Dr. Christian Scharen

Professor and Gordon Braatz Chair of Worship

Headshot of Dr. Christian Scharen

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Areas of Expertise

  • Practical Theology
  • Liturgy
  • Preaching
  • Social Ethics
  • Ministerial Leadership
  • Ethnography and Theology
  • Pop culture and religion
  • Queer theology
  • Settler Colonialism
  • Indigenous History in the United States
  • Vine Deloria, Jr.

EDUCATION

  • Ph.D., Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia), 2001
  • M.Div., Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (Berkeley, California), 1996
  • M.A.R., Graduate Theological Union (Berkeley, California), 1995
  • B.A., Pacific Lutheran University (Tacoma, Washington), 1989
  • Certificate, College of Arts, Science, and Technology (Kingston, Jamaica), 1987
  • Anti-Racism trainings: People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (Undoing Racism, Oakland, Spring 2017); Metro New York Synod, Brooklyn (3 trainings, 2 intro + 1 in depth, June 2021, June 2022); Equity in the Center (focus on whiteness and leadership, Spring 2021); Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (faculty training, December 2022)

Biography

A practical theologian, he was ordained a pastor in the ELCA in 2001. He holds the Ph.D. in Religion from Emory University and has written or edited more than a dozen books and many articles, book chapters, and research reports. His research and writing focuses on theology, worship and the arts, pastoral leadership, social justice, and theological education. His early work on theological ethnography helped spark an international movement bringing together sociology and theology in the study of the church. His most recent book is co-authored with Aana Vigen, Ethnography as Christian Theology and Ethics: A Completely Revised 2nd Edition (T&T Clark). He is currently working on a decolonial theological memoir about his family, the Ingalls of The Little House on the Prairie books, and a book on Christian worship before and after Christianity became the religion of Empire. He enjoys cooking, poetry, and music, especially learning to play on his grandfather’s 1910 Washburn bowl back mandolin. He is married to Pierrette Comulada, and together they have three adult children, Isaiah, Finn, and Owen, and a bulldog named Walt.

Published works

After Laura: Notes on Inheriting a Pioneer Legacy in America (Forthcoming, publisher tba).

Custer Died For Our Sins: A Practical Theology of Settler Repair in America(forthcoming from Fortress Press, 2027)

Ethnography as Christian Theology and Ethics, A Fully Revised Second Edition, with Aana Marie Vigen. T&T Clark Studies in Social Ethics, Ethnography, and Theologies (T&T Clark, 2024).

Someone Has To Care: The Roots and the Prophetic Vocation of Hip Hop (Cascade Press, 2021).

You Belong Here: Sowing Seeds of a New Nation, with Chris Alexander, Francisco Diaz, Erica Ramirez, and Mary Laurel True (Auburn Studies 24, Fall 2019).

Making Theology Matter: Field Education as the Practical – Prophetic Heart of Effective Ministry Preparation (Auburn Studies 23, Fall 2018)

(Not) Being There: What Works and Why in Online Distance in Theological Education (Auburn Studies 23, Winter 2017).

Bright Spots in Theological Education: Innovation in 21st Century Faith Leadership Education with Sharon Miller (Auburn Studies 22, Summer 2016).

Learning Pastoral Imagination: A Five-Year Report on How New Ministers Learn in Practice with Eileen Campbell-Reed (Auburn Studies 21, Winter 2016).

Christian Practical Wisdom: What it is, Why it matters with Dorothy Bass, Kathleen Cahalan, Bonnie Miller-McLemore, and James Nieman (Eerdmans 2016)

Fieldwork in Theology in The Church and Postmodern Culture Series, James K. A. Smith, series editor (Baker Academic 2015)

Serving the Assembly’s Worship: Assisting Ministers. Worship Matters Series.(Augsburg Fortress, 2013)

Worship Matters: An Introduction, with Jennifer Baker-Trinity, Erik Christensen, Callista Isabelle, Miriam A. E. Schmidt, and Paul E. Walters (Augsburg Fortress, 2012)

Ethnography as Christian Theology and Ethics, with Aana Marie Vigen (Continuum 2011)

Broken Hallelujahs: Why Pop Music Matters to Those Seeking God (Brazos 2011)

Faith as a Way of Life: A Vision for Pastoral Leadership (Eerdmans, 2008)

One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God (Brazos 2006)    

Public Worship, Public Work: Character and Commitment in Local Congregational Life  (The Liturgical Press, 2004)

Married in the Sight of God: Theology, Ethics, and Church Debates over Homosexuality (University Press of America, 2000)

Academics

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