About Anthony Parrott
I get to serve as a pastor at The Table Church in Washington, DC, an affirming, multiracial, non-denominational church.
I have the joy of being married to Emily and father to Audrey and Wesley.
I’m a devoted fan of Star Wars, Tolkien, Apple, and a connoisseur of fine sparkling waters.
Since the age of 10, I hail from Goshen, Indiana. Before moving to Washington, DC in 2020, my family and I pastored and worked in northwest Iowa from 2010-2020.
What You're Getting Yourself Into
Just so we're all clear about what I'm about:
- I'm a Christian pastor. I affirm the Nicene Creed. I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ; the Trinity; that Christ will come again.
- The Bible is inspired and authoritative—but not inerrant. All the mistakes are there on purpose.
- I believe that LGBTQI+ people are made in God's image and that their lives and relationships reveal the holy divine. Yes, I perform marriages between same-gendered couples.
- I affirm that racism is America's original sin; that Black Lives Matter; that systematic racism continues to pervade our society; and that it is a Christian's responsibility to help dismantle systems of oppression.
- I'm a feminist. "Women's rights and nothing less." Tear down purity culture. Grant women full autonomy over their own bodies.
- I'm a Christian (or patristic) Universalist. The God revealed in Jesus is wooing and reconciling all creation to the Divine and will eventually succeed. God will abandon no one to hell.
- My politics are pretty damn left-of-center.
- I swear from time to time.
- Police and prison abolition is a pretty good way to make the prayer "Thy Kingdom come" come true.
- Truth is usually best understood through stories. "Fiction is the lie that tells the truth."
- Especially if those stories are Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.
Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Bible, and Ministry from Bethel University, Indiana (2009)
- Master of Divinity with an emphasis in Theology from Asbury Theological Seminary (2015)
Training and Certifications
- Advanced Trauma-Competent Care through Trauma Free World
- PREPARE-ENRICH Marriage Counseling Facilitator for 10+ Years
- 3DM Mission and Discipleship Learning Community
- RCA Discipleship Learning Community
- VantagePoint3 Trained Facilitator, Vista Discipleship Cohort
Theological Distinctives
My Christian faith hinges on three things.
- First, the physical, historical resurrection of Jesus. I believe it really happened, that historians can make a damn-near certain case for it, and that it changes everything.
- Second, Jesus is the ultimate revelation of what God is like. This changes how Christians should interact with the Hebrew Bible.
- Third, the love described in 1 Corinthians 13 is, first and foremost, a description of God’s character. If 1 John 4 is true—if God is love—God is the kind of love described there.
Other Distinctives
- The Triune God, as explained in social trinitarianism and kenotic theology, is the best explanation we have of what God is truly like.
- Christological (sometimes called Patristic) Universalism
- If there is a hell, it’s temporary and therapeutic; God is not a God of fear and punishment
- Open and Relational Theology
- God is in a responsive/reactive relationship with creation
- The future is open
- LGBTQ Affirming (I’ll happily perform your wedding!)
- Staunchly Anti-Racist
- Reparations in the United States are needed
- I support the Landback Movement
- Abolish the police and prison systems
Core Competencies
- Teaching and Preaching
- Spiritual and Community Formation
- Pastoral Care and Counseling
- De/Reconstructing Faith
- Religious Trauma
- Premarital and Marriage Counseling
- Worship Leading, blending modern and liturgical styles