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1.4: Community
Pivot hosts Terri Elton from Luther Seminary, Scott Cormode of Fuller Seminary and Louise Johnson from LEAD gather to discuss cultivating community.
Resources Mentioned
- Beyond the Screen by Andrew Zirschky
Hosts
Scott Cormode is Hugh De Pree Professor of Leadership Development at Fuller, and previously also served as academic dean and as director of innovation. He founded the Academy of Religious Leadership, an organization for professors who teach leadership in seminaries, and its Journal of Religious Leadership. Author of the book Making Spiritual Sense: Theological Interpretation as Christian Leadership, Cormode has also published numerous articles on leadership, organization, and technology. He maintains case studies and other resources on leadership.fuller.edu, a website for developing Christian leaders.
This faculty chair was established by the family of the late Hugh De Pree, an accomplished leader and brother of longtime Fuller board member Max De Pree, in order to further develop leadership training programs within the School of Theology and the De Pree Leadership Center.
Cormode brought significant leadership and teaching experience to this position, as an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who served for the previous decade as George Butler Associate Professor of Church Administration and Finance at Claremont School of Theology. Cormode also served at Claremont as associate dean for institutional research, chair of the Curriculum Committee, chair of the Accreditation Team, and principal writer of the Long Range Planning Committee.
Pastor Louise N. Johnson serves as the assistant to the presiding bishop/executive for administration of the ELCA. Prior to her work with the ELCA, she served as a director for LEAD, a leadership development nonprofit. Pastor Johnson also served as the fourteenth president of Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, where she led the seminary to its largest fundraising and enrollment years in the history of the school. Pastor Johnson has served in a variety of roles at Wartburg, as well as the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. She has served congregations as both a pastor and a youth ministry worker. Pastor Johnson is a native of Akron, Ohio, and attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. She earned a Master of Divinity from Wartburg Seminary in 1999. She has a Certificate in Leadership and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She continues to teach, speak and consult in change leadership in church organizations.
The Rev. Dr. Terri Martinson Elton began teaching at Luther Seminary as an adjunct instructor in 2004 before becoming the director of the Center for Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2008. In addition to her continued work with the Center, Elton accepted the position of associate professor of Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2010 and associate professor of Leadership in 2014.
Prior to her call to Luther Seminary, Elton served as an associate to the bishop in the Saint Paul Area Synod where her responsibilities included working with congregations, leadership development, First Call theological education and youth and family ministry.
Elton holds a B.A. degree in communications from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. (1986). She earned both her M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2007) degrees in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary.
About Pivot Podcast
Join us on Pivot Podcast, where we journey beyond church-as-usual to discover how God is reshaping ministry for today’s world.
Each week, we dive into conversations with innovative leaders and practitioners who are navigating four game-changing pivots: shifting from quick fixes to deep listening, from membership to discipleship, from rigid models to creative ministry ecosystems, and from clergy-centered leadership to unleashing everyone’s gifts.
Whether you’re a member of the clergy seeking fresh inspiration or a volunteer stepping into new leadership territory, Pivot Podcast equips you with the insights and practical wisdom to follow Jesus into a faithful future.
Through their work with diverse cohorts of preachers, they’ve discovered that the most compelling sermons aren’t necessarily the most polished – they’re the ones where preachers have learned to listen deeply to both God and their congregations. Learn practical tools for gathering meaningful feedback, understand why vulnerability matters more than ever in preaching, and discover how shifting from evaluation to understanding can deepen your sermon’s impact. Plus, hear why reimagining God’s agency in preaching might be the key to unlocking more powerful proclamation.
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Hosts
Scott Cormode is Hugh De Pree Professor of Leadership Development at Fuller, and previously also served as academic dean and as director of innovation. He founded the Academy of Religious Leadership, an organization for professors who teach leadership in seminaries, and its Journal of Religious Leadership. Author of the book Making Spiritual Sense: Theological Interpretation as Christian Leadership, Cormode has also published numerous articles on leadership, organization, and technology. He maintains case studies and other resources on leadership.fuller.edu, a website for developing Christian leaders.
This faculty chair was established by the family of the late Hugh De Pree, an accomplished leader and brother of longtime Fuller board member Max De Pree, in order to further develop leadership training programs within the School of Theology and the De Pree Leadership Center.
Cormode brought significant leadership and teaching experience to this position, as an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who served for the previous decade as George Butler Associate Professor of Church Administration and Finance at Claremont School of Theology. Cormode also served at Claremont as associate dean for institutional research, chair of the Curriculum Committee, chair of the Accreditation Team, and principal writer of the Long Range Planning Committee.
Pastor Louise N. Johnson serves as the assistant to the presiding bishop/executive for administration of the ELCA. Prior to her work with the ELCA, she served as a director for LEAD, a leadership development nonprofit. Pastor Johnson also served as the fourteenth president of Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, where she led the seminary to its largest fundraising and enrollment years in the history of the school. Pastor Johnson has served in a variety of roles at Wartburg, as well as the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. She has served congregations as both a pastor and a youth ministry worker. Pastor Johnson is a native of Akron, Ohio, and attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. She earned a Master of Divinity from Wartburg Seminary in 1999. She has a Certificate in Leadership and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She continues to teach, speak and consult in change leadership in church organizations.
The Rev. Dr. Terri Martinson Elton began teaching at Luther Seminary as an adjunct instructor in 2004 before becoming the director of the Center for Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2008. In addition to her continued work with the Center, Elton accepted the position of associate professor of Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2010 and associate professor of Leadership in 2014.
Prior to her call to Luther Seminary, Elton served as an associate to the bishop in the Saint Paul Area Synod where her responsibilities included working with congregations, leadership development, First Call theological education and youth and family ministry.
Elton holds a B.A. degree in communications from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. (1986). She earned both her M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2007) degrees in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary.