Ministry Inspiration

Whenever I find ministry inspiration out in the wild, I link to it here. Enjoy!

I try to look for inspiration from non-Christian sources, because it is forever the preacher’s job to find the internal logics of ‘secular’ society and convey the Gospel in relevant ways. I’ll leave it to you to connect the dots between the inspo and God’s love!

I don’t own any of this content, and I link to every source I use.

Also: I tend to play fast and loose. If it catches my attention, I post it. Please don’t consider this a complete endorsement of the organizations (or a particular political party or candidate) that produced these.

Beyond the Backlash: What Evidence Shows about the Economic Impact of DEI (The Conversation 5/2025)

Featuring links to very helpful research about DEI.

For All We’ve Lost: A Liturgy for George Floyd (Cole Arthur Riley)

Cole Arthur Riley (Black Liturgies) writes prayers that change the world, and this is one of them.

The Homefulness Project

An indigenous-led solution to homelessness in Oakland.

EdX for Online Learning

What if seminaries offered this? (Do seminaries offer this?)

“Religious Landscape Study” (Pew)

City-specific data on a wide variety of religious beliefs.

Building Resilient Organizations (The Forge)

Maurice Mitchell offers mic-droppingly good insight on current community organizing culture.

Upward Mobility Framework (The Urban Institute)

24 evidence-based predictors of the strength for long-term prosperity in our communities.

Two in Three Americans Support Racial Justice Protests (Gallup 7/2020)

Including a fascinating breakdown of racial subgroups and participation in the protests surrounding the uprising

Black and Asian Solidarity in American HIstory

This article does not name historic tensions between the two communities, but I appreciated having all these stories in one place.

“Nikki-Rosa”, a poem by Nikki Giovanni

“Black love is Black wealth”

The One-Size-Fits-All Diversity Training Model Is Broken — here’s a Better Alternative (The Conversation)

My biggest take-away from this was creating personas for people engaging DEI training: the resistant trainee, the overzealous trainee, the anxious trainee, the skeptic, and the believer.

Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Childhood Development (Georgetown University)

Surprising no one, excessive screen time is not great for young kids! But This article also describes potential benefits and opportunities for parents to care about their child’s screen time.

Understanding Cancel Culture (The Forge)

A helpful exploration of intra-movement dynamics of ‘cancel culture.’

Justice Outcomes Explorer (University of Michigan)

A tool designed to ‘help answer fundamental questions about law enforcement, criminal courts, and correctional supervision and their impact on society.’

Project 2025 Tracker

Remember when they came out with Project 2025? This tracks how that’s going.

Creation It Rings (Album)

Let the record show I would be a fan of this even if I wasn’t married to the musician…

“Erica Chenoweth illuminates the value of nonviolent resistance in societal conflicts” (Harvard Kennedy School)

Dr. Erica Chenoweth of Harvard discovered 4 ingredients to successful nonviolent movements.

The Decline of Christianity has slowed (Pew Research)

Deep generational divides on spirituality remain.

Illuminating Spiritual Innovation (Sacred Design Lab)

4 trends in how people all over the world are approaching spirituality.

Clergy Age Trends in the United MEthodist Church: 1985-2024 (The Lewis Center)

Reports 398 elders under 35 in the UMC system. Keep in mind, though, that the earliest someone could complete training and the ordination process is ~27.

A scholar told me to keep up with these journals

Journal for Interdisciplinary Biblical Scholarship (open access)
The Bible in Critical Theory
Journal of Biblical Literature
Biblical Interpretation (Brille)