Cultural Diversity

Gregory Heille on the Dominican View of Preaching

The Dominican Order is dedicated to preaching—in and out of the pulpit. Eight hundred years after its founding, the order includes more lay members than sisters and nuns and friars combined.

August 2, 2018
Karoline Lewis on the Power of Women in Ministry

Women navigating life in ministry face unique challenges. Naming these realities is the first step to helping women and men recognize them and respond proactively.

July 18, 2018

Karoline Lewis on Helping New Preachers Find Their Voice

For beginning preachers, both women and men, finding their authentic voice requires deep self-reflection in a supportive, respectful context.

July 18, 2018
Racial Injury and Trauma: Redeeming the Christian Story and the Democratic Experiment

A conversation between Danjuma Gibson, associate professor of pastoral care at Calvin Theological Seminary, and Christina Edmondson, dean of intercultural student development at Calvin College.

July 16, 2018
The Challenge of Preaching in Bilingual Communities

Preaching to peers in a homiletics cohort opened Antonio Almonte’s eyes to the differences in how listeners perceive his preaching in English versus Spanish. As a result, he adjusted his English-language preaching style.

July 11, 2018

Multicultural Congregations Meet for Combined Worship Services

Three church groups started out as separate congregations sharing one building. Now regularly-scheduled joint worship helps them see themselves as members of one body in Christ.

July 6, 2018
Seven Challenges in Multicultural, Multi-congregational Worship

Worshiping regularly with a congregation culturally dissimilar from yours is challenging but worth it. Understanding these challenges can also help you change worship to better include different cultural groups within your church.

July 6, 2018
Christina Edmondson on Church Multicultural Accessibility Committees

John 17 records Jesus’ prayer for unity “so that the world may know that you have sent me and loved them.” It is a powerful witness when churches model unity within diversity. This witness requires intention and prayer.

July 2, 2018

Matthew D. Kim on Preaching with Cultural Intelligence

Preachers who interpret scripture without paying attention to cultural, ethnic, and other differences in their congregation miss out on opportunities to build bridges to their listeners’ lives.

June 29, 2018
Anne Emile Zaki on Preaching and Teaching in Today’s Egypt

After becoming a seminary professor in Egypt in 2013, Anne Zaki discovered two things about preaching that she hadn’t learned in the North American context.

June 15, 2018