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Essays

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

Alaina Kleinbeck: Practicing kindness in the midst of rage

Jesus welcomed the oppressed and the oppressor to eat, learn and join him. He did not dehumanize, insult or disparage. How does that invite us to a new way of being?

By Alaina Kleinbeck Associate Executive Director, Coordination Programs

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Chanequa Walker-Barnes: The purpose of rest is to enable us to work more, right?

Deeply and faithfully loving and caring for oneself is enough -- it’s not just a pause between activities, writes a seminary professor and psychologist.

By Chanequa Walker-Barnes Professor of practical theology and pastoral counseling, Columbia Theological Seminary

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Ellen Clark Clémot: A former Wall Street lawyer finds a new and richer life in ministry

She found working on Wall Street exhilarating -- until the day she began to sense an emptiness in the canyons of power and money, says a former corporate lawyer who now leads a very different life as a PCUSA pastor.

By Ellen Clark Clémot Minister, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

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Dave Odom: Sometimes, congregations must back up and start again

If your ministry is no longer achieving its intended impact, it may be time to ask why. Probing a ministry’s purpose and progress may reveal that it’s time to reverse course and start again.

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

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Johnathan C. Richardson: How can we understand our authority as Christian leaders?

Leaders must rely on an authority grounded in Christ as prophet, priest and king, writes an AME pastor in North Carolina.

By Johnathan C. Richardson Servant senior pastor, Cornerstone United Methodist Church

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Hannah C. Brown: We thought we'd done enough to welcome people with disabilities in our church. We were wrong.

West Concord Union Church had had a ministry for people with disabilities since the 1980s. But the congregation discovered that truly welcoming everyone would be complicated and costly -- and worth it.

By Hannah C. Brown Pastor, West Concord Union Church, Concord, Massachusetts

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Dori Baker and Tobin Belzer: Holy listening helps connect young adults

Sharing stories -- and listening deeply to one another -- is at the heart of a new research initiative that seeks to help churches launch ministries to attract young adults.

Dori Baker Tobin Belzer

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Kathryn Lester-Bacon: In defense of 'icebreakers'

Icebreakers are about more than small talk, says a Presbyterian pastor. In a world of increasing social isolation, they lay the groundwork for hospitality and welcome, creating common ground where community can take root and grow.

By Kathryn Lester-Bacon Associate pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Virginia

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Victoria Atkinson White: Storytelling and holy friendship

Storytelling is a vital part of the practice of “holy friendship.” For both individuals and institutions, stories are how holy friends can speak hard truths in love, writes the managing director of grants at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.

By Victoria Atkinson White Director of Grants, Leadership Education at Duke Divinity

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Gerardo Marti and Mark T. Mulder: More than a fiesta -- variety and diversity among Latino Protestants in the U.S.

Latino Protestants in the U.S. -- like Latinos in general -- are an extraordinarily diverse, complex and multifaceted group, two sociologists say. A failure to understand this rich complexity can lead to troubling stereotyping.

Gerardo Martí Mark T. Mulder

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