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Retrieval for the Sake of Renewal
Timothy George as a Historical Theologian
Foreword by David S. Dockery
Afterword by Timothy George
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
To borrow imagery from C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Timothy George's perspective as a historical theologian is the wardrobe that we can walk through to get to Narnia, an exciting new place where we discover the wonderful works of Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, Luther, Wesley, and many others. George is one of the most respected church historians, theologians, and Christian educators of our time. But how did this Baptist preacher from Tennessee become a premier church historian and follow in the footsteps of great historians like the Harvard scholar George Huntston Williams (who was a Unitarian), the Duke scholar David Steinmetz (who was a Methodist), and the Yale scholar Jaroslav Pelikan (who was a Lutheran and later Eastern Orthodox)? This book will uncover how each of these influences contributed to George's eye-opening, heart-warming, and kingdom-advancing approach to the study of church history.
Christopher R. Hanna is the department chair and professor of theological studies at Highlands College. He serves as an associate pastor at Church of the Highlands, the largest church in Alabama. He completed his MDiv at Beeson Divinity School of Samford University (2016). He studied historical theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned a ThM (2019) and completed his PhD dissertation (2020).
“Timothy George is a bright spot within American evangelicalism, both for his outstanding scholarship as well as for his commitment to the church and ecumenism from an evangelical standpoint. I am grateful for Chris Hanna’s work, which sheds new light on George’s life and intellectual influences and shows the importance of theological retrieval for the sake of the renewal of the contemporary church.”
—Gavin Ortlund, senior pastor, First Baptist Church of Ojai
“This marvelous encomium to my friend Timothy George is very well deserved. A faithful gospel preacher, a fine church historian, an expert ecumenist, a worldwide leader in theological education, and a pioneer of Baptist and free church catholicity, George is one of the most influential Christians at work today. Chris Hanna has done excellent work telling George’s story. This is a true labor of love that deserves a broad hearing.”
—Douglas A. Sweeney, Beeson Divinity School
“Timothy George, along with David Dockery, is a pioneer in the pursuit of evangelical Baptist catholicity. Many of us look to him as a theological exemplar and methodological mentor. Chris Hanna has done us a great service in this compelling study of George’s life, work, and influences.”
—Matthew Emerson, Oklahoma Baptist University
“One cannot understand the revived interest in the Reformation and historical theology in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries without reading and learning from Timothy George. I am so thankful for Christopher Hanna’s Retrieval for the Sake of Renewal as it finally helps us understand the theological formation of George and, thus, our own theological heritage in a way that edifies and glorifies God. This is a wonderful and timely book.”
—Jason G. Duesing, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
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