Mills named executive director of Theology Matters

Theology Matters press release:

Rev. Bob Mills

It is with great joy and thanksgiving that we, the Board of Directors of Theology Matters, announce that we have called the Rev. Bob Mills to serve as the ministry’s Executive Director, beginning September 15, 2014.

More than a year ago, Sue Cyre told the board of her desire to retire as executive director of Theology Matters. She expressed her belief that God was calling her to a new focus in ministry, one that would allow her to pursue writing projects that God has laid on her heart for at least fifteen years. She is eager for the time now to focus on those projects.

We have spent many months praying and working diligently to craft a new vision for Theology Matters to expand its ministry to the Church in the 21st century. Once we could see God’s leading, we turned our attention to seeking the person that God had already prepared to carry that vision into the future. We didn’t have to look far. We saw immediately that Bob Mills had already demonstrated a love for the Church of Christ, a deep understanding of and commitment to the board’s vision, and the gifts and enthusiasm to implement the vision.

Bob has been a member of the Theology Matters’ board for many years and has contributed a number of articles to the publication. He was ordained in the PCUSA and for several years served as pastor of a church near Hannibal, MO. He then served as writer, editor, and director of publications for the Presbyterian Lay Committee. For the past ten years, he has been a university professor. In addition, he is a talented musician.

Bob Mills understands the critical nature of the times we are in and the theologies that are undermining Christian faith and wreaking havoc on the Church. We are confident that under Bob’s leadership Theology Matters will continue to be an important resource for your family and your congregation as you seek to respond faithfully to the God who has called us. We rejoice that God has raised up Bob to lead this important ministry.

Our History

It has been more than twenty years since November 1993 when the Re-Imagining God conference, heftily supported and organized in part by offices of the PCUSA, was held in Minneapolis. The exposure of the worship of Sophia and the milk and honey “communion” service that took place there showed faithful Christians of all denominations that radical feminism and progressive theology had become a major force in the mainline church. Sue Cyre, who was to become executive director of Theology Matters, was an eye witness and primary reporter of this event.

In response to the false theologies exalted at the Re-Imagining conference, Theology Matters was born. Like many other effective ministries, it began over a kitchen table with a mailing list made up of names and addresses from the Rolodexes of its two visionary women pastors: Sue Cyre and Kari McClellan (a Philadelphia-area pastor who became the ministry’s first president).

Theology Matters is in its 20th year of publication. We now have more than 15,000 on our mailing list, from not only the U.S. and Canada, but also places like Pakistan, India, China, the Philippines, and Zimbabwe.

Sue Cyre’s Words of Thanks

As a board, we celebrated with deep appreciation Sue’s two decades of ministry when we met together in May of this year. As Sue turns her attention in a slightly different direction, she has words of thanks for those who have supported her and Theology Matters for so many years. Sue writes:

This ministry has always belonged to God but he worked through you. God led you to send a note of encouragement or a gift at just the moment it was most needed. I am so grateful for your support all these years. You may never know how much your notes, emails, and gifts encouraged me in ministry. I give thanks to God and to you for letting me be a part of this ministry for all these years. It has been a precious gift and blessing to me.

 One reader wrote recently:

You … are doing an excellent work of researching and bringing to light some topics that seem almost ‘too hot to handle’ for our pastors. It is a real breath of fresh air to see that truth is being spoken, unapologetically, through this bold little publication. I am praying for it to reach many ears, minds, and hearts.

What an encouragement this reader’s words are to me and the board! What a privilege it has been for me to be involved in helping the truth to be spoken boldly and unapologetically.

 God has sustained this ministry faithfully for twenty years. He provided writers who agreed to write substantive articles without being paid for their effort. We’ve never had more than a few thousand dollars in the bank but when it came time to take an issue to the printer, God provided for our needs through you, and the money needed was there. Now God has provided again by raising up a new leader in Bob to carry the ministry forward.

 A Special Need

Sue has added a special appeal to her friends and supporters:

I have been blessed all these years to be able to serve Theology Matters as a volunteer. We have had no paid staff so all of your gifts went directly to printing and postage for Theology Matters.   Theology Matters, however, has grown too large to be served only by a volunteer. We now have the challenge of being able to pay Bob at least a part-time salary. I hope that you will continue to support Theology Matters and, knowing our special need now, perhaps donate a few dollars more, or contact your congregation’s mission committee and ask if they would consider putting Theology Matters into the church budget for 2015.

 I know some of you only through emails and notes. Others I’ve met at General Assemblies or various other meetings over the years. You are all in my heart. May the Lord continue to bless you and your families. May the Lord continue to exalt his name and build his church through your love for him.

 You can see that Sue has not lost her love for Theology Matters or her desire to see the ministry continue to prosper. We on the board share her hope and her expectation that this ministry will thrive in these troubled times when it is most needed.

Looking with you to the future,

The Board of Directors of Theology Matters:

Rev. Dr. Mark Atkinson            Rev. Carolyn Poteet

Rev. Dr. Kari McClellan            Elder Terry Schlossberg

Rev. Dr. Jeff McDonald            Elder Alan Wisdom

Elder Kaye Motovidlak             Rev. Dr. Randy Working

Rev. Dr. Randy Otto                  Elder Lisa Van Riper