The podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill has captured the attention of a large audience, both within and beyond American Christianity. Produced by Christianity Today, the podcast takes a deep dive into the implosion of a Seattle megachurch and the dysfunction of its senior pastor, Mark Driscoll. The host, Mike Cosper, both presents […]
Resilient Leaders Project has created a second training program, Resilient Congregations. This program is funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., through its Thriving Congregations Initiative. Resilient Congregations will continue building relationships with clergy and ministry leaders in the Greater Seattle Area and beyond. The program comes at a time when congregational life looks radically different than […]
Desire. This may seem like a strange place to start a blog post designed to address the categories of compassion and empathy, but in order to join this conversation in a meaningful way, I believe desire is where the conversation must begin and end. In my recent post on self-care, I referenced the purpose of […]
When the pandemic reached our shores in early 2020, promises of time spent at home and opportunities for self-betterment were prevalent. Diets, home workouts, meditation protocols, and Bible verses were forwarded and then forwarded again. Fast forward 6+ months and the tenor of conversations have shifted. Disaster models now predict high levels of anxiety, depression, […]
The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology has received a grant of $1 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to expand the work of Resilient Leaders Project. The program is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The aim of the national initiative is to strengthen Christian congregations so they can help people deepen their relationships […]
Boundaries / Maintaining limits on availability and commitments. What does flourishing leadership look like in the real world? Resilient Leaders Project asked alumni of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology about how they’ve flourished while creating contextually-responsive ministry. In listening to these leaders, we found six common themes–practices and ways of being that other […]
Body / Practicing care for the body through movement and tending to pain. What does flourishing leadership look like in the real world? Resilient Leaders Project asked alumni of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology about how they’ve flourished while creating contextually-responsive ministry. In listening to these leaders, we found six common themes–practices and […]
Connection to God / Connecting to and depending on the divine. What does flourishing leadership look like in the real world? Resilient Leaders Project asked alumni of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology about how they’ve flourished while creating contextually-responsive ministry. In listening to these leaders, we found six common themes–practices and ways of […]
Self-Compassion / Tending to the self through vulnerability, especially around needs, shame, and pain. What does flourishing leadership look like in the real world? Resilient Leaders Project asked alumni of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology about how they’ve flourished while creating contextually-responsive ministry. In listening to these leaders, we found six common themes–practices […]
Community / Valuing and cultivating connection, belonging, and collaboration. What does flourishing leadership look like in the real world? Resilient Leaders Project asked alumni of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology about how they’ve flourished while creating contextually-responsive ministry. In listening to these leaders, we found six common themes–practices and ways of being that […]
Identity / Knowing and living into one’s God-given self. To flourish is to find meaning in the midst of struggle, to adapt and grow in response to challenge. In the midst of pandemic, increased awareness of injustice, and the realities of ministry in post-Christian contexts, we don’t lack for challenges! But we do lack a […]
The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology has released its second research report to come from Resilient Leaders Project (RLP)—a report that describes what flourishing leadership and contextually-responsive ministry look like through a series of alumni profiles, all peer-identified as “exemplars in resilience.” “In the first Resilience Report, we looked at the big picture of […]