Whether it was struggling with reading as a first grader or wrestling with Hebrew as a seminarian, Rebecca Gresham’s education taught her that she can do hard things, even if it requires multiple attempts and some failure. This is a lesson she brings to her ministry: There is always a way forward.
Ashley Brown spent a month with her beloved, dying grandmother before she passed. In this essay, she reflects on their conversations about death and the unending gift of love.
"If a church’s vitality is measured less by what it takes in (people or dollars) and more by what it gives out (meeting needs outside its walls), the downturn in Sunday service attendance could become a catalyst for greater vitality," writes Sheldon W. Sorge.
Responding to an article previously published by the Outlook, Lee Hinson-Hasty ponders the future of pastoral leadership. Are we asking the right questions? Are we looking at the right data? Are we investing in future leaders?
Thomas Wesley Moore IV was called to be an interim pastor within five years of his ordination. He shares why working with churches in transition is important.
College chaplain Jeremy Wilhelmi encourages college students to be curious as they claim their own faith, often for the first time.
Julie Raffety, a minister of Word and Sacrament, shares her experience as a female pastor, why it makes her angry some days, and how God calls her to fight for something better.
Rev. Elana Keppel Levy shares how one high school class taught her about the judgments she made about others.
Rev. Eliza Jaremko, who recently turned 40, looks back on her what she's learned since her ordination at age 27.
College chaplain Maggie Alsup remembers with gratitude the chaplain and pastor, both women, who shepherded her through her college years. They stand as models for the call she now feels in her life.
In this back-to-school season, Rev. Andrew Taylor-Troutman shares a lesson he learned in fifth grade about the power of human connection.
A poem for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost.
Pastor and writer Kathleen Long Bostrom pens a final letter to the beloved theologian Frederick Buechner, who responded to her previous notes and played an important role in her sense of call. Buechner passed away on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Rev. Elana Keppel Levy reflects on living with chronic pain. Who is God when the pain doesn’t go away? She turns to the Bible for some advice.
Presbytery Executive Matthew Skolnik argues that Calvin’s hyper-focus on Word and sacrament does not fit the needs of the modern church. We can no longer be sanctuary-based in our ministry and must follow Jesus’ model.
In her new song 'Church Girl,' Beyoncé doesn’t just give church girls permission to dance, she also defends us.
Citing the all-women synagogue of Acts 16, the female leaders of the Philippian church and the “Mother of Quakerism” Margaret Fell, Rev. Aaron Neff argues that the Spirit does not discriminate against gender, humans do.
Rev. Greg Rapier looks at his son’s chicken-scratch drawings and sees something beautiful — holy, even. Perhaps creativity, whether it is in a child or adult, points to something greater.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman, pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church, honors the work of the church's founding pastor Rev. Dr. Mindy Douglas.
Rev. Karie Charlton shares how she claims space as a female pastor.
Rev. Julie Raffety reviews Skye Jethani's book about four common perspectives in the American church that try to control God. In contrast, Jethani promotes the goal of having a relationship with God, simply for the joy of God.
Rev. Rebecca Gresham-Kesner shares her experience of being a woman in ordained ministry.
Rev. Eliza Jaremko shares how she is learning to keep house like Mary and Martha.
Rev. RJ Kang served as a commissioner of GA225 on the Addressing Violence in the USA Committee. Here, she shares one way she feels the committee misused its time, and why it is essential that teaching elders receive local training on how to support victims and survivors of domestic violence.
Lyon College Chaplain Maggie Alsup shares her ritual before each fall semester.
© Copyright 2026 The Presbyterian Outlook. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement. Website by Web Publisher PRO
