Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. Oord is a best-selling and award-winning author, having written or edited more than thirty books. Academic Influence ranks him among the most influential theologians in the 21st century. Oord directs doctoral programs at Northwind Theological Seminary and directs the Center for Open and Relational Theology. He is known for his research and writing on love, open and relational theology, science and religion, evil and power, and the implications of freedom and relationships for transformation. Early Life:
Tom was born in 1965 and raised in the little farming town of Othello, Washington, where he lived until he graduated from high school. The church played a central role in Tom’s family life. His parents were on the church board for over forty years, taught Sunday school, lead musical choirs, did Bible studies, and served on the church staff. Tom describes his family as the one that went to church practically every time the doors were open. Tom’s father grew up in the Dutch Reformed tradition, his mother in the Pentecostal Holiness tradition, and when they moved to the little town of Othello, they started attending the Church of the Nazarene. It was in this tradition Tom became a member early in life and in which he was baptized in his early teens.
Growing up, Tom was the kind of kid who took his faith seriously, engaging in rigorous Bible study from a young age. By the time Tom got into high school, he was pretty well known as the kid who enjoyed and pursued openly talking to others about his faith. Sharing his faith with others played a central role in his life. Tom never heard much about LGBTQ+ issues until perhaps his high school years, and in those instances the topic was generally associated with, sin, negativity, or a reflection of how things had gone wrong in the world.
After high school Tom enrolled into the denominational school of Northwest Nazarene University (NNU). During that time Tom was part of Campus Crusade for Christ, and was an active advocate witness, telling people about Jesus in bars, on street corners, on the beach or even going door to door. It was during this time, however, that Tom was also starting to gain more exposure to LGBTQ+ issues and persons. Furthermore, near the end of his college career, Tom took a course in philosophy of religion that prompted a crisis of faith. In that course, for the first time, Tom applied studied the writings and perspectives of atheists, agnostics, and other religious traditions. When applying honest and earnest academic rigor to these writers and philosophers, Tom concluded he didn't have good reasons to believe God existed at all. Ultimately, Tom renewed his faith, after tearing down and rebuilding his faith paradigm “from scratch” into what he now calls “Open and Relational Theology.”
This crisis of faith proved critical once Tom eventually enrolled in seminary, because it better positioned him to openly question and rethink his fundamental ideas about God, life, and sexuality. Tom enrolled in the denominational Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City from 1992-1995 where he finally truly grappled with the topic of LGBTQ+ issues head on and in earnest. A pivotal moment occurred when Tom and some fellow classmates took a course in which they decided to develop a curriculum exploring what in those days the Nazarene tradition called the “homosexuality question.” In doing so they drew upon the Wesleyan quadrilateral, which addresses questions via the lens of scripture, experience, tradition, and reason. They also started reading various scholars, particularly biblical scholars, on homosexuality questions and perspectives. In doing so they began scrutinizing the so-called “clobber passages” in scripture, ultimately realizing they were being widely misinterpreted and misused. Furthermore, by this time in his life, Tom knew of people engaged in faithful, loving, committed queer relationships. Tom, therefore, considers this course during seminary as the turning point for becoming what he would call today fully LGBTQ+ affirming.
After this pivotal course in seminary, Tom faced a crossroads. His vocational goal was that of a theology professor, specifically in the Church of Nazarene. Yet, the Church of Nazarene was nowhere close to addressing or even acknowledging LGBTQ+ issues. Tom therefore wrestled with whether he should, or even could, continue in the Church of Nazarene, or to transition to a new denomination or tradition. Ultimately Tom decided to stay for three reasons. First, his belief that the fundamental theological themes of the Church of the Nazarene, what's called the Wesleyan Holiness tradition, ultimately revolved around love. Hence, if love was the reason he was queer affirming, in good conscience he could remain in the tradition, believing he had the theological roots to support queer affirmation.
Secondly, Tom recognized he was not alone, and others in the denomination were also queer affirming. Tom felt hopeful that together they had an opportunity to support each other and make headway on LGBTQ+ issues within the church. Finally, as a university theology professor, Tom recognized he would encounter countless students asking questions and seeking guidance on the topic of sexuality. Tom recognized an opportunity to become a resource and an ally for young people working through scriptural and life issues.
