The Parrhesians is a home for bold, plain-spoken theology from Pittsburgh: long-form writing, three podcasts, and the books of Parrhesian Press. We are pastors and members of Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a member church of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. We began in the fall of 2023 because some things need to be said plainly, and the church needs people willing to say them.
Why “Parrhesians”?
The Greek word is parrhesia, which means “forthright truth-telling.” One who speaks with parrhesia doesn’t flatter, manipulate, or use rhetorical tricks. He doesn’t massage or bend the truth, and he doesn’t hedge. He’s confident truth is on his side, and he takes moral responsibility for speaking it. He speaks fearlessly, even when addressing powerful people, even when his safety or life may be at risk. In the Gospels, the confused and timid apostles are hardly paragons of parrhesia, but the Spirit of Pentecost is the Spirit of courage. Jesus promised the Spirit would teach the Twelve what to say when they stand before rulers and authorities (Luke 12:11-12), and, as Acts demonstrates, he keeps his promise. Even the Sanhedrin recognizes the source of the apostles’ courage: “they have been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
Peter Leithart, “The Church Is a Free Speech Movement”
That is the courage we pray for, and the standard we hold ourselves to.
Who we are
Nathanael Devlin
Nathanael Devlin is the Senior Pastor of Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where he has served since 2005 as a seminary intern, Assistant Pastor, Associate Pastor, and now Senior Pastor. A native of Pittsburgh, he is a graduate of Geneva College (B.A.) and Trinity School for Ministry (M.Div., D.Min.), where he has also taught as an adjunct professor of pastoral theology. He is a contributor to Touchstone Magazine, the founder of The Parrhesians and The Scattered Seeds Podcast, and the publisher of Parrhesian Press. His passion is the formation of Christ in the lives of God’s people. He and his wife Holly have three children.
Peter Chace
Peter Chace is the Assistant Pastor of Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church and Interim Principal of Beverly Heights Christian Academy. He ministers to youth, young adults, and college students in partnership with the CCO, and co-hosts The Parrhesian Podcast with Nate.
Peter is a graduate of Duquesne University (B.A., 2009) and Trinity School for Ministry (M.Div., 2024). Peter, his wife Sarah, and their five children live in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
Tom O’Boyle
Tom left a 40-year career in the news business for “good news” in 2018. He writes the O’Bservations column and, with Nate, co-hosts The Scattered Seeds Podcast.
Born in New Jersey, son of a fire chief and raised Roman Catholic, Tom accepted the Lord at the age of 7. He then began a “Methobapterian” journey in which he was led to Norman Vincent Peale; Methodist and Baptist churches; C.S. Lewis; and finally to his spiritual home in the Reformed tradition of the Presbyterian confession. He and wife Louise have been members of Beverly Heights since 1994.
A 1978 graduate of Allegheny College in Meadville and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, he joined the staff of The Wall Street Journal in 1981 and was the paper’s correspondent in Germany in the final days of the Berlin Wall. He joined the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1994 as assistant managing editor. In his 25 years there, he worked as a senior editor in the newsroom and on the business side in content, digital strategy, marketing and audience development. While at the Post-Gazette, a photography project he supervised won a Pulitzer Prize in 1998.
The author of At Any Cost: Jack Welch, General Electric, and the Pursuit of Profit, Tom taught journalism and multimedia storytelling for two decades at Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon universities.
An elder and past member of Session, he teaches in the Adult Christian Education program. He sings in the adult choir along with Louise, a teacher in the church’s preschool.
They are the parents of three adult children, Brendan, Erin Westgate, and Cara Webster, and the grandparents of four. Cara and husband Ben are members of Beverly Heights. Erin Westgate and husband Scott also live in Mt. Lebanon.
Get in touch
Questions, corrections, or an idea for the podcast? Write to us. Messages come straight to Nate.
