An Interview with Michael S. Horton, Elizabeth W. Mburu, and Justin S. Holcomb, Editors of Prophet, Priest, and King

MICHAEL S. HORTON is J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, California.

ELIZABETH W. MBURU is associate professor at Africa International University, Kenya.

JUSTIN S. HOLCOMB is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida and teaches theology and apologetics at Reformed Theological Seminary.
 
ZA: Th is is the fi rst volume in Zondervan Academic’s new Theology Together series. Can you tell us how the larger project came to be and what you’re hoping it achieves?

HORTON: Like the conferences out of which they arise, these volumes are meant to stimulate deeper and broader theological conversation. One danger is to make our contexts normative but the other is to make them invisible. Th is fi rst volume exceeded my expectations in the way all the essays came together: fitting like puzzle-pieces in a mosaic of Christ, and yet each piece quite diff erent from the others. Th e scholars in this volume set a high standard going forward.

Everywhere in the global church we need a richer spiritual diet. Th eology helps us preach, witness, pray, and sing better. But it’s especially enjoyable to meet and learn from my brothers and sisters in the global choir, hearing the voices of today’s leading biblical scholars and theologians in the Majority World. Everybody is blessed when we do theology together.

ZA: In Prophet, Priest, and King, readers hear from scholars across the global church about Christology through the lens of Christ’s threefold office. What surprised you as you discussed this topic with Christians in other contexts?

MBURU: What surprised me is that the rubric of Christ as prophet, priest, and king is not familiar to many Christians in my own Majority World context even though the categories that resonate with us are functional categories that have arisen from lived experiences and that recognize the real presence of Jesus Christ in daily life. In Africa, for instance, the titles of liberator, chief, master of initiation, or even (proto)ancestor are preferred. Christology therefore integrates motifs of identity, inculturation, reconciliation, and liberation.

The writers of this volume have done an excellent job of relating Christ’s three offi ces to their contexts and reframing them through a biblical lens in a way that brings greater clarity to Jesus’s roles as prophet, priest and king. Th is volume will enhance our understanding that while the church is contextual, it is also global. We are united in serving the same Christ.

ZA: How will future volumes in the Theology Together series shape the ministry of the global church?

HOLCOMB: The Theology Together series aims to support the ministry of the global church by fostering a richly textured, Christ-centered theology informed by voices from diverse cultural and linguistic contexts. Future volumes will explore major theological areas such as the doctrines of God, humanity, scripture, salvation, the church, and more. Rooted in the biblical vision of Revelation 5:9-10, the series seeks to reflect the unity and diversity of Christ’s body by off ering theological refl ections “from every people to every people.” 

This series also enables Majority World Christians to hear from and engage with one another. Future volumes will continue to prioritize dialogue among global scholars, ensuring that theology is not confined to one cultural paradigm, but enriched by insights from the global church’s lived experiences, challenges, and
opportunities.

By engaging topics that are theologically deep yet practically relevant, the series hopes to equip pastors, scholars, and lay leaders with tools to navigate cultural complexities while remaining faithful to the gospel. Th e aim is not merely academic but doxological—to inspire worship and deepen discipleship. Ultimately, our vision is for the series to serve as a catalyst for uniting believers worldwide in proclaiming Christ and his gospel for the glory of the triune God.

“Here are theologians from around the world confessing Christ from their own locations in ways that edify the whole church. This first volume of the Theology Together series epitomizes the marriage of contextuality and catholicity the global church so desperately needs, wonderfully fulfilling the promise of the series name.

—KEVIN J. VANHOOZER, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

This interview was originally published in the Spring 2025 Zondervan Academic Catalog. View our most recent catalog at ZondervanAcademic.com/ZACatalog.