Hence, this was precisely the path Tom embarked upon, serving as a university professor for roughly 15 years, mostly at NNU where he attained tenure. Given he was teaching within an institution whose doctrine is expressly non-affirming, Tom spent many years operating as an ally discreetly. During those years Tom often lamented not being more vocal, nevertheless, he believed that change is more likely to come from people on the inside than the outside.
However, a major turning point came in 2013 and culminating in 2015 when a new president a NNU took it upon himself to put Tom through a “theological trial.” Over the years Tom’s reputation as a queer affirming professor at the university had become more widely known, and the university had been under pressure from both conservative district superintendents and donors to address the situation. Tom was asked to provide a written response to 66 questions and then face a trial. The 66 questions addressed various theological issues, none of which touched on queer matters. After successfully going through the process and the trial, the NNU president presented Tom with an ultimatum: either resign and accept a severance package or endure a second theological trial. After considerable thought, Tom concluded that scholars were on his side and thus opted to defend himself in a second theological trial.
As it turned out, however, no second trial occurred. Instead, several months later Tom received a note from the NNU president informing him he had been laid off due to “low enrollment.” Yet, Tom was a tenured faculty member and there were numerous non-tenured theology faculty who were not laid off. The university apparently leveraged a loophole in the faculty manual that allowed them to dismiss Tom.
Though disappointed and saddened to lose his job, Tom did seize this opportunity to become much more vocal about queer affirmation. Thus, from roughly 2015-2020, while lecturing and teaching part-time, he also embarked upon a whirlwind of podcasts and writings, becoming a highly vocal advocate for queer affirmation. However, these activities, ultimately led to formal charges against him from the Church of Nazarene.
In 2021, Tom’s District Superintendent summoned him to serve a formal letter signed by roughly a dozen Nazarene leaders, mostly from the Midwest. The letter listed accusations of Tom teaching against the church doctrine. Five of the charges pertained to easily defendable doctrinal issues such as, God's existence and religious pluralism. One of the charges pertained to the queer issue, and the accusers had done their homework. They had provided detailed evidence of Tom’s queer affirmation, including excerpts from podcasts and photographs of Tom with queer people and queer allies. The District Superintendent advised Tom he could either turn in his credentials or face discipline, which would involve a hearing. After discussing with his wife, Tom decided to defend himself in a disciplinary hearing, which then occurred in January of 2022. The hearing included five clergy and two laity, and the majority of the hearing focused on queer matters.
Tom’s defense was bold if not brash. Tom argued that the denomination, not he, was in the wrong. He went on the offense, insisting that when it comes to the queer issue, the church is needs to amend its statement to align with the Christian way of love. After hearing his case the group ultimately did not recommend any disciplinary action. Likely in large part because the disciplinary process of the denomination simply wasn’t designed for theological debates, rather its function was to assess people alleged of having engaged in moral failures, such as financial misappropriation or a sexual scandal. However, while Tom was not disciplined, the District Superintendent eventually revoked his assignment as a minister, and also forbid him to preach. Hence, Tom was effectively being disciplined despite officially having been absolved in the disciplinary process.
According to the bylaws of the Church of Nazarene manual, if an ordained minister is not assigned to a particular church, after three years those credentials expire. Given this appeared to be the church’s strategy to defrock Tom, in the fall of 2022 he began crafting ideas for a book. Recognizing that many others within the denomination shared his queer affirming stance, Tom proposed compiling an edited book of short essays submitted by other clergy and thought leaders within the Nazarene tradition. With the help of his queer-identifying daughter, who excels in writing and editing, Tom began the process for the book, Why the Church of the Nazarene Should be Fully LGBTQ+ Affirming. The interest in contributing essays to the book proved overwhelming. In November of 2022, Tom began reaching out to queer people who were current and former Nazarenes, allies who were Nazarenes, and scholars, and by April of 2023, a book with over 90 essays was published and available on Amazon. As expected, Tom faced significant backlash for this publication, and needless to say, the church recognized he would not simply disappear quietly.
