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Essays

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

L. Roger Owens: The desert monastics offer a lesson in discernment

A classroom exercise in reading John Cassian opened students’ imaginations to the way ancient practices can be applied to contemporary issues, writes a seminary professor.

By L. Roger Owens Hugh Thomson Kerr Professor of Pastoral Theology, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

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Rhonda Mawhood Lee: Tips for congregations from an overnight walk in Manhattan

An Episcopal priest spent all night walking through Manhattan in a fundraiser for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Along the way, she picked up some lessons for congregations about hospitality, fellowship, faith and stewardship.

By Rhonda Mawhood Lee Priest, spiritual director and writer

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Mel Williams: What I've learned from Baptists, monks, Quakers and backpackers

A Baptist pastor has wondered throughout his career: Why do seekers show up and engage in worship or other spiritual practices?

By Mel Williams Activist & Baptist pastor emeritus

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Victoria Atkinson White: J.K. Rowling, Alan Rickman and the reign of God

Christian institutions are at their best when their focus is set on God’s reign, when their view of past, present and future follow a framework informed by “the end,” writes a managing director at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.

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

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Mel Baars O'Malley: None of us can do much on our own

In a divisive time, when so many leaders regard working together as a sign of weakness, an Army chaplain shares a lesson she’s learned in the military: Whatever our differences, we must figure out how to cooperate. It’s the only way we can all survive.

By Mel Baars O'Malley U.S. Army chaplain

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Don't wait until you need a leader to find one

Developing a leadership pathway for people in his congregation helped an associate pastor avoid the last-minute scramble to fill open positions. The six-month process includes prayer, reading, discussion and discernment.

By A. Trevor Sutton Pastor and writer

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Kyndall Rae Rothaus: Slacktivism is not social justice

The internet is a powerful tool for speaking out, giving voice to the voiceless. But we cannot change the world from behind a computer screen, writes a Baptist pastor. We still have to get our hands dirty.

By Kyndall Rae Rothaus Pastor

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How the Protestant church is reclaiming an ancient prayer practice, bead by bead

Although most people likely think of praying with beads as a Catholic practice, it is catching on with Protestants, who use the beads as a tangible reminder of God’s presence.

By Kristen E. Vincent Writer, speaker, retreat leader

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Nathan Kirkpatrick: How to encourage constructive, honest feedback

Many churches and institutions ask for feedback yet signal in subtle or not-so-subtle ways that they only want to hear what they’re doing well, writes a managing director at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.

By Nathan Kirkpatrick Principal, Saison Consulting, LLC

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L. Gregory Jones: Achieving organizational breakthroughs in the face of daunting constraints

In holding together scarcity and abundance, leaning into constraints even as we focus on bolder ambitions, we will discover the greatest opportunities for transformation, writes the executive vice president and provost at Baylor University.

By L. Gregory Jones President, Belmont University

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