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Jessica L. Anschutz is the Interim Director of the Lewis Center and co-editor of Leading Ideas. She teaches in the Doctor of Ministry program at Wesley Theological Seminary and is an elder in the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Jessica participated in the Lewis Fellows program, the Lewis Center's leadership development program for young clergy. She is also the co-editor with Doug Powe of Healing Fractured Communities (Palmetto, 2024).
Rev. Dr. Kris Bentley is an ordained minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She has served in congregational ministry in the central Kentucky area for more than twenty years, sometimes in the role of a bivocational pastor. In 2014 Kris began working at Lexington Theological Seminary (LTS), thanks to a grant by Lilly Endowment Inc. as part of its Economic Challenges Facing Future Ministers (ECFFM) Initiative and later their Thriving in Ministry Initiative.
How can bivocational ministers and the congregations they serve thrive? In this interview, Kris Bentley redefines bivocational ministry beyond traditional models, emphasizing shared leadership, congregational…
This article is reprinted by permission from Leading Ideas, a free e-newsletter from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary available at churchleadership.com.