The Office of Ministry Education and Support’s second Leader Formation Webinar of 2025was led by Dr. Martha Moore-Keish. The J.B. Green Professor of Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary. 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’s the manager for Ministry Education and Support within Mid Council Ministries.
Moore-Keish began her talk by reminding participants of the importance of questions when it comes to faith, including 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.
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 perspectives of how Jesus saves according to 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 perspectives on salvation from 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.
Moving on to Mark 15, Moore-Keish introduced 12th-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 past 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.”
Layton Williams Berkes, Communications Strategist (Click here to read original PNS Story)
Let us join in prayer for:
Douglas Portz, Vice President, Church Relations, Engagement & Church Relations, The Board of Pensions
Vaughn Ratliff, HR Specialist, Human Resources, Administrative Services Group
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, even when it seems our small “loaves and fishes” are shrinking before our eyes, you remain Lord of your church. May you work ever-new miracles of abundance through our efforts and give us always your vision as we seek to remain faithful in times of change. Amen.













