Dr. Chris Hall

President Emeritus of Ren­o­varé

Chris is the president emeritus of Ren­o­varé where he served from 2015 to 2022. Prior to his time at Ren­o­varé, he was the Director of Academic Spiritual Formation and Dis­tin­guished Pro­fes­sor of The­ol­o­gy at East­ern Uni­ver­si­ty. He has also authored numerous books includ­ing Liv­ing Wise­ly with the Church Fathers, The Mys­tery of God, Read­ing Scrip­ture with the Church Fathers, Learn­ing The­ol­o­gy with the Church Fathers, Wor­ship­ing with the Church Fathers, and The Trin­i­ty. His latest book is set to be released in spring 2023. Chris and his wife Deb­bie reside in Philadel­phia. They have three grown chil­dren and two grandchildren.

Chris's latest book available April 4th!
Articles by Chris on the Renovaré website
Chris' books on Amazon.com
Video recordings of Chris on the Renovaré website
Scripture commentary for which Chris was an associate editor
Chris Hall portrait

Podcast Episodes featuring Simplicity

Fargo, Part 2: The Spiritual Practices of Simplicity and Resisting Hurry

Length: 19 min Guest: Dr. Chris Hall

Despite overwhelming need, why was the most important work in all of human history done without hurry? Learn more on this episode, where Dr. Chris Hall, Renovaré's President Emeritus and former Director of Academic Spiritual Formation and Distinguished Professor of Theology at Eastern University, and host Kristy Lahoda discuss Marge Gunderson, in the film Fargo, directed and produced by the Coen brothers. Marge, far from being naïve, is deliberate in her simplistic lifestyle, which allows her to discern and apprehend those whose world is darkness.

Fargo, Part 1: A conversation about Marge Gunderson

Length: 41 min Guest: Dr. Chris Hall

What can film noir teach us about the Biblical theme of light? Learn more on this episode, where Dr. Chris Hall, Renovaré's President Emeritus and former Director of Academic Spiritual Formation and Distinguished Professor of Theology at Eastern University, and host Kristy Lahoda discuss police chief Marge Gunderson in the film Fargo, directed and produced by the Coen brothers. Marge’s home life is one of stability that carries over into how she conducts her investigations, allowing her to be a light in the darkness.

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Fiction That Forms Us

Stories that Inspire Us and
Practices that Help Us Change
Latest Episode:

Sensible Shoes, Part 2 - The Spiritual Disciplines of Lament and Confession within the Ignatian Examen

Episode 8 Length: 30 min Guest: Sharon Garlough Brown

Welcome to the Season 2 season finale of Fiction that Forms us!

How do we become more receptive and responsive to the work of the Spirit within our lives? In her first novel, Sensible Shoes, from the series of the same name, Sharon Garlough Brown takes her characters on a journey of practicing various spiritual disciplines. In this episode, I talk to author Sharon Garlough Brown about the spiritual disciplines of lament and confession within the Ignatian Examen. The spiritual practice is one of attentiveness that enables our receptivity by reviewing our day with God in two movements: consolation—where we noticed and responded to God today—and desolation—where we were unaware of, ignored, or rejected God during our day.

Recent Articles

The Story of Our Life Speaks

Klyne Snodgrass begins his book Who God Says You Are: A Christian Understanding of Identity with this provocative statement: “There is only one question: Who are you? Everything else in life flows from that one question.” It’s true that who we are determines what we think about, how we feel in response to things, how we act, and even our belief about God’s identity. A. W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

Practicing Welcoming Prayer

Kristy Lahoda

I've had ample opportunity to practice Welcoming Prayer. A few months ago, I sinned against a friend, unintentionally hurting her. As sin often does, it propagated. Losing her friendship wasn’t the worst of it. Unfortunately, the ripples spread to our children.

On Welcoming Prayer

Kristy Lahoda

I’ll be honest. When I first learned about welcoming prayer, it sounded like a New Age philosophy to me. I imagine my initial resistance was similar to those who think that spiritual disciplines and spiritual formation aren’t Christian but rather some sort of Eastern philosophy.

More Articles