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Essays

Thoughtful personal reflections from a variety of perspectives about issues relevant to Christian leaders

Resources for Lent and Easter

We hope you find helpful these essays, sermons and stories for the Lenten and Easter seasons from Faith & Leadership.

Creating the conditions to nurture hope

The current situation facing Christian institutions can evoke fear. Yet we can, and should, recover hope by grounding our work in the hope of the resurrection and new life.

By David L. Odom Executive director, Leadership Education at Duke Divinity

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Asking good questions

By Alaina Kleinbeck Associate Executive Director, Coordination Programs

Part of our hospitality practices must include welcoming speech that invites our guests and friends to relax, be themselves and share a story or two.

Donna Claycomb Sokol: Essential vs. nonessential -- new life and the art of pruning

A lot of pain lies in the space between 'essential' and 'nonessential.' But it is a distinction the church needs to think about -- and to act upon, says a D.C. pastor.

By Donna Claycomb Sokol Pastor, Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church

Image link to article: Donna Claycomb Sokol: Essential vs. nonessential -- new life and the art of pruning

Ross Kane: In South Sudan, we do not lose heart

An Episcopal priest who worked as a volunteer in Sudan says that recent fighting, while tragic, does not cause him to lose hope in the church’s peace ministry there.

By Ross Kane Director of doctoral programs, Virginia Theological Seminary

Image link to article: Ross Kane: In South Sudan, we do not lose heart

The highs and lows of leadership

By Gretchen E. Ziegenhals Spiritual director and retreat leader

Leaders must assess their status in any given situation -- and sometimes improvise to change it.

Testing our assumptions

By Nathan Kirkpatrick Principal, Saison Consulting, LLC

Is what we are seeing or feeling the reality of a situation or our imagination? It is a practice of faith for Christian leaders to ask that question.

Leadership in the face of adversity

By Gretchen E. Ziegenhals Spiritual director and retreat leader

Sue Monk Kidd’s new book tells the story of the Grimké sisters and their family’s slaves. These women give us examples of leadership that grows out of faith and is deeply rooted in community.

How to extend Christian hospitality

By Alaina Kleinbeck Associate Executive Director, Coordination Programs

Good hospitality is not just about preparing a nice meal. It is about attending to each person in our midst and extending love without judgment or hesitation.

Mainline Protestants and disruptive innovation

Kenneth H. Carter Jr. L. Gregory Jones Susan Pendleton Jones

Mainline Protestants can still have an exciting and life-giving future -- if they learn the lessons of disruptive innovation from the steel industry and other organizations, say three Christian institutional leaders.