Leading Theologically

How are faith leaders and congregations engaging the communities around them? How can values like love, justice, and democratic decision-making become part of a multi-faith civically-engaged ministry? Join Lee as he talks with Dr. Keisha E. McKenzie (she/they), a strategist who interprets communication, religion, spirituality, and politics as social change technologies and serves as Senior Vice Pr...

There may be no one that knows more about Presbyterian world mission than the Rev. Dr Hunter Farrell. He has been a professor in the Democratic Republic of Congo, coordinator of the PC(USA)’s mission work in East and West Africa, network coordinator addressing issues of poverty and justice in Peru, director of World Mission for the PC(USA), and since 2017 the Director of the World Mission Initiati...

José Irizarry began service as the 10th president of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary on August 22, 2022, less than three months after being named by the APTS Board. Bring your curiosities about transitioning out and into new ministries and contexts for this conversation with José! Prior to his role at APTS, José was serving as the Vice President for Education at the Board of Pensions of t...

For many churches, the 18-30 demographic is a coveted group. Rachel Penmore has spent all of her ordained ministry working with young adults in some capacity and has found that churches are constantly trying to get more young adults in their church because they think it will save them, or help them survive. And what she has learned is that all of that is a fallacy and is, in fact, keeping young ad...

David LaMotte's forthcoming book, You Are Changing the World Whether You Like It Or Not, wrestles with how we tell the story of large-scale societal change versus how it actually happens, and the implications of marinating in a narrative that is not true. Don’t’ miss this conversation with this author, artist, non-profit founder, singer-songwriter, speaker, and social activist.

If God is sovereign over all our life, how might people of faith invest responsibly? Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) was created in recognition of the church’s unique opportunity to advance its mission faithfully and creatively through the financial resources entrusted it. MRTI implements the General Assembly’s policies on socially responsible investing (also called faith-based in...

The current ship of “ministry” we’re captaining is in need of turning, of painting, maybe docking, and possibly being rebuilt. And, this just might be critical to do with younger people in the church and the world. Join Gina Yeager-Buckley in this important conversation about where the ship of "ministry" should be going!

What is the spotlight of public ministry? Who is our neighbor when we're online? How can you have integrity when you have to lead worship but don't feel like it? Join us for an exploration of these questions and more including why church members put leaders on a pedestal and what it means to be authentic in ministry with Sarah Bereza. Sarah Bereza, who has served a number of congregations, holds a...

Jenny McDevitt began sharing @writing.lightly as she calls it on Instagram, “writing faithfully, not perfectly” as one of her spiritual practices and disciplines in December 2021. What friends, colleagues, and congregations that know her was shared more broadly, that her words, wisdom, liturgy and poetry are captivating and deeply meaningful. Join Lee Hinson-Hasty for this episode of Leading Theol...

Best-selling author, profound teacher, and highly sought preacher and Episcopal priest, Barbara Brown Taylor talks about “COVID (as) essentially turn(ing) us into a nation of shut-ins. I've had a lot of time to reflect on what happens to identity (especially, perhaps, ministerial identity) during such a long period of social isolation, disembodied meetings (including worship), limited travel, dimi...

In this special Leading Theologically broadcast, we'll explore the religious dimensions to the crisis and war in Ukraine with the Rev. Dr. John Burgess from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. As political, military, diplomatic and human rights leaders struggle to bring peace back to Ukraine, religious leaders are concerned as well. What you may not know are the religious dimensions to this crisis an...

The Future is Womanist In July 2019, Rev. Melanie C. Jones joined the Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership at Union Presbyterian Seminary as its newest director and next visionary leader. Jones maintains, “Building on an enduring legacy of womanism in theological education with Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon as its leading trailblazer and foremother, The Future is Womanist. The compounding...

Could you catch a vision of a future where all our urban youth are equipped to reach post-secondary success, our public schools serve all children excellently, our city is flourishing in all its neighborhoods, and our workforce is widely diverse and highly skilled to advance a region that is good and just for all? Pittsburgh Promise does and has since 1985. Founded in 1985 by University of Dubuque...

