At Three Minute Ministry Mentor, we are marking the Twelve Days of Christmas as a shared time to reflect on the past year. We wrote new lyrics to the old song, so we can honor and provoke your reflections about…
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Christmas Eve Blessing 2021
Friends, here is a blessing for you this Christmas Eve and Day. A Blessing for Christmas Eve Whatever your year has been, wherever it has taken you, Whatever difficult or easy pathway, And whatever winding or steep road, You are still…
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How to Survive the Holidays: Listen!
How will you survive the holidays this year? Listen up! The holidays are here, and children everywhere are thrilled. But many teenagers and adults are wondering, how will we survive the holidays? Great question. Even in a normal year, so…
Read MoreEpisode Index | Season Three
The topics and videos in Three Minute Ministry Mentor prepared the way for Pastoral Imagination: Bringing the Practice of Ministry to Life – available now! Find your copy of Pastoral Imagination, the companion journal, and gift set here. Season…
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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 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 124: Mentoring for Ministry
“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” ― Frederick Buechner This is the kind of week when many terrible things are happening. In New Orleans and southern Louisiana. And in Afghanistan. In Southern California.…
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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 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 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 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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3MMM | Episode 105: Kyndall Rothaus on the Stakes of Ministry
Recently, Kyndall Rae Rothaus shared a story on Instagram TV about pronouns for God. As I listened, she shared about a time when someone read scripture in a worship service and used the gender-inclusive pronoun Ze/Zer for God in the…
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3MMM | Episode 101: Julie Merritt Lee on Ministry as Relational
International Women’s Day Today is International Women’s Day around the globe. The theme for this year focuses on challenging the world in order to make it more equitable for women. Here at 3MMM we want to be explicit and clear…
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3MMM | Episode 97: Pamela Cooper-White on Being There
This week I am so excited to welcome my friend and colleague in pastoral theology from Union Theological Seminary, Rev. Dr. Pamela Cooper-White as our featured author! In this episode Dr. Cooper-White, Vice-President of Academic Affairs and Dean, and the…
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3MMM | Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2021
Lift Every Voice…. Embodying the Vision of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring Ring with the harmonies of Liberty** On this historic Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 2021,…
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3MMM | Episode 91: From Allies to Co-Conspirators
On Friday, we shared a “Love Letter to the Black Church” from Rev. Alisha Smith Haddock. This week we have another love letter. This one is addressed to white Christians and churches from Rev. Dr. Judy Cummings. We have been…
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Leading in Times of Crisis
This is very likely to be a stressful week. Stakes are high. People are divided. The world’s eyes are watching the U.S. elections culminating on Tuesday. Pastors, activists, priests, and chaplains are no exception. You must do what you must…
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3MMM | Clergy Appreciation Week
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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3MMM | Episode 87: Advent Preparation
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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