Leader Formation webinar on ‘How Jesus Saves’ draws hundreds

Last month, the Office of Ministry Education and Support offered its second Leader Formation Webinar of 2025. This webinar, like the one hosted in March, was led by Dr. Martha Moore-Keish. Moore-Keish, the J.B. Green Professor of Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary, was asked to return after her first webinar received significant engagement and positive feedback. In this new webinar, Moore-Keish continued her exploration of core Presbyterian theology.

The Leader Formation webinars are organized and facilitated by Martha Miller, a PC(USA) ruling elder and certified Christian educator who serves as the manager for Ministry Education and Support within Mid Council Ministries. These webinars are paid for by per capita funds by PC(USA) congregations and are offered at no charge to participants.

In March, the first webinar focused on three major theological doctrines: the Trinity, predestination, and justification by grace through faith. This time, Moore-Keish homed in on a single theological question, “what does it mean to say ‘Jesus saves’?”

250 people registered for the event, and simultaneous translation was offered in Spanish and Korean. Additional participants have tuned in to the webinar afterwards via recording. That recording and an accompanying slideshow presentation are now available for free on the PC(USA) website.

Miller began the event by emphasizing that it was intended for ruling elders, deacons, ministers, and friends, recognizing that “we are always being formed as leaders in the PC(USA).” She went on to explain how this particular topic had been chosen as a response to feedback from the previous webinar.

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“Many participants asked for more — more opportunities to learn about our Reformed background and the theology that undergirds our church and our beliefs. So here we are tonight to talk about salvation,” Miller said.

Moore-Keish began her talk by reminding participants of the importance of questions when it comes to faith, including basic but important questions like what salvation means.

“Christian faith — living, breathing Christian faith — is not about just memorizing certain answers, but it is about living with questions,” she said, going on to reference the Presbyterian writer Anne Lamott, who says that the opposite of faith isn’t doubt, but certainty.

Moore-Keish then introduced the root of the word translated as “salvation” in the Hebrew scriptures, “yasha.” This word, she explained, means freedom from any kind of distress, freedom from slavery, healing from illness, or simply “help.” It is referenced in all of these ways in scripture, she said, quoting Psalms and Isaiah in particular, and points again and again to the work of God and God’s presence.

In the New Testament, in which the word used for salvation is “sozo,” these same ideas of divine salvation carry over, Moore-Keish said. She pointed out that this emphasis on salvation is evident even in Jesus’ name. In Matthew, the angel instructs Mary to name her son “Yeshua,” which means “he saves.” Then Jesus is also referred to as “Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.” Moore-Keish explained that this combination continues to emphasize that God’s salvation is not some distant act of help, but rather entirely connected to God’s close and abiding presence.

The webinar explored four different perspectives of how Jesus saves according to various parts of his life: infant Jesus as the light of the world, healer Jesus, Jesus on the cross sacrificing himself, and Jesus resurrected to new life.

“I hope that you might begin to sense is that even where you begin the story affects how you think Jesus saves,” Moore-Keish said. “So we're going to go through each of these just briefly and see what resonates with you. I hope what you notice is that salvation is not a monolithic or simple or static term, but that it has been and is interpreted in a variety of ways — not only in Scripture, but also through Christian tradition.”

Moore-Keish went on to teach about different perspectives on salvation from several theologians throughout history. She began with Greek early-Christian theologian Athanasius and John 1, explaining his idea that Jesus saves us from “separation from God” and for “life in full communion with God.” Womanist theologian Dolores Williams, meanwhile, emphasized the example Jesus sets in his ministry of redemption through righting relationships, as seen in Matthew 4.

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Moving on to Mark 15, Moore-Keish introduced participants to 12^th century theologians Peter Abelard and Anselm of Canterbury. Abelard wrote about how Jesus saves humanity from sin driven by fear — of danger and of death — that keeps us from fully loving God and one another. Anselm, meanwhile—and Reformer John Calvin in a way—described Jesus as satisfying the debt humans owe to God and are unable to repay. Finally, Moore-Keish touched on John Chrysostom, who said that Jesus saves us—not just from fear of death—but from death itself. Freed from death, we are liberated to rejoice in life abundant here and now.

Moore-Keish emphasized that these five perspectives are just some of the many theological interpretations on salvation through Christ that have been suggested over the last two millennia. While the doctrine of salvation through Christ has been arguably the most central and unifying tenet of Christian faith, it has been and continues to be understood in many different ways.

Moore-Keish ended her talk with a reference from the PC(USA)’s Book of Confessions. Quoting from The Confession of 1967, she read, “God's reconciling act in Jesus Christ is a mystery which the scriptures describe in various ways. These are expressions of a truth which remains beyond the reach of all theory in the depths of God's love for humanity. They reveal the gravity, cost and sure achievement of God's reconciling work.”

The last part of the webinar included a time for questions and answers, in which a number of participants raised theological concerns around salvation ranging from penal substitutionary atonement theory to the proclamation of salvation in the face of horrific tragedies and losses. Moore-Keish continued to reflect on understandings of salvation in response.

Miller concluded the event with a shoutout to colleagues working behind the scenes to translate, monitor technology, and provide resources in the chat. She also invited participants to provide feedback to inform future webinars.

A recording of this Leader Formation Webinar, along with a list of resources and the slideshow Moore-Keish used, is now available for free on the PC(USA) website. Previous webinars and related materials can also be accessed from the Leader Formation page. Those looking to stay informed about future webinar opportunities can subscribe to the Leader Formation newsletter.