Brian McLaren

• Honorific Prefix — The Reverend • Name — Brian D. McLaren • Born — 1956 • Education — University of Maryland • Religion — Christianity • Congregations — Cedar Ridge Community Church, Spencerville, Maryland (1982–2006)

Raised in Rockville, Maryland, in the conservative Open Brethren, part of the Plymouth Brethren, McLaren became attracted to the countercultural Jesus Movement in the 1970s. He is a faculty member and Dean of Faculty for the Centre for Action and Contemplation. McLaren attended the University of Maryland where he received both a B.A. (1978) and M.A. (1981) He holds an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Carey Theological Seminary, Vancouver. In 2010 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Virginia Theological Seminary (Episcopal). From 1978 to 1986 McLaren taught college English. He helped form Cedar Ridge Community Church, a non-denominational church in Spencerville, Maryland, in 1982. He was founding pastor and served in that capacity until 2006. The church eventually grew to include 500 members. In 2011, McLaren defended Rob Bell's controversial book Love Wins against critiques from figures such as Albert Mohler, who argued that Bell advocated universalism. In 2013, McLaren stated that he did not believe homosexual conduct to be sinful. In 2015, McLaren was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America.

McLaren is married and has four children and five grandchildren. In September 2012, McLaren led a commitment ceremony for his son Trevor and partner Owen Ryan at the Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

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• Interview with Brian McLaren on "Finding Our Way Again" by ReadTheSpirit.com • Interview with Brian McLaren on "A New Kind of Christianity" by ReadTheSpirit.com

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• Carson, D. A. Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church. Grand Rapids, Michigan Zondervan, 2005. • Erickson, Millard. Postmodernizing the Faith: Evangelical Responses to the Challenge of Postmodernism. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1998. • ________; Helseth, Paul Kjoss; and Taylor, Justin eds. Reclaiming the Center: Confronting Evangelical Accommodation in Postmodern Times. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2004. • Smith, R. Scott. Truth and the New Kind of Christian: The Emerging Effects of Postmodernism in the Church. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2005.