Discernment

Bivocationalism has historical roots — and modern benefits

As church size declines, more pastors pursue second (and even third) careers for economic or personal reasons. Researchers and practitioners share guidance on how to make it work, advising that letting go of the stigma can be a first step.

By Leslie Quander Wooldridge Journalist

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The Great Resignation: Are pastors resigning, redefining or reevaluating?

Research continues on the extent of the “great resignation” among clergy. But as stories from ministry leaders show, the last two years have led at least some of them to reconsider how they serve.

By Edie Gross Journalist

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Aligning our abilities with God's purposes

Understanding how we make a difference in the world can be crucial to hearing our call, writes the executive director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.

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

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The opportunity of fruitful fear

How we honor fear’s presence and consider its purpose can shift its role in our lives, writes the director of the Thriving Congregations Coordination Program at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.

By Kelly Ryan Communications Specialist, The Evaluation and Communications Project at the Center for Congregations

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Nuns & Nones brings together religiously unaffiliated young adults and Catholic sisters

A six-month convent residency in California gave a group of millennials a window into communal living and discipline.

By Yonat Shimron Journalist

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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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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.

By Katelyn Ferral Journalist

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L. Roger Owens: Follow your stars?

After years of looking for his one true vocation, a seminary professor of Christian spirituality considers an alternative picture of vocation. What if it’s not a single star we should follow but a constellation?

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

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Christopher L. Heuertz: What I've learned from the Enneagram

More than just another personality test, the Enneagram is a sacred map of the soul, writes a Christian activist and contemplative.

By Christopher L. Heuertz Founding partner, Gravity: A Center for Contemplative Activism

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Natasha Jamison Gadson: How do you know when it's time to leave?

Resigning from a thriving megachurch was emotional and difficult for a minister on the staff. But once she realized that staying in a comfortable place was not the best use of her gifts, she knew it was time to go.

By Natasha Jamison Gadson Executive minister, Turner Memorial AME Church

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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.