This week I want to share a personal story about confronting intimidation and fear. Very few people in my life have tried to intimidate me. Fewer have succeeded. Once, however, while I was a seminary student working temporary jobs between…
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3MMM | Episode 134: Pastoral Imagination and Care
What do pastoral imagination and pastoral care have to do with each other? I’ve been working on that question for a dozen years. And recently I received a question from a friend that inspired me to articulate the relationship between…
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3MMM | Episode 133: Saints Who Inspire
New month. New plans. Good work. Writing. And inspiration past and future. Let’s count it all down. 1) Who are the saints that inspire you? Blessings to you this All Saints’ Day. Who inspires your life and work? Is there…
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3MMM | Episode 132: A Season of Vulnerability
Vulnerability The COVID-19 pandemic that will not end is getting to me and everybody I know. I want to tell you about a few ways it is hitting me hard in the last few weeks. I’m feeling the isolation. I…
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3MMM | Episode 131: Five Ways to Celebrate Clergy
We are continuing to celebrate clergy this month. And we have five ways to inspire you to do the same. As I was thinking about Clergy Appreciation Month recently, I posted this question on Facebook. It seemed to resonate. A…
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3MMM | Episode 129: Rest & Renewal
Note: Three Minute Ministry Mentor Host, Eileen Campbell-Reed is on a short Sabbath break. Because sometimes rest and renewal must be the priority! However, she and Erin Robinson Hall had a fun conversation on Friday, October 1. They talked about…
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3MMM | Episode 128: Ministry in No-Win Situations
Challenge. Question. Conflict. Change. How do you practice ministry in a no-win situation? Last week I talked with more than two dozen pastors, ministers, and chaplains. I also talked with ministry mentors and my seminary colleagues. And in my weekly…
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3MMM | Episode 127: Preaching with Integrity
Integrity. Congruence. Consistency. What is preaching without integrity? Not much. This week we are continuing our focus on the practice of preaching as we support the NeverthelessShePreached Conference. We are celebrating preaching by women and LGBTIQA+ clergy in lots of…
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3MMM | Episode 126: Preach, Pray, Persist
Preach It is the best of preaching times. It is the worst of preaching times. Headlines are full of natural and human disaster. People’s lives full of uncertainty and grief and lament. We all could use a word. But which…
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3MMM | Episode 123: Helping Pastors Thrive
Collaboration. Listening. Getting around life’s brick walls. Understanding identity. Adapting to new places and situations. Each of these moments are part of the everyday work of ministry. Recently, I sat down with three new pastors. When we gathered on zoom,…
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3MMM | Episode 122: Innovation and Imagination
There’s a lot of hand wringing right now. Some of the world’s news sounds alarming and more than a little confusing. Earlier this summer we thought the pandemic was perhaps winding down. For many of us, a majority of adults…
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3MMM | Episode 120: Podcast on Cultivating Pastoral Imagination
How are you cultivating pastoral imagination? This week, Three Minute Ministry Mentor Host, Eileen Campbell-Reed is away on vacation with her family. However, recently Eileen shared a conversation with Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. Today we…
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3MMM | Episode 119: James Lawson on Salience
This week we want to talk about salience and how James Lawson is an exemplar, but first a new movie! When Luca tries to ride a bike for the first time, he does not know where to focus or how…
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3MMM | Episode 118: Marian Wright Edelman on Cultivating Questions
What is the most Important question someone ever asked you? Or short of that, what is the question someone asked you that changed the direction of your life? One of the questions I continue to return to comes from poet,…
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3MMM | Episode 116: Summer of Soul & Transforming Injustice
On this long weekend, what is on your mind? How to spend your extra day? Barbeque, burgers or chicken? Or maybe you are thinking about the relationship between citizenship and discipleship? No? Well, that’s where my mind is. On injustices.…
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3MMM | Episode 115: George Mason on Apprenticeship
Last week Chris Scharen and I conducted another interview with ministers and pastors out of seminary for 10+ years. I adore this beautiful work with the Learning Pastoral Imagination Project. I really cannot overstate how powerful it is to accompany…
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3MMM | Episode 113: J. Dana Trent on Sabbath
Just returning from the beach. Time away at a place that nourishes my soul. Walking by the sea always reminds me of my size and place in a very large world. And it also puts me in touch with sacredness…
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3MMM | Episode 109: Amber Simpson Interview (Part II)
“Seasons of Ministry” On Sunday afternoon I was driving to my church for a leadership council meeting. Just as I turned right into the driveway at Glendale Baptist, a van was pulling up to turn right out of the driveway.…
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3MMM | Episode 108: Shane Claiborne on Engaging Ritual
In this pandemic season, we are living through days of grief, loss, violence and trauma. To counter this reality, we need rituals that embody hope, grace, healing, and lasting transformation. As a ministry leader your task to to craft and…
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3MMM | Episode 107: Katharine Lassiter on Emotional Intelligence
Happy Monday Morning, Friends! Did you know that every episode this year in 3MMM Season Three is about a topic that is also a chapter in my new book Pastoral Imagination: Bringing the Practice of Ministry to Life? Did you…
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3MMM | Episode 106: Eileen Campbell-Reed on Contemplative Prayer
Contemplative prayer This weekend I shared the “Contemplative Prayer” video with some of my new chaplain friends who serve hospitals and prisons in Cuba. I was glad to share this video in particular because it has new Spanish closed captioning.…
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