Leading Theologically

Jim Reese has been ordained for over 70 years as a Presbyterian minister and Christian educator and national staff person. Christian education is at the center of his call and practice in ministry. “How do you get things done in the church?” His answer is, “You work as a team to teach others.” You won't want to miss this episode of Leading Theologically with a legend in the Presbyterian Church USA.

“History does not offer quick-and-easy solutions,” says Heath Carter, PhD. “But whether it is racial injustice or economic inequality, or any number of issues beyond, the challenges we face today are not new. Their roots stretch deep into the past. And if we don’t understand how we got here, we’ll struggle to find a faithful way forward.” Join me for a live conversation with Dr. Carter who teaches a class on Slavery at Princeton since 1865 and much more. His research agenda is focused on the intersection of Christianity and public life. The book he is working on now. On Earth As It Is In Heaven: Social Christians and the Fight to End American Inequality will offer a new history of American social Christianity from the Civil War through the civil rights movement. “It follows the stories of believers who saw the fight against structural inequality as a really important part of what it meant to be a faithful Christian in the modern world,” Carter says. Their activism reverberated far beyond the walls of the church.

The shift of congregations, church councils, and almost every other organization to digital communication over the last year taught us again how important visual communication is in ministry and leadership. Join me for a conversation with author, musician, photographer, videographer, producer, parent, partner, pastor and prolific creator Landon Whitsitt about the ways he thinks about memorable and helpful digital communication. Landon has served in campus ministry, new church development, interfaith ministry, mid-council leadership, pastor and much more. Podcaster, vlogger, and recording artist, Landon is the mastermind behind the popular TheoAcademy video resources. You will not want to miss this one!

Leading a congregation in any year is not for the faint of heart, and 2021 is all the more complicated. In this week's episode of Leading Theologically, Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty is joined by Rev. Jessica Vaughan Lower, associate pastor for community outreach & contemporary worship at San Marino Community Church and contributor to the Journal of Religious Leadership, to discuss how she continues to embrace change in creative and constructive ways.

Fatigue is not just physical and emotional.. it is also spiritual. Join this conversation with Bertram Johnson, an alum of Princeton Seminary and teaching elder who currently serves as a chaplain and peer chaplain supervisor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Johnson will be preaching at the 2021 NEXT Church national gathering where he also serves on the strategy team. His experiences at University Presbyterian in Seattle, Middle Collegiate Church in NYC, Riverside Church in NYC, and hospital chaplaincy, among others inform his approach needed possibly more than ever as we start 2021! An Enneagram 4, Johnson gets joy from traveling, exploring different cultures and cuisine. Come explore with us soon!

Are you feeling depleted and not sure how you will be able to continue to follow your call as we move into the hardest months of these pandemics yet? Join me for an unscripted conversation with the Rev. Dr. Roger Gench, the new interim editor for the Presbyterian Outlook. A seasoned pastor, community organizer, theological ethicist, and author, Roger has recently written A Cross Examen: A Spirituality for Activists and Organizers which introduces contemplative practices that are life restoring.

Women Reformed and Always Reforming with the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty Professor of Theology, Bellarmine University

2020 marked the centennial of Women’s suffrage with the passage of the 19th Amendment. What are the ways women have been called by God and continue to succeed reforming in the Church and the world? Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty is one of the producers and hosts of a video series initiative, Exploring the Narrative: Women and the Reformation, that gathered voices to celebrate and inspire in partnership with TheoAcademy and PCUSA Racial Equity and Women’s Intercultural Ministries. Come hear more about the project and a preview of some of the deeply moving stories unearthed.

A conversation with Rev. Jessica Tate, Director of NEXT Church, on what will it look like to lead in the Church and the world in 2021 and beyond? With post-Election uncertainty and progress on a COVID-19 vaccine, we need to ask, where is God Calling us next?

What does it mean for Presbyterian officers to live into the vow we all take to be “a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit”? October is pastor appreciation month and Jerrod Lowry is Lee’s pastor because he is the General Presbyter and Stated Clerk of my presbytery, Coastal Carolina. More than that, he is a longtime friend. Join them for a conversation about what it means to be a friend among colleagues and why that matters now more than ever!

Courtney Cowart leads theologically from the eye of the storms including St. Paul’s Chapel in NYC on 9/11 and New Orleans during Katrina. She wrote about those experiences in her book, American Awakenings. Join Lee Hinson-Hasty for a live conversation about how uses what she’s learned in 2020 as she helps cultivate wisdom among thought leaders for the massive adaptive challenges we face to secure the future of the faith. Dr. Cowart serves as Executive Director of the Society for the Increase of the Ministry (SIM), the Episcopal Church’s effort to identify and fund seminarians.