hans Urs von Balthasar: Tragedy Contained in Christ’s Eucharistic Being” – One Day Theology Conference, Manchester, UK, June 15, 2018.

Nazarene Theological College, University of Manchester (2020-)
Research Supervision for PhD Theses and MA/BA Dissertations
Holiness in the Christian Tradition
Knowing God in Christ (undergraduate)
Knowing God in the Spirit (undergraduate)
Literature Review (MA): various topics Prayer and Personhood (MA)
Theological Ethics (undergraduate)
Wesleyan Theology (pre-MA)

Nazarene Theological Seminary (2019-):
all graduate level
Faculty Advisor (DMin Research Supervisor)
Theology After von Balthasar: God, Drama, and Salvation (Graduate)
The Theology of Gregory of Nyssa (Graduate)

MidAmerica Nazarene University (2014-2021):
all undergraduate level
Contemporary Christian Thought
Christian Theology and Worldview
Doctrine of Holiness