In Trust Center

Send us Fan Mail Lilly Endowment Inc.’s expanded Pathways for Tomorrow initiative will offer up to $325 million to help theological schools accredited by the Association for Theological Schools collaborate and innovate. The Rev. Dr. Jo Ann Deasy of ATS, who oversees the Pathways coordination work, offers insights on what Pathways has accomplished so far – including help for underserved communities...

Send us Fan Mail The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri, is using Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative grants to create new ways for people from underserved communities to get a theological education. In this episode, the Rev. Drs. Sergio Navarrete and Darin Poe discuss how the school is using innovative, bilingual, and online programs to try to equip a new generation of m...

Send us Fan Mail Eden Theological Seminary President the Rev. Dr. Deborah Krause and Vice President for Institutional Advancement the Rev. Dr. Mary Schaller Blaufuss discuss how the 175-year-old seminary is moving into a new model of education. Using a Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative grant, the seminary has formed a network of other likeminded seminaries to offer classes to students, as well as p...

Send us Fan Mail A congregational leader and strategist, the Rev. Tod Bolsinger, Ph. D., discusses the need for adaptive leadership in theological education. Bolsinger shares insights from his latest book series, including tackling the challenges of leading through change, handling internal resistance, and realigning missions in a post-pandemic world. Bolsinger discusses rethinking old models and...

Send us Fan Mail The Rev. Tay Moss, an Episcopalian priest, media producer, and educator, has produced an AI-drive webpage to help people explore the Anglican church – AskCathy.ai – and in this episode explores the potential of AI for theological schools and how they can use it to enhance student engagement and streamline access to information. As well, he discusses the potential for new pedagogy...

Send us Fan Mail The Rev. Nancy Claire Pittman, Ph. D., is retiring as president of Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after a long career in both the church and theological education. She reflects on the changes at Phillips and the transformation that has taken place there, including how the school uses the city as a place to learn. She also considers what she wished she knew about...

Send us Fan Mail The Rev. Dr. David Vásquez-Levy, president of Pacific School of Theology in Berkeley, California, discusses how the school is using its Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative grant to create a new ecosystem that includes not just technology but also efforts to reconsider educational modes and methods. The school's programming includes a stackable curriculum and challenges tradition...

Send us Fan Mail Rick Staisloff, a consultant with a long history in higher education, explores how theological institutions can thrive amid change by embracing strategic partnerships and shared services. He stresses the importance of aligning with student needs and maintaining a mission-driven approach while calling this a historic time that demands courage. You can find out more about Rick here...

Send us Fan Mail The Rev. Heather Hartung, Ph. D., has been a student, minister, faculty member, dean, and member of a theological school board. She now serves as a director of accreditation with the Association of Theological Schools. In this episode of the podcast, she discusses how boards and leaders of theological schools can approach shared governance from various perspectives. You can find m...

Send us Fan Mail The Rev. Dr. Joanne Rodriguez, executive director of the Hispanic Theological Initiative, was honored with the 2024 Women in Leadership Trailblazer Award by the Association of Theological Schools. She didn't intend to go into theological education, but for a quarter of a century has helped create pathways for others in the field. She shared about dealing with a scarcity minds...

Send us Fan Mail The Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative was designed by Lilly Endowment Inc. to create  ways for theological schools in North America to train ministers for Christian churches. The Rev. Dr. Jo Ann Deasy, director of institutional initiatives of the Association of Theological Schools, and Amy Kardash, president of the In Trust Center for Theological Schools, discuss key findings and t...

Send us Fan Mail An award-winning author and longtime pastor's wife, Karen Stiller admits to a struggle with the concept of holiness. In her new book,  Holiness Here: Searching for God in the Ordinary Events of Everyday Life , Stiller addresses the everyday tension between what we want to do and where we are in a book that could be used devotionally or in a seminary classroom. As a board memb...

Send us Fan Mail NAIITS, an Indigenous Learning Community, is using Pathways for Tomorrow grants to explore ways to decolonize theology and provide trauma-informed education for the Indigenous community. Shari Russell, the director of NAIITS, and Mike Hogeterp, lead facilitator, discuss the project and the ways they're approaching the work ahead. 

Send us Fan Mail McCormick Theological Seminary is using a Lilly Endowment Inc. Pathways for Tomorrow grant to explore how to help people heal from trauma. The Heart-Work Rising Trauma Healing Initiative is exploring theological education that will help students to be trauma-informed. The Rev. Dr. Stephanie Crumpton and Dr. Jina Kang discuss the impact of trauma-informed education, the integration...

Send us Fan Mail At China Evangelical Seminary  North America (CESNA), leaders are looking at ways to engage leaders and congregants of immigrant churches. They've done so with new programming aimed at helping congregations, including a Center for Public Theology. Drs. Frank and Anita Liu, leaders at CESNA, explain how they're doing that with a Pathways for Tomorrow grant from Lilly Endo...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Rebekah Burch Basinger considers the "invisible balance sheet" - things that institutions are responsible for that may not be on the actual balance sheet. With candor and years of experience, Basinger offers insight on how a board might consider the welfare of an entire institution. She refers to an article by Roland Kushner in the Stanford Social Innovation Review t...

Send us Fan Mail Kairos University has worked to develop contextual, competency-based theological education, and now educates students across the world using their approach.  Greg Henson, the president of Kairos University, and Nate Helling, the CFO and vice president of operations, talk about their work and how a Pathways for Tomorrow grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. is helping. 

Send us Fan Mail The Academy for Jewish Religion received a grant in Lilly Endowment Inc.'s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative and used the money to make a series of explanatory videos about Judaism. Ora Horn Prouser, Ph. D., the CEO and academic dean of the Academy for Jewish Religion, discusses how the project, "Mosaic Religion and the Religious Mosaic," contributes to theological e...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Philip Dearborn, president of the Association for Biblical Higher Education in the United States and Canada, discusses the need for specialty accreditation and how it provides an assurance of an institution's commitment to its mission. Dearborn also examines the pressures on schools but also expresses a hope for the future of theological education. 

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Kent Anderson, president of Providence University College and Theological Seminary in Canada, considers competency-based theological education and suggests that it's really not new but a return to ancient practices of education. The co-author with Greg Henson of the book Theological Education: Principles and Practices of a Competency-Based Approach , Anderson says mentori...

Send us Fan Mail Hood Theological Seminary is using a Lilly Endowment Pathways for Tomorrow grant to  educate students and alumni about financial planning, expand curriculum, and create anti-racism education.  Hood's Dr. Karen Owens and John Everett discuss how they're working in the seminary, with alumni, and the community to accomplish the seminary's goals. You can find more about...

Send us Fan Mail Greg Henson, president of Kairos University, has worked with competency-based theological education to remake Sioux Falls Seminary into Kairos. In a new book, Henson and Kent Anderson, president of Providence University College and Theological Seminary, discuss the principles and practices of competency-based education approaches and how they can help other schools. The book is  T...

Send us Fan Mail The Rev. Dr. David McAllister-Wilson, president of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., has been at the school for more than 40 years. Reflecting on his time, he considers the future to be among the constituencies that he serves, and in this episode, he considers what the way forward looks like for theological education.

Send us Fan Mail Dr. David Gyertson has seen a variety of leadership transitions both in his own career and in his work as a consultant coaching boards and leaders in transition. As a leadership coach, he provides insights into what boards should do and how they should handle leadership transitions.

Send us Fan Mail In Trust Center President Amy Kardash and the Rev. Dr. Frank Yamada, executive director of the Association of Theological Schools, open a new series, "Inside Theological Education," discussing current trends and what schools can understand about the field from them.