The Howard Thurman Podcast

This recording is a part of a wider series of conversations from September to October of 1980 where Howard Thurman met with a variety of young men and women who were discerning their calling to ministry. Thurman poses the intent of this group as an opportunity to "open up for one's self the moving, vital, creative push of God, while God is still disguised in the movement of God's self." Thurman's introductory remarks in this recording mention the tension that rests between isolation and solitude, noting that the "spiritual root" of breaking out of isolation is the "great built-in desire of being understood." These preliminary remarks set the foundation for the group of students who were sharing who they were, where they were from, and what their story was, to Howard and Sue Bailey Thurman.

Part of the Collection, NA

Tags: aliveness, Anglican Church, being seen, Browne Barr, calling, choice, commitment, community, creative encounter, creativity, ecology, experience, Fellowship Church, Howard University, identity, imago dei, inner self, integrity of life, Isolation, Kansas, knowing, League of Women Voters, love, Love Boat, Minneapolis, New Mexico, Oak Tree, Olive Schreiner, oneness, order, passkey, religious experience, room with no doors, San Francisco Seminary, scent on one's trail, self-actualization, South Africa, South Dakota, Sue Bailey Thurman, teaching, vitality, Yale Divinity School

Description by Dustin Mailman

Recorded in NA

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Conversations with Howard Thurman, September 1980, Parts 1 and 2, Side A,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/297.

In this sermon, Thurman explores the temptations of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. He urges listeners to think about the responsibility they have over their individual lives. Thurman says that Jesus went into the wilderness to wrestle the question: "What shall I do with my life?" How shall we live true to our conscience, even as we are caught in the demands of forces we cannot control? What is worthy of our ultimate commitment? It is our decisive choices, for and against, that make up the meaning in our lives – and none of us escape the responsibility of choice.

Part of the Collection, NA

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Description by Rodell Jefferson III.

Recorded in Church of the Advent, Episcopal Diocese, Los Angeles

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “What Shall I Do with My Life?, 1980 March 2,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/282.

In the final lecture, Thurman transitions from his meditations on inwardness to a more technical discourse regarding the uses of language by the religious professional. Recognizing the limits of language, he discusses the transcendent meaning of the Gospels whose wisdom must be communicated with the least amount of interference from the speaker. The minister’s speech must then participate in what Thurman calls the “community [or “continuum”] of meaning.” As a beacon of the collective experience of God, the religious professional sees the road ahead for humanity and thus becomes an agent of redemption.

Part of the Collection, Dilemmas of the Religious Professional, Hester Lecture Series (1971, Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, CA)

Tags: experience, Hester Lecture, imagination, intimacy, minister, speech

Description by Dr. Tim Rainey

Recorded in Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, California

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Dilemmas of Religious Professional, Part 4 (continued), 1971 February 12,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/249.

In the final lecture, Thurman transitions from his meditations on inwardness to a more technical discourse regarding the uses of language by the religious professional. Recognizing the limits of language, he discusses the transcendent meaning of the Gospels whose wisdom must be communicated with the least amount of interference from the speaker. The minister’s speech must then participate in what Thurman calls the “community [or “continuum”] of meaning.” As a beacon of the collective experience of God, the religious professional sees the road ahead for humanity and thus becomes an agent of redemption.

Part of the Collection, Dilemmas of the Religious Professional, Hester Lecture Series (1971, Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, CA)

Tags: experience, Hester Lecture, imagination, intimacy, minister, speech

Description by Dr. Tim Rainey

Recorded in Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, California

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Dilemmas of Religious Professional, Part 4, 1971 February 12,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/248.

The third installment of Thurman’s lectures concerns the religious professional’s prayer life. Thurman emphasizes that the act of praying must be more than a demonstration of professional skill, it is a practice, rather, of “cultivating the soul.” Thurman illuminates the dangers of limiting devotion to oratorical instrumentation or reducing the related practice of love to a technique. He encourages the religious professional to devote time to the private life and to employ meditation as a method of locating God within oneself and the ethics of the Gospel in everyday life.

Part of the Collection, Dilemmas of the Religious Professional, Hester Lecture Series (1971, Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, CA)

Tags: discipline of prayer, habit, Hester Lecture, inner life, inner light, love ethic, meditation, prayer, public and private prayer, silence, silent worship

Description by Dr. Tim Rainey

Recorded in Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, California

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Dilemmas of Religious Professional, Part 3 (continued), 1971 February 11,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/259.

