Yanan Rahim N. Melo

Yanan Rahim N. Melo (he/him) is an editorial director, opinion writer, and public theologian whose work explores how religion shapes politics and culture—and how faith can become a force for justice and social change. Born and raised in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, Yanan brings his own transnational experience to bear on questions of identity, empire, and liberation, producing work that confronts injustice, inspires action, and imagines creative futures.

​

As Editorial Director at the Center for Barth Studies, Yanan leads the Center’s public-facing platforms, including God Here & Now, an online magazine that bridges the academy and public life by translating theological scholarship into accessible and politically-engaged writing. He also directs projects such as The American Christian Crisis, a year-long essay series that gathers writers, pastors, and theologians to reflect on what it means to be Christian in a polarized and crisis-ridden America. His editorial leadership spans content development, communications strategy, and digital engagement, helping build spaces where theology speaks directly to pressing sociopolitical realities.

​

Yanan’s opinion writing has appeared in Sojourners, Christianity Today, Space on Space Magazine, BitterSweet Monthly, Interfaith America, and other outlets. His published work ranges from theological analysis and cultural critique to reporting on how faith communities respond to systemic injustice, displacement, and state violence. Across these pieces, he highlights local initiatives, community organizing, and the ways grassroots faith movements imagine alternatives to empire and oppression.

​

He holds an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, where his thesis, To Begin Again: Christology at the End of the World, developed a theology of migration, drawing on feminist thinkers, political theology, and critical theories of empire. His work there was recognized with the Archibald Alexander Hodge Prize in Systematic Theology and the Edward A. Dowey Jr. Award for Excellence in Reformation Theology. Before seminary, Yanan earned a B.A. in Theology from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, where he was shaped by the city’s radical political consciousness. There, he studied theology, race, and colonialism, becoming a finalist for the MBI–Zondervan Award in Theology.

​

Outside of writing and editorial work, Yanan produces music under the moniker Yanan Mellow, drawing inspiration from the deep house sound of the 1980s and 1990s that emerged from marginalized Chicago clubs. His music seeks to move listeners both physically and emotionally, carrying forward the radical potential of art to bring people together and spark new social worlds.

​

He currently lives in central New Jersey with his wife, Christine, and their mini American Shepherd, Winnie.