John Cleghorn raises important questions in his first book, Resurrecting Church: Can churches survive, even be resurrected, at the intersections of race, sexuality, class, and faith background? Can congregations be liberated by rebuilding around those on the margins who have been wounded by church? As more US cities become majority-minority, the "mainline" church remains stubbornly white and homog...

Anna Carter Florence is the Peter Marshall Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and a beloved preaching mentor and preacher to many! We can study scripture, listen to sermons, and even read what others say about it but in the end, says Anna Carter Florence, Scripture needs to be rehearsed and encountered in community. This...

In Defense of Kindness book author Bruce Reyes-Chow will be sharing on his breakthrough case of the virus in August 2021. A GenXer, Bruce was ordained to ministry of Word and Sacrament in 1995 in Stockton, CA. In 2008, the General Assembly of the PC(USA) elected him Moderator of the General Assembly at the youthful age of 39. An author, blogger, YouTuber, consultant, coach, podcaster, and sought a...

In a time of political turmoil, how should we pray? What is the role of prayer in resisting politics that are based on hatred and division? Shannon Craigo-Snell’s 2020 book, Disciplined Hope, claims prayer as a way to choose hope over fear and has been called “a love note to people who long for justice as a faithful Christian response (and a) powerful testimony of prayer as action, as intention, a...

The Rev. Dr. Cláudio Carvalhaes, theologian, liturgist, preacher, and artist, a native Brazilian, is Associate Professor of Worship at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, serving since 2007. He has taught at McCormick Theological Seminary, Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. A much sought-after speaker, writer, performer, and con...

Are you seeking to dream of a different world beyond COVID-19? Join us for a conversation with leading ecumenist, a constructive Reformed theologian, Presbyterian minister, and beloved professor at McCormick Theological Seminary, the Rev. Dr. Anna Case-Winters. Be introduced to Case-Winters’ soon-to-be-released book, God Will Be All in All: Theology through the Lens of Incarnation, and learn from...

Have you quoted or heard someone quote Ted Lasso? In its second season on Apple TV, this show by the same name concludes on October 8th. Lasso is even showing up in the Christian media as well as sermons often. When asked about how often he quoted Lasso, the Rev. Dr. Joe Clifford, pastor and head of staff of Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC, responded, “I hope I’m not talking about...

The Rev. Dr. Katharine Rhodes Henderson is president of Auburn Seminary, a leadership development and research institute that equips and convenes leaders across the multifaith movement for justice. Rev. Henderson was raised in Louisville, Kentucky during the civil rights movement where she accompanied her parents on civil rights marches and prayed and sang with people of many faith traditions who...

Much of the contemporary discussion of the religiously unaffiliated has focused on declining religious affiliation among college-educated persons. Very little attention has been given however to low levels of religious affiliation among more socially marginalized populations. The Rev. Dr. Drew Smith will explore these dynamics in the light of pertinent data and scholarship in this live interview w...

How can we reframe U.S. secular holidays In the church? In this episode of Leading Theologically, we are in conversation with the Reverend Dr. James Calvin Davis, author of the 2021 released book American Liturgy: Finding Meaning in the Holy Days of US Culture. Davis, a Christian ethicist and Presbyterian minister, serves as Professor of liberal arts and religion at Middlebury College in Vermont....

The Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty in conversation with the Rev. Brian Ellison. Ellison is executive director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, a national organization engaging, educating and equipping congregations and councils toward an equity not yet fully realized for LGBTQIA+ people in church and society. He is also stated clerk of the Synod of Mid-America and of Heartland Presbytery. Addi...

Join us for this conversation between the Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty and Dr. Grace Kao, Professor of Christian Ethics at Claremont School of Theology. Kao co-edited the 2015 book, Asian American Christian Ethics, and is currently writing an introduction to Asian American Christian Ethics. You won't want to miss this timely conversation, considering the escalated violence against Asian Americans in...