A document of charges was signed in July of 2023 and delivered by the District Superintendent to Tom on August 1st and included two charges. One accusing Tom of teaching doctrines contrary to the doctrines of the denomination, and the other accusing him of acting in ways unbecoming a minister by promoting needs for change regarding LGBTQ+ issues. The District Superintendent advised Tom to prepare for the trial to begin within a month or two, so he took that fall reviewing the allegations and preparing his defense. After several months of no word, however, Tom concluded the church may still be attempting a strategy of allowing enough time to pass such that his credentials would expire. This concern prompted Tom to contact the General Superintendent with jurisdiction over the case and state that per the denomination’s manual, those accused of charges are entitled to an immediate trial, hence he was assuming these charges were being dropped. This prompted a response, and ultimately a trial date was set for July of 2024.
In the weeks leading up to the trial, Tom leveraged his platform to drive a media blitz with three main goals: encourage queer people, encourage allies, and try to move the denomination forward. He continued to promote his writings, and even published a book called My Defense as soon as the trial date was set. Tom also hired a couple publicists in New York and Nashville and local person in Idaho to help with national and local coverage of the trial and his defense arguments. Furthermore, he hired a videographer to post videos on various social media platforms and hired a social media agency to optimize these tactics. He started a private Facebook group called “Loving Nazarenes,” as well as a website that published his various writings.
In July, Tom went into the trial assuming the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Regardless, he wanted to use the opportunity give witness to why the denomination needed to change, and also to highlight that he is not actually out of step with the best and brightest theologians of today. He called 6 witnesses, most of whom are professional and well-regarded theologians. Tom’s defense essentially argued that the denomination’s manual is wrong and supported his position by outlining a comprehensive theological argument. To summarize, he argued love should motivate the church to be fully affirming, and the Church of Nazarene's theology is based on love. Therefore, they have an irrefutable contradiction in their statements on human sexuality which needs to be changed. Nobody on the trial committee or the jury was a professional theologian. The jury once again consisted of five clergy and two laity, all of whom were hand selected by the prosecutors. One of the five clergy members on the jury was one of Tom’s harshest and most vocal critics. One of the laities on the jury was a direct employee of the Chair of the committee. In addition to these egregious conflicts of interest, the committee refused to allow Tom to record the proceedings, despite his right to do so under Idaho law.
A few days after the trial’s conclusion, the committee informed Tom of the verdict on July 28, 2024. “We, the members of the Regional Board of Discipline, unanimously find to a moral certainty and beyond a reasonable doubt … that Thomas Jay Oord is guilty of conduct unbecoming a minister and of teaching doctrines out of harmony with the doctrinal statement of the Church of the Nazarene…the practice of same-sex sexual intimacy is contrary to God’s will.”
Not only were his credentials revoked, but he was also expelled from the Church of Nazarene as a member. Most people familiar with the trial, including Tom himself, expected him to be defrocked, however, the expulsion from membership was a surprising and draconian twist. In Tom’s response to the verdict, he stated “I feel good about how I presented myself at the trial… I aimed to make arguments based on love, while expressing an attitude of love. And I believe I succeeded. But apparently the discipline board was not convinced that love calls us all to fully affirm queer people.”
Currently Tom directs doctoral students at Northwind Theological Seminary, an online-only school that is not affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene. He continues to be an unapologetic, unrelenting, and outspoken advocate for full LGBTQ+ affirmation. Tom has mixed feelings in the aftermath of the trial. On the one hand he has experienced a kind of “freedom,” no longer worrying about what the denomination leaders, the district Superintendent and others might think or do when voicing his support for queer advocacy. Unsurprisingly, however, he also feels a deep sense of loss. The Church of Nazarene has represented a significant piece of Tom’s very identity since childhood. Nevertheless, despite enormous personal, emotional, and financial sacrifices, Tom is proud to have maintained his integrity throughout this adversity. “For me,” Tom states, “it’s love. That is my ultimate concern.” Well said, Reverend Oord.
(This biographical statement was written by Nate Hornbach for the fall 2024 Queer & Trans Theology class at the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and was edited by Oord.)
Biography Date: November 2025