Joseph Lear
Pastor
Theologian
Author
Speaker
Consultant
Joseph Lear is pastor at Resurrection Assembly of God in Iowa City, IA.
He is also Director of Theology and Global Church Ministries with the College of Online Learning at Evangel University.
Over the last 7 years, he has led the revitalization of an historic church, served as chaplain at the U of Iowa, and partnered 5 church plants across Iowa.
He’s a visionary of Christian higher education, serving as faculty, administrative advisor, and speaker.
As an advocate for justice, he has fought for housing rights, court clemency, healthcare access, and refugee rights.
About
Joseph Lear holds a PhD in New Testament and Early Christianity from the University of Aberdeen, an MAR in Christian Ethics from Yale Divinity School, and a BA Biblical Languages from Evangel University.
Joseph is pastor at Resurrection Assembly of God in Iowa City, IA. He has 15 years of pastoral experience in leading churches, and in kids, youth, and young adult ministry. He’s led continuing education conferences for pastors, revitalized an historic church in the heart of Iowa over a 7-year period, and in that time partnered 5 church plants.
Joseph is a theologian. His expertise is in pastoral theology, New Testament theology and literature, Christian ethics, contemporary theologies of migration and the economy, and eschatology. He’s writes at Pastoral Theology, and has published monographs, peer-reviewed articles, and popular features. He teaches at multiple institutions of higher education, consults on the future of ministerial education, and develops curriculum.
He spent his childhood in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ivory Coast in West Africa. He’s bilingual in French and English, and has preached and taught across the United States, Africa, and Europe.
Expertise
Speaking
Need a someone to talk about church planting and revitalizing? Re-envisioning discipleship? How to read the Bible? Lead a deep dive on biblical and systematic theology for leadership development? Or preach a gospel message?
Consulting
Joseph does individual and group consulting sessions for pastors and church leaders who want to re-think church from the ground up in ways that are historically-informed and biblically-based. Consulting typically takes place over six sessions, but are customizable to client needs.
Personal
Joseph is married to Dr. Holly Lear, who is a Director of Nursing at a skilled nursing facility, a public health advocate, and a musician. They’ve been married 13 years, and do everything together. They have three sons: Lazarus, Barnabas, and Moses.
