Christena Cleveland

social psychology + faith + reconciliation

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Searching for Pentecost

Searching for Pentecost

By christena on May 16, 2013

Not too long ago I taught a seminary class on racial reconciliation and the Church. At the end of the semester, one of my most endearing and engaged students approached me and told me that while he had greatly enjoyed the class and thought that this “racial reconciliation stuff” was interesting, he didn’t believe that [...]

Posted in diverse Kingdom, reconciliation | Tagged pentecost | 13 Responses
“We have a better version of the Gospel” [Diversity Repellent]

“We have a better version of the Gospel” [Diversity Repellent]

By christena on May 15, 2013

In this series called Diversity Repellent I’m sharing brief observations on the subtle but powerful things that we do and say that make diverse people think twice about building community with us. These are just observations, so I encourage you to share your own thoughts, questions and suggestions. Also, if you have a “diversity repellent” [...]

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged church, diversity repellent | 34 Responses
Listening Well as a Person of Privilege - the complete series

Listening Well as a Person of Privilege – the complete series

By christena on May 13, 2013

I did a short series on listening well as a person of privilege because I often encounter privileged people who sincerely desire to stand in solidarity with oppressed people but don’t really know how to go about it in an honoring way. As a result, their well-intentioned attempts to listen well often result in clumsy [...]

Posted in diverse Kingdom, gender, reconciliation | Tagged listening well, power, power dynamics | 4 Responses
Jeff & Le Que, co-lead pastors extraordinaires

What’s a white male pastor to do?

By christena on May 9, 2013

Note: Today’s post comes from my friend and pastor, Jeff Heidkamp. About 18 months ago, we formed a multiethnic preaching team that gave voice to diverse people while drastically cutting the number of Sundays that Jeff occupied the pulpit. In this post, Jeff talks about what he’s learned in the process and offers some advice [...]

Posted in diverse Kingdom, preaching, Uncategorized | Tagged Jeff Heidkamp, multiethnic church | 11 Responses

Listening well as a person of privilege: From pain to hope

By christena on May 6, 2013

Note: This is the 6th and final post in a series on Listening Well as a Person of Privilege. If you’ve been energized by this series, I encourage you to be on the lookout for my book “The Priesthood of the Privileged” which I hope will be out at some point in 2014! One of [...]

Posted in diverse Kingdom, justice, reconciliation, Uncategorized | Tagged hope, listening well, pain, privilege, white privilege | 15 Responses

Listening well as a person of privilege: Seek to understand and embrace anger

By christena on April 15, 2013

Note: This is the 5th post in a ongoing series on Listening Well as a Person of Privilege. If you’ve been energized by this series, I encourage you to be on the lookout for my book “The Priesthood of the Privileged” which I hope will be out at some point in 2014. Privileged people who are [...]

Posted in diverse Kingdom, justice, reconciliation | Tagged anger, listening well, power, power dynamics, privilege | 25 Responses

Listening well as a person of privilege: Recognize the limitations of good intentions

By christena on April 8, 2013

Note: This is the 4th post in an ongoing series on Listening Well as a Person of Privilege. If you’ve been energized by this series, I encourage you to be on the lookout for my book “The Priesthood of the Privileged” which I hope will be out at some point in 2014. Privileged Christians almost [...]

Posted in diverse Kingdom, justice, reconciliation | Tagged good intentions, listening well, power, power dynamics | 11 Responses
Jesus, Unity and Fenway Park

Jesus, Unity and Fenway Park

By christena on April 1, 2013

Note: In honor of MLB Opening Day, I’m taking a short break from my series on Listening Well as a Person of Privilege. I’ll continue it next week About halfway through my grad school program, I decided that I wanted a career in Major League Baseball.  As a lifelong baseball fan  – it’s such a [...]

Posted in diverse Kingdom | Tagged division, unity | 9 Responses

Listening well as a person of privilege: Communicate on their terms, not your own

By christena on March 25, 2013

Note: This is the 3rd post in an ongoing series on Listening Well as a Person of Privilege. If you’ve been energized by this series, I encourage you to be on the lookout for my book “The Priesthood of the Privileged” which I hope will be out at some point in 2014. I’ve talked with [...]

Posted in culture, diverse Kingdom, justice, Uncategorized | Tagged listening well, power, power dynamics, privilege | 15 Responses

Listening well as a person of privilege: Solidarity first, collaborative problem-solving later

By christena on March 18, 2013

Note: This is the 2nd post in an ongoing series on Listening Well as a Person of Privilege. If you’ve been energized by this series, I encourage you to be on the lookout for my book “The Priesthood of the Privileged” which I hope will be out at some point in 2014. Privileged folks are [...]

Posted in diverse Kingdom, justice, Uncategorized | Tagged listening well, privilege | 21 Responses
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Available November 4! Click on the image for more details or to pre-order.

The Reconciliation Lab

Welcome! This is where I attempt to integrate social psychology research, faith, current events and my own experience as a reconciler. My goal is to demystify cultural divisions in the church (and beyond) and help leaders acquire the skills to overcome them.

Like any other lab, the ideas and findings presented in the RecLab are a work in progress. Further, since reconciliation work is a collaborative process, I invite you to participate in the conversation by sharing your own experiences and constructive feedback.

Peace.

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