Distinguished Fellows are full-time faculty who, on the bases of earned degrees in their disciplines and their extensive experience, are elected by the Board of Governors; appointed by the president with assigned position descriptions; do not have other professional involvement or responsibilities; teach regularly only for Carroll Theological Institute; are assigned to and teach in one of the four clusters in which they have formal training and teaching experience; are qualified to supervise academic research and writing; are thoroughly versed in Carroll's competency-based curriculum and are available to students to advise in the specific knowledge/understanding, values/attitudes, and skills that are required for the students' areas of study; are expected, in addition to teaching, to be involved in research, writing, or church/community service; and participate in faculty meetings devoted to curriculum design and teaching methodology.

Resident Fellows are scholars whose primary places of employment are removed from the administrative hub but who are integral members of the teaching faculty of the Nexus. A Resident Fellow is an expert in a special field and is appointed annually to give instruction on a part-time or discontinuous basis. Duties include teaching students within the Teaching Church setting or online classes across the Nexus, as well as advising and mentoring a cohort of students attached to a Teaching Church. Duties usually do not include administrative responsibilities, but the Resident Fellow is expected to be in continual dialogue with the Senior Fellows and Fellows of the Institute with regard to matters concerning a chosen discipline and ways of improving the delivery of courses to Teaching Churches.