Blessed are you who are called by God to serve the church… Then along comes someone saying surely you misheard. Or that you don’t know what you are doing. They practically shout, wrong number! They are the ones who are…
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3MMM | Episode 205: How Women Thrive in Ministry (Part 2)
Last week I began answering the question of how women thrive in ministry. My inspiration for responding to this question came from Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM) Executive Director, Rev. Dr. Meredith Stone. She asked recently: If we imagine…
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3MMM | Episode 192: Eastertide and a New Study Guide
Easter is not just a day but rather a whole season: Eastertide. Throughout the year, and in the season of Eastertide, our call as followers on the way of Jesus is to practice resurrection. To celebrate life and new birth.…
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3MMM | Episode 191: Talking Through Tragedy
Talking through tragedy, creating sanctuary in a crisis, and accompanying people through ambiguous loss amounts to some of our hardest relational work in the practice of ministry. In this week’s episode I want to talk about all three forms of…
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3MMM | Episode 190: Travelogue Introduction
From Winston-Salem North Carolina, to Princeton, New Jersey, to New York City, I’ve been on the road, and today I’m sharing a short travelogue introduction. I want to tell you some stories about my work of teaching, research, friendship and…
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3MMM | Episode 183: Ambiguous Loss
What ambiguous losses are you facing right now? I want to speak openly and share a few ambiguous losses that I’m feeling. That is just what I’m asking you to do in this episode of Three Minute Ministry Mentor (3MMM).…
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3MMM | Episode 180: Ten Things That Matter
Happy New Year! ♥ I hope you enjoyed ringing in the new year… with friends or at a watch night service at your church or in a quiet dream state in your own comfy bed. Wherever you were, may this…
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3MMM | Episode 175: Happy Fourth Birthday!
Happy Fourth Birthday, Three Minute Ministry Mentor! We are excited to celebrate and grateful for all the learning and connection over the last four years. In Advent of 2018, we launched 3MMM. It’s a story I’ve told many times and…
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3MMM | Episode 174: Conditions of Wellness
What are the conditions of wellness that make life stable and meaningful? I considered this question over the past week while I attended the American Academy of Religion (AAR) in Denver, Colorado. Along with the Society for Biblical Literature (SBL),…
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3MMM | Episode 170: Thank a Minister
This is clergy appreciation month, and we are here this week to help you thank a minister. Who needs thanking? A minister or pastor from your past who helped you to discern a call? Or perhaps your current minister –…
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3MMM | Episode 154: Celebrate Pride Part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of Celebrate PRIDE this week! We are sharing stories of ministers who identify as LGBTIQA+ in the Learning Pastoral Imagination (LPI) Project. This week we drop in on two ministers at the stage of deciding on…
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3MMM | Episode 149: Teaching Pastoral Imagination
Perhaps you have been hearing about the concept of pastoral imagination for a while. We hope so! And maybe you are wondering: how would someone teach that? Today, let’s talk about teaching pastoral imagination, the concept, the book and the…
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3MMM | Episode 139: Permission to Grieve
There is so much to grieve these days. The list seems nearly endless. Yet grieving remains hard work, and it is easy to ignore or leave aside. This week I’m offering to you a way to give yourself permission. A…
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3MMM | Episode 137: Permission to BE
This month I am having conversations with friends, family, students, fellow church members. In person (rarely), on phone calls, in texts, and by email. And in these conversations, I hear a resounding theme. We are exhausted, grieved, and uncertain about…
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3MMM | A Bridge to Epiphany
Bridges I have an invitation for you. But first an image. You’ve heard of the Bridge on the River Kwai? A Bridge over Troubled Waters? How about the Bridge to Terabithia? War. Grief. Escape. The search for relief. A bridge…
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3MMM | Celebrating Three Seasons
Hello there! My name is Eileen Campbell-Reed, and I’m the founder and host of Three Minute Ministry Mentor. This first Sunday in Advent is a big day. Twelve years ago on this day, I launched this blog. It was originally…
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3MMM | Episode 135: Confronting Intimidation and Fear
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 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 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 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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