The term “theology” often brings to mind scholarly discussion and intellectual contemplation rather than the practicalities of daily life. But Dr. Ryan Tafilowski, chair of the Theology Department and assistant professor of Theology at Denver Seminary, has learned to “do theology” every day—and he teaches his students to do the same. 

What makes Denver Seminary’s Theology Department special, he says, is that it is staffed by practitioners. “We all work actively as pastors,” he explains. “We’re always doing theology with an eye toward what it does in our vocation.” 

Ryan himself is the lead pastor of Foothills Fellowship Church, a small Baptist church in Littleton, Colorado. In this role and others, he has learned—and teaches about—practical faith, and how to act theologically.  

First Came Theology 

Ryan discovered his love for theology around the age of fourteen. His father was then the lead pastor at Foothills Fellowship Church, and several Seminary professors were active members there. Key among them was the renowned philosopher and apologist, and Denver Seminary professor Dr. Gordon R. Lewis, who became Ryan’s mentor. 

“He took an interest in me from a young age,” Ryan recalls. “He poured time and energy into me and instilled in me a love for Scriptures and theology.” 

Based on this love, Ryan began his career just as he planned. First, he earned a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies from Colorado Christian University. He then obtained a master’s degree in theology in history and a PhD in systematic theology from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. At Edinburgh, he served as a postgraduate instructor in theology and ecclesiastical history; at Colorado Christian, he worked as an adjunct professor of theology.  

Returning Home 

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” –Proverbs 19:21(NIV) 

After completing his degrees, Ryan “looked all over the world” for a teaching position but found nothing that suited his gifts. When his wife, Adrienne, was offered a job in Denver, and Ryan returned to his hometown, where He took positions as the Foothills Fellowship Church’s associate pastor and as an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary. 

Ryan had planned for a career in academia; what he did not plan on was becoming a pastor. Still, he and Adrienne felt that God was calling them to Foothills Fellowship. And when Ryan’s father felt the need to scale back his role there, Ryan again felt called to take on the mantle of his father’s leadership.  

“Neither Adrienne nor I envisioned our life unfolding this way, but it felt like the obedient thing to do,” Ryan said. “We’re still convinced that it was. We’ve seen God’s faithfulness again and again.”  

Ryan’s pastoral role has greatly influenced his teaching at Denver Seminary. “Rumor has it that I can make any lecture into a lecture about the Church,” he laughs. “The local church is the theater of God’s glory in the world. Jesus made Himself real to me there. Everything I do at the Seminary is filtered through that framework.” 

“Neither Adrienne nor I envisioned our life unfolding this way, but it felt like the obedient thing to do,” Ryan said. “We’re still convinced that it was. We’ve seen God’s faithfulness again and again.”  

Practical Theology 

The mention of “theology” makes some students’ eyes glaze over, Ryan says; one of them even told him that the word makes him want to “black out.” By the end of Ryan’s course, however, this student came to recognize the value—and practicality—of theology.  

Ryan tells his students that theology is “God talk.” “‘Theos’ means ‘God,’ and ‘logos’ means ‘word,’” he explains. “Logos also means organization or making sense of something. We’re trying to make sense of God as He has revealed Himself to us, and of everything in relationship to God.” 

He continues, “Theology is learning to think and live in a world where God is at the center of reality, where everything we do, see, and say makes sense in light of that.” He trains students to ask themselves, “If I put the gospel at the center of any question, what light does it shed on how we inhabit the world?”  

“Ideally, theology integrates all the other disciplines, because you can think theologically about anything at all,” Ryan notes. “A good theological education refines our theological instincts so that we are in a better position to discern what is good, true, and beautiful.”  

“Theology is learning to think and live in a world where God is at the center of reality, where everything we do, see, and say makes sense in light of that.” He trains students to ask themselves, “If I put the gospel at the center of any question, what light does it shed on how we inhabit the world?”  

Discerning What is True 

This gift of discernment is valuable in big and small ways, Ryan says. His PhD thesis explored the German church’s struggle before and during Hitler’s reign, and specifically the rise of Nazi-sympathizing church leaders in the 1920s and 30s.   

“I learned how political ideology can corrupt and compromise the Church’s witness. Sadly, it’s a relevant question for the Church in every age,” he observes. Ryan continues to research, speak, and write about this topic, as he did in episode 113 of Denver Seminary’s podcast, “Christianity and the Rise of Nazi Germany,” for example. 

Ryan believes that viewing and organizing the world with God at the center can prevent such descents into darkness. It can also allow us to work alongside—and become Christian witnesses to—those who do not share our political beliefs or even our theology.  

Faith in Work 

Ryan wrote about this idea in his book, Faithful Work, which posits that Christians can bear witness by having the “humility to acknowledge that God might be creating wholeness and flourishing in ways that are not explicitly Christian.” For example, Christians can share the gospel by working with Denver’s city government to alleviate the local housing shortage. “You can hold different political views but still collaborate to work toward affordable housing,” Ryan points out. 

To inspire Christians to live out this idea, Ryan helped coordinate 5280 Fellowship, a nine-month program in which Christian professionals learn to serve God, neighbors, and society through their work. The program culminates in a capstone project; for example, a Christian employee of a food distribution company developed a way to track food temperatures and, when she discovered the company’s food was still safe to eat at the end of each day, convinced her superiors to donate it instead of throwing it away. It now goes to Denver Public Schools. In another example, an HR employee at a pallet company developed opportunities for immigrant and refugee workers to study for citizenship exams and learn the English language. 

“We can be attentive to where God might be working,” Ryan notes. “We have the opportunity to be ambassadors of reconciliation and peacemakers. We can engage in our work redemptively to create justice, shalom, and flourishing.”  

Ryan co-authored another book on this topic, Worth Doing: Fallenness, Finitude, and Work in the Real World, which will be published this year. 

“There’s a lot of diversity in secondary matters here, among both faculty and students. We can agree and disagree well and charitably,” he said. “We’re sometimes maligned as too liberal for conservatives and too conservative for liberals. But I think it’s a gospel space.”

Discerning—and Discussing—Truth at Denver Seminary 

Underpinning Ryan’s concept of faithful work is Denver Seminary’s belief in “charitable orthodoxy,” which is based on the late evangelical leader Dr. Vernon Grounds’ idea of “vibrant evangelicalism—a commitment with freedom to think within the limits laid down in Scripture.” Dr. Grounds—the president of Denver Seminary from 1956-1979—defined this evangelism as a position between “unanchored liberalism”—”freedom to think without any commitment”—and “encrusted dogmatism,” which he defined as “commitment without any freedom to think.”  

Ryan celebrates this “principled freedom.” “There’s a lot of diversity in secondary matters here, among both faculty and students. We can agree and disagree well and charitably,” he said. “We’re sometimes maligned as too liberal for conservatives and too conservative for liberals. But I think it’s a gospel space.”

And Ryan loves that space. “I’m so grateful to be here,” he concludes. “Denver Seminary has been a great part of my family’s history, my church’s history, and my own faith story. Sometimes I can’t believe what I get to do here.” 

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Dr. Ryan Tafilowski, assistant professor of theology and chair of the Theology Department, holds a PhD in systematic theology and a master’s in theology in history from the University of Edinburgh, and a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies from Colorado Christian University. Prior to joining the faculty at Denver Seminary, Tafilowski served as an adjunct professor of theology at Colorado Christian University and postgraduate instructor in theology and ecclesiastical history at the University of Edinburgh. He serves as the lead pastor at Foothills Fellowship Church in Denver and as Theologian-in-Residence at the Denver Institute for Faith and Work.