The Christian faith is built upon a trauma - the trauma of Christ's death on the cross. Even after his resurrection, the memories and wounds of the crucifixion persist. In this sermon, Dr. Wang explores John 20:19-29, drawing connections between this passage to recent research on the prevalence o...

Why was this man chained? What was he howling? Where was his community? This story raises many questions when it comes to the community's role with the hurt and traumatized among us. As we see in so many healing stories, Jesus doesn't remove persons from community but reestablishes their relation...

This sermon on Mark 8:22-26 draws on the role of community to reimagine and create safe space for victims of trauma to process and heal. It draws on details from the story to see the healing power of presence displayed in Jesus. All of us are called to be wounded healers. Rev. Teanna also pulls f...

In spaces shaped by intellectual rigor, theological discourse is often measured by logic, precision, and academic credibility—standards historically shaped by dominant white cultural frameworks. Within these spaces, ways of understanding rooted in Black experience and survival have often been dis...

Drawing from the example of Christ, including His death on the cross, Dr. David Wang explores the implications of Christ's trauma on our spiritual formation as leaders (i.e., on our journey of becoming more conformed into the likeness of Christ in our leadership). Special attention will be given...

This workshop examines how trauma studies can illuminate the interpretation of biblical texts, using key narratives and poetry as case studies. We consider how both ancient communities and contemporary readers use storytelling and poetry as powerful ways to process pain. The workshop also offers ...

We preach to communities who have been through something.

They carry racialized histories, institutional disappointments, political fracture, public grief, and private shame. Much of this is unspoken. It lives in the body of the congregation - in what feels fragile, reactive, easily threatened, ...

Many of our children and youth walk into our churches carrying invisible wounds that affect how they listen, trust, and learn. This session helps pastors and ministry leaders better understand the impact of trauma on the brain and discover how the church can become a place of healing, understandi...

What if the parishioner who storms out during a sermon, the volunteer who shuts down when given feedback, or the longtime member who suddenly disappears isn’t being difficult — but is dysregulated? This practical presentation invites pastoral leaders, ministry staff, and lay leaders to see congre...

In today’s cultural moment – marked by polarization, anxiety, fragmentation, and spiritual exhaustion – preaching does more than interpret Scripture. It forms a people. This workshop explores how sermons can move congregations toward the Eucharistic table as the culmination of worship, where Jesu...

The abused and traumatized who sit among us on Sundays can be further traumatized when we preach forgiveness without care. This workshop reviews what forgiveness is and what it is not, reviews problematic exegesis of relevant scriptures, and offers practical suggestions on preaching to the "sinne...