We welcome Rev. Dr. Kris Bentley as our guest blogger this week to share what she learned writing her first book Bivocational Ministry: Field Notes for Congregations and Ministers. Kris teaches at Lexington Theological Seminary, directs research with bivocational ministers,…
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Five Lenten Practices for Responding to this Moment Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. (Joel 2:1)* As Lent…
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How do we cultivate a clear speaking and writing voice? How do we come into sounding like ourselves, speaking with honest and vulnerability on the page or in person? I want to offer four stepping stones to help you move…
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Our guest this week is Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, and he is sharing his new book and his process of writing about faith. Bruce is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church USA, a speaker, and the author of five books…
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It’s hard to believe that an hour of writing with support each weekday is enough to really accomplish anything. And one of my Vanderbilt professors used to say, If you are going to be a successful scholar and publish enough…
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We are celebrating a new book for clergy and lay leaders: From Weary to Wholehearted is landing soon! This “love letter” from Rev. Callie Swanlund is a remedy for these days of clergy isolation, exhaustion, and burnout. Callie is a…
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What is the Writing Table? In the early pandemic days, students, pastors, professors, and authors were feeling a lot of stress on our writing (here is how one of my favorite writers has navigated it). So to help combat the…
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Writing by the numbers is just a fun way to share some new and old things related to writing. Some of the numbers are pieces you might enjoy reading. Other things are strategies and methods for writing that might help…
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I am going to share three of my favorite things of the moment with you today. We are kicking off a series that focuses on what is bringing us joy right now — this summer. We are not simply ignoring…
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Today’s guest post, “Women Preparing the Way” invites us to be thinking of Advent. We welcome Rev. Joanna Harader, pastor of Peace Mennonite Church in Lawrence, KS. You can find more of her writing at SpaciousFaith.com and on Instagram @joannaharader.…
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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…
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Sometimes life and loss and longing and love are more than our words can contain. Through these challenging days, only a prayer of silence is enough. Because the deep peace of silence is all that can hold life as it…
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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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Join us in welcoming Rev. Dr. Donna Fowler-Marchant as our guest blogger this week. She is a Christ-follower in the Wesleyan tradition and an elder in the United Methodist Church. She is passionate about Wesleyan theology and how it relates…
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Yes. It’s a pandemic. Everything feels overwhelming. Who has time to write? We’re fast approaching a year since our lives were upended. Maybe procrastination, depression, or lack of motivation is keeping you from your writing desk? We have ten reasons…
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As we wind down Season two of three minute ministry mentor, a little Advent and Christmas reflection seems in order. Next Monday we will look back over 2020, so this week I’ll keep it brief and offer some reflections about…
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Teaching and learning are essential aspects of human development. From parenting to governing, from sports team to PTA, and from ministry to industry, human beings are creatures who can learn and grow from first cry to final breath. How we…
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We need new rituals for #PandemicGrief. This is our space to gather and collect our best practices for grieving in this season of isolation. Part of the struggle of leaning into joy or beauty — which are desperately needed for…
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This week we want to share a wonderful guest blog by my friend, recent graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School, and new minister, Anita Peebles. When I asked, Does it feel better to be in the second year of ministry? She…
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Each year for the last few, I’ve taken time, with inspiration from my friends and writing pals Duane Bidwell and Frank Thomas, to compile a Gratitude List of Important Things that I have invested myself in during the past year.…
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Sometimes help is literally in the palm of our hands and we cannot see it. Sometimes our ability to see or imagine or welcome the things we need in life is blocked by the kind of deeply seated beliefs and…
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