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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.
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Samuel Chuin Ming Oo: What does it mean to be baptized in the name of God?
This baptism that Jesus called us to is fundamentally a call for allegiance -- a “pickling” in the ways of Christ, the English pastor of the Chinese Christian Mission Church in Durham, North Carolina, says in this sermon.
Cover detail from "Tracking Down the Holy Ghost" by Frank T. Griswold
Gretchen E. Ziegenhals: A prayer to begin the day
An ancient prayer helps today’s Christian leaders remember that God is already with us in our work, blessing, guiding and teaching us, writes a managing director at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
Before reciting her vows, Sister Joanna kneels before Sister Anne Marie, superior of Valley of Our Lady Monastery. Photos by Kevin Clark
Sister Joanna takes the final step to monastic life
After years of discernment, a young Catholic woman enters the monastery -- and a life of prayer as a cloistered nun.
The Rev. Dr. Natasha Jamison Gadson at Turner Memorial AME Church in Hyattsville, Maryland. Photo courtesy of Natasha Jamison Gadson
Natasha Jamison Gadson: How I embraced my authority as an African-American woman in ministry
Overcoming stereotypes and assumptions has been difficult for a female minister in a historic African-American church. But, she writes, she was not serving the people by trying to be what others wanted her to be.
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Brian Christopher Coulter: Reflections on a gold-fringed stole
A fifth-generation pastor reflects on the gifts he received at his ordination, which point to both the static and the evolving nature of ministry.
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Kendall Vanderslice: Baking as embodied prayer
When the author doesn’t have words for prayer, she pulls out flour and leavening. Her hands transform the ingredients and express to God her lamentation and her hope, her fear and her joy.
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John Pavlovitz: Bringing people to the table with honest talk about tough topics
A hugely popular Christian author talks about why he feels moved to break open the conversation in church circles by writing about progressive politics and social issues in his blog Stuff That Needs To Be Said.
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Dave Odom: How do you decide when to pivot?
Shifting direction can be exhausting. The key to a wise pivot is keeping one foot firmly planted on the ground -- remembering your mission and values -- writes the executive director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
Episode 12: Matthew Croasmun on how (and why) to ask, "What makes a life worth living?"
In the final episode of “Can These Bones,” co-host Laura Everett talks with Matthew Croasmun about the popular Yale undergraduate course that invites students to apply the best of their intellectual energy to questions of meaning, purpose, value and worth.