Rural Ministry Colloquia -

Thriving Rural Communities and the Divinity Women’s Center hosted a panel discussion with author Margot Starbuck and professors Amy Laura Hall, Chuck Campbell, Ellen Davis, Mary McClintock Fulkerson, and Sujin Pak, who discussed men and women's bodies in media, the church, the pulpit, the bible, and daily lives.

Hear Tim Reaves, a Duke Divinity School graduate and lead pastor of the thriving, three-point Bladen United Methodist Charge in rural eastern North Carolina, speak about practical, faithful, and fruitful ways for small churches to share Christ with their communities. The Bladen charge is comprised of Bethlehem, Live Oak, and Windsor United Methodist churches.

Parish ministry can be a lonely vocation. The “set-apartness” of the pastoral role, the effects of geographical isolation, and the time demands of congregational life can all conspire to make the parish feel like what the old spiritual calls “the lonesome valley.” And yet Jesus walked that same lonesome valley, and, through him, even the loneliness of ministry can become a source of beauty and communion. Hear Jeremy Troxler, director of the Thriving Rural Communities initiative, discuss the loneliness of rural, and all, ministry.

Even when pastors have done their best, many feel extreme guilt at having fallen short of the high standards of Christian life and discipleship to which they are held. Because a pastor’s identity and vocation are so closely intertwined, even constructive criticism of a pastor’s performance often feels like a personal attack. How can our ministries reflect the kind of “Freedom of a Christian” once described by Martin Luther? Hear Rev. Jeremy Troxler, director of the Thriving Rural Communities initiative, discuss the ways in which pastors can release their guilt and experience the joy of forgiveness and the grace and freedom that should accompany the Christian calling.

Rev. Dr. Laura Early shares the story of All God’s Children United Methodist Church, a unique rural mission congregation where Jesus Christ is encountered, celebrated, and served in the lives of poor families. The church is located in Aulander, N.C., in one of the most economically distressed rural counties in the state. It aims to meet the needs of children and impoverished families in a personal way, through its Morning Lambs pre-school program, an after-school ministry that fosters learning, and Home Base, a food and clothing distribution facility. All God’s Children is a “place of possibilities,” where dependence upon God and commitment to love make miracles happen.

To engage in rural ministry for the glory of God, far from the crowds and the spotlight, requires profound self-emptying and the cultivation of a courageous humility. And yet such humility can become a source of deep freedom and joy. Hear Rev. Jeremy Troxler, Director of the Thriving Rural Communities initiative, discuss what it means to serve in faithful rural ministry before an audience of one.

Like many small towns, Chatham, Va., has been devastated by the loss of its tobacco, textile, and furniture industries. Recently, however, thanks in part to the leadership of Chatham Baptist Church and its pastor, Rev. Chuck Warnock, the community has experienced signs of revitalization. Hear Rev. Warnock share this inspiring story of God’s grace conveyed through partnership.

Jason Byassee, director of the Duke Divinity School’s Center for Theology, Writing & Media, and an executive director at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity, shares from his book manuscript. During this talk, Byassee, an author, blogger and Christian Century contributing editor, leads a discussion of why small-sized churches have been God’s primary way of saving people from biblical times to the present.