Leon Harris, Ph.D.

• Ph.D., Divinity/Systematic Theology, University of Aberdeen, UK, 2015
• Th.M., Talbot School of Theology, 2008
• M.Div., Talbot School of Theology, 2006

I can sum up the reason I teach at FPU in one word: relationship. The Fresno Pacific Idea aligns with my theological outlook on life. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news, which establishes a community of redeemed people, guides my life, and is central to the FPU Idea. The Gospel is good news for me because it liberates me to follow Jesus by serving human needs, participating in alleviating suffering, and engaging in reconciliation and love in the face of violence, oppression, and injustice. The ethos of FPU gives me the privilege of engaging academically and spiritually in these areas of the Gospel.

I teach at FPU because of the collective desire to be a prophetic voice that serves the church and society in a meaningful way. The opportunity to participate with a group of Jesus’ followers who take seriously Jesus’ commands to love God and neighbor is an honor and a privilege. Being part of a learning community that fosters a learning environment centered on discipleship in a community of Christ-like transformation is exciting, refreshing, and transformative.

Publications & Presentations

• “The Holy Spirit as Holistic Healing Balm for the Community.” in Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care, 17(2), 350-372 (2024).
• “These Black Dry Bones Will Live Again: A Pneumatological Ideation of the Black Church’s Liberation from Social Death.” in Haymanot Journal, 3 (2023).
• “Theological Education in and for Black and Brown Communities.” in Christian Higher Education 21 (5): 358–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/15363759.2022.2029623.
• “How God Wrestles with the Shortcomings of His People on the Ontological Level” in Practicality of Grace in Protestant Theology, Wipf & Stock, 2021.
• “The Holy Spirit as Liberator: An Exploration of a Black American Pneumatology of Freedom” in The Third Person of the Trinity: Explorations in Constructive Dogmatics, Zondervan Academic: Grand Rapids, 2020.
• The Holy Spirit as Communion: Colin Gunton's Pneumatology of Communion and Frank Macchia's Pneumatology of Koinonia. Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2017.
• “Reading Daniel through a Haymanot Lens: The 70 Weeks as A Prophetic Hermeneutic against Social Injustice.” Biblical Studies Section, Society for Gospel Haymanot, October 2024.
• “The Spirit-Filled Man Struggles for Woman's Liberty: A Trinitarian Spirit Christology of Liberation.” Women, Violence and Liberation session, Society for Pentecostal Studies, March 2021.
• “The Holy Spirit as Liberator: An Exploration of a Black American Pneumatology of Freedom,” Los Angeles Theological Conference, January 2020.
• “Ephesians 6:10-17 and The Full Armor of God: A Christological Fulfillment of O.T. Promises towards Ecclesiological Justice.” Evangelical Theological Society Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, November 2019.