The Rev. Cody J. Sanders, Ph.D.

CodyPastor, Old Cambridge Baptist Church
American Baptist Chaplain, Harvard University 
Advisor for LGBTQ+ Affairs, Office of Religious, Spiritual, & Ethical Life, MIT
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CONGREGATION

Cody and the congregation at OCBC were drawn together by a mutually shared commitment to concerns of peace and justice, putting faith into action to cultivate redemptive communities that listen to and learn from people on the margins, and standing in solidarity with the most vulnerable against oppression, injustice, and violence. As Pastor to OCBC, Cody engages with staff and laity in the design of worship services that draw together beauty and brokenness, cultivate community and compassion, and inspire an embodied commitment to following the call of Jesus toward lives of peace and justice in the world. You can listen to Cody’s sermons from the OCBC pulpit at the OCBC SoundCloud page.

CAMPUS 

In his capacity as American Baptist Chaplain to Harvard University, Cody works alongside 30+ multi-faith and secular chaplains to cultivate the religious, spiritual, and ethical life of the University, and serves the spiritual needs of American Baptist students on campus. He is also an active member of the Senior Common Room at Lowell House at Harvard. In his role as Advisor for LGBTQ+ Affairs in the Office of Religious, Spiritual, & Ethical Life at MIT, Cody works alongside the Chaplain to the Institute, the LBGTQ@MIT Office, and others in the Division of Student Life to cultivate wellbeing for students and the intersections of sexual/gender identity and religious, spiritual, and ethical life.

SCHOLARSHIP 

In his work as a scholar and public theologian, Cody has long addressed the intersections of LGBTQIA lives and Christianity. He is currently working on a book manuscript addressing the religious and spiritual narratives related to suicide experience among LGBTQ people. He also co-coordinates a Collaborative Inquiry Team researching practical theological issues related to the care of our bodies when they die (e.g., “corpse care”) funded by the Louisville Institute. Cody has taught pastoral care and counseling courses on the adjunct faculty of several institutes of theological higher education including Andover Newton Theological School, Brite Divinity School, Chicago Theological Seminary, and Fordham University. He currently serves as an Andover Newton Fellow at Yale Divinity School, an Institute Associate and Faculty Advisor in the International Diploma Program in Social Construction and Professional Practice at the Taos Institute, and as Affiliate Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology and Chaplaincy Studies at Chicago Theological Seminary. 



Education:

·       Ph.D., Pastoral Theology & Pastoral Counseling, Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX

·       M.Div., McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, Atlanta, GA

·       M.S., Community Counseling, Mercer University, Atlanta, GA

·       B.A., Religious Studies & Psychology, Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, NC

Writing:

.  Co-author of Corpse Care: Ethics for Tending the Dead (Fortress, 2023)

.  Christianity, LGBTQ Suicide, and the Souls of Queer Folk (Lexington Books, 2020)


·  A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth (Westminster John Knox, 2017)


·  Co-editor of Trouble the Water: A Christian Resource for the Work of Racial Justice (Nurturing Faith, 2017)

·  Co-author of Microaggressions in Ministry: Confronting the Hidden Violence of Everyday Church (Westminster John Knox, 2015)

·  Queer Lessons for Churches on the Straight and Narrow: What All Christians Can Learn from LGBTQ Lives (Faithlab, 2013), winner of the National Bronze Medal for Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Trans Non-Fiction in the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards

·  Editor of Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Resource for Congregations on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, 2013). 

Cody has authored theological journal articles addressing the intersection of sexuality, justice, and Christian faith in journals such as Theology & Sexuality and Pastoral Psychology, as well as social science journals such as The Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling. His numerous public theological articles appear in The Huffington Post, Religion Dispatches, Believe Out Loud, and Baptist News Global.