The third installment of Thurman’s lectures concerns the religious professional’s prayer life. Thurman emphasizes that the act of praying must be more than a demonstration of professional skill, it is a practice, rather, of “cultivating the soul.” Thurman illuminates the dangers of limiting devotion to oratorical instrumentation or reducing the related practice of love to a technique. He encourages the religious professional to devote time to the private life and to employ meditation as a method of locating God within oneself and the ethics of the Gospel in everyday life.

Part of the Collection, Dilemmas of the Religious Professional, Hester Lecture Series (1971, Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, CA)

Tags: discipline of prayer, habit, Hester Lecture, inner life, inner light, love ethic, meditation, prayer, public and private prayer, silence, silent worship

Description by Dr. Tim Rainey

Recorded in Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, California

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Dilemmas of Religious Professional, Part 3, 1971 February 11,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/258.

In this lecture, Thurman considers the challenges facing those who must simultaneously be religious experts and persons involved in the experience of leading a religious life. The dilemma of incessantly performing priestly duties, he shows, demands that public demonstrations of spiritual competence be exhibited in the service of “needy humanity” even as the professional works out one’s private formation. Thurman emphasizes, however, that intimacy with communities must not come at the expense of inward encounters with the divine but through the inward spiritual life that inspires “yearning and outreach” for human connection.

Part of the Collection, Dilemmas of the Religious Professional, Hester Lecture Series (1971, Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, CA)

Tags: dilemma, discipline, Hester Lecture, mysterium in society, public and private prayer, religious authority, religious experience, religious leadership, religious living, spiritual consumer, the priestly role

Description by Dr. Tim Rainey

Recorded in Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, California

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Dilemmas of Religious Professional, Part 2 (continued), 1971 February 10,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/257.

In this lecture, Thurman considers the challenges facing those who must simultaneously be religious experts and persons involved in the experience of leading a religious life. The dilemma of incessantly performing priestly duties, he shows, demands that public demonstrations of spiritual competence be exhibited in the service of “needy humanity” even as the professional works out one’s private formation. Thurman emphasizes, however, that intimacy with communities must not come at the expense of inward encounters with the divine but through the inward spiritual life that inspires “yearning and outreach” for human connection.

Part of the Collection, Dilemmas of the Religious Professional, Hester Lecture Series (1971, Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, CA)

Tags: calling, dilemma, discipline, Hester Lecture, minister, mission, mysterium in society, public and private prayer, religious authority, religious experience, religious leadership, religious living, religious professional, spiritual authenticity, spiritual consumer, the priestly role

Description by Dr. Tim Rainey

Recorded in Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, California

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Dilemmas of Religious Professional, Part 2, 1971 February 10,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/256.

In the first lecture of this series, Thurman discusses the meaning of being a professional in society and the distinctiveness of the religious professional. For the religious professional, one’s calling is unique not only because he or she is chosen but because God has chosen that person. While divine calling distinguishes this individual, Thurman shows special election does not leave one exempt from the contingencies and challenges of human experience. Divine calling should not make the minister arrogant but more devoted to the mission of urging others to embrace the love of God.

Part of the Collection, Dilemmas of the Religious Professional, Hester Lecture Series (1971, Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, CA)

Tags: calling, Hester Lecture, minister, mission, religious experience, religious professional, spiritual authenticity

Description by Dr. Tim Rainey

Recorded in Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, California

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Dilemmas of Religious Professional, Part 1 (continued), 1971 February 9,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/255.

In the first lecture of this series, Thurman discusses the meaning of being a professional in society and the distinctiveness of the religious professional. For the religious professional, one’s calling is unique not only because he or she is chosen but because God has chosen that person. While divine calling distinguishes this individual, Thurman shows special election does not leave one exempt from the contingencies and challenges of human experience. Divine calling should not make the minister arrogant but more devoted to the mission of urging others to embrace the love of God.

Part of the Collection, Dilemmas of the Religious Professional, Hester Lecture Series (1971, Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, CA)

Tags: calling, Hester Lecture, minister, mission, religious experience, religious professional, spiritual authenticity

Description by Dr. Tim Rainey

Recorded in Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, California

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Dilemmas of Religious Professional, Part 1, 1971 February 9,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/254.