A reflection on Dr. Patrick B. Reyes's "The Purpose Gap" "Now flip the paper upside down." That instruction did more work on me than almost anything else I encountered that semester. Before this class, I only knew Dr. Patrick Reyes in passing — a name that surfaced in seminary circles, an article here and there. That changed the moment I hit play on the audiobook in early November. Every car ride after that, I was struck by his transparency, his vulnerability, his raw honesty

A reflection on "Anchored in the Current: Discovering Howard Thurman as Educator, Activist, Guide and Prophet" When I was introduced to Howard Thurman in this course, it wasn't a new name — I just hadn't done much research on him myself. My social location led me to resist reading further into male perspectives with a fixed gaze on racial disparities, perspectives that use women as a body count without fully seeing our experiences at the hands of men of all races. Thurman fel

A reflection on Ignacio Ellacuría's "The People of God and Liberation" Liberation needs mediations. I couldn't agree more. I first heard this idea in different clothing, in an environmental justice course at Garrett, when Reverend Brian Sauder — Executive Director of Faith in Place Chicago — talked about his years engaging donors, policymakers, and public sector agencies. He put it simply: the messenger matters. Depending on the context, depending on the content, there are mo

A reflection on Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II's "Revive Us Again," Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharris, and the leadership structures we inherit Executive Directors and Social Entrepreneurs meet for the NBA gathering in Houston, TX: Sophia Barnett (MACC Foundation & JBM Publishing), Rev. Whitney-Marie Murphy (CAYA), and LaSheena Jenkins (SheeCreates & LTJ, LLC) Before I ever sat in a boardroom, I sat in my grandfather's office. That's where the real planning happened — my grandfather, my

A reflection on Walter Brueggemann's "The Prophetic Imagination" LaSheena Jenkins pictured with Pastors Curtis Moore and Pastor Ira Acree at the Rainbow Push Clergy Breakfast and celebration. There's a version of God that lives in the royal court. Beholden to the king. No court of appeal for anyone standing outside the palace gate. And there's a version of God that walks out of Egypt with Moses — free, unowned, and on the side of the people who have nothing. Walter Brueggeman

A reflection on Susan Beaumont's "How to Lead When You Don't Know Where You're Going" I've always loved the story of Noah, but I'd never sat with it the way Susan Beaumont made me sit with it — inside the ark, in the dark, with the animals, waiting on a world that hadn't been remade yet. Beaumont's first two chapters gave me language I'd been circling for a while without landing on: the liminal period. The space after separation from what was, and before reorientation into wh

On building the Warm Handoff Project — and the months I spent unhoused while running the youth programs that would shape the rest of my career My first job out of seminary was at Faith in Place. I was doing environmental justice work I believed in, running youth programs across Lake County, building the kind of career a Master of Public Ministry is supposed to lead to. I was also unhoused. My employer knew. They weren't in the dark about it. They were deeply committed to havi