How will we support each other in the coming holiday season? And how shall we get through Advent in a year that has been so filled with challenge, loss, and grief?
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Editors Note: We are grateful to Rev. Lisa Hammonds, pastor of St. John AME Church, North Nashville, for sharing this two-part story of leading her congregation through tornado recovery. Read about the night of March 3 in How to Survive…
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Editors Note: Rev. Lisa Hammonds is pastor of St. John AME Church in North Nashville. We asked her to share her story of pastoring her congregation through the March 3 Nashville Tornados. If you would like to support the church…
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From preschool to grad school, this time of year is usually punctuated by joyous pictures of students and teachers returning to classrooms. But this year is a strange one. Not like any other. And so we offer this prayer for…
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This week, many college students are returning to campus or virtual classrooms. College administrators are reshaping plans and policies for college life in a pandemic setting. What will ministry with college students look like this year? What are the best…
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Counting the Costs of “Independence Day” If one of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t you first sit down and calculate the cost, to determine whether you have enough money to complete it? (Luke 14:26, CEB) If we want…
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Nashvillians know Rev. Dr. Judy Cummings as a social justice advocate, pastor, and community organizer. Yet she understands herself to be a shepherd at heart. Dr. Cummings, pastor of New Covenant Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, is a recognized leader,…
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Trauma inflicts its wounds in a moment, yet recovery may take a lifetime. With proper attention and care, however, healing is possible. +++++++ Earlier this week, I wrote about Trauma Informed Leadership. And I shared information that all spiritual, health…
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What is trauma informed leadership? Why does it matter? If you are engaging in the practice of ministry, I hope you will read on. This fall I am teaching a course in “Trauma Informed Pastoral and Spiritual Care” for Union…
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This week we are focussing on clergy appreciation! This year has challenged us all. And this seems like a good time to pause and be grateful for our clergy leaders. We are going to spend the week in gratitude for…
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Advent It’s coming. It will be here in the blink of an eye. In a year filled with pandemics and amplified racial injustice and healthcare disparities and intense election politics, it is hard to imagine what Advent could be like…
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Where is God present? This is a question that circles through my fourth and final conversation segment with Dr. Pete Ward who teaches in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University, UK. Over the last few weeks we…
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Beyoncé. Kim Kardashian. Chadwick Boseman. Gwyneth Paltrow. Notorious RBG. Whether they are trending on Twitter, headlining their next big movie, speaking out on social issues, or suddenly gone from this life, celebrities and the culture of celebrity have a powerful reach…
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In our last Episode 83, Pete and I talked about why ministers need to study culture. He gave us two reasons: People come to seminary shaped and formed by culture innately — largely unawares. Reflexivity is that significance of learning…
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The first time I met Pete Ward in person we had a theological argument. We also had drinks and some laughs in a mutual friend’s living room. As I recall, Mary McClintock Fulkerson and I might have teamed up against…
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Chaplaincy Jennifer Hundley Batts Thomas sat down with me in the late spring to talk about ethical wills. She helped me to share with my students in the Death, Dying, and Bereavement course at Union Theological Seminary about the significance…
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