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Ryan Ahlgrim


Ryan Ahlgrim

Ryan Ahlgrim is the lead pastor of First Mennonite Church of Richmond, Virginia. He earned his M.Div. from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Elkhart, IN) and his D.Min. from McCormick Theological Seminary (Chicago). In addition to being a featured preacher for the video resource, A Sermon for Every Sunday, he has written scores of articles for a variety of Christian magazines and journals, including Christian Century and Sojourners, and has authored three books. His most recent book is a historical novella, Spying on Jesus (Resource Publications, 2025).  




EXPERIENCES
    Show Date
    Sat 5 Sep 2026 5:00 PM to 5:50 PM
    Title ShortSpying on the Real Jesus
    Venue Make Believe
    Presbyterian / 1001 Worshiping Communities
    Experience DescriptionIn his recent book, Spying on Jesus: A Novella, Ryan Ahlgrim portrays the radical ministry of Jesus through the eyes of a skeptical scribe, Caleb, who has been hired by the government of Herod Antipas to spy on this dangerous prophet. Imaginative yet historically plausible, Ahlgrim will explore the historical sources and themes he used for reconstructing the real Jesus in this work of fiction--a story which invites the reader to consider whether we, like Caleb, will be merely spectators who \spy\ on Jesus, or become unbound from the ways of our violent and exploitive society in order to join \the empire of God.\