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L. Gregory Jones

L. Gregory Jones is dean of Duke University Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina.

Articles by L. Gregory Jones

Faith Matters

Learning curve

International engagement

May 18, 2010 by L. Gregory Jones

Abraham haunts me. When I wrote my first Faith Matters column in 1997, I began with those three words. At that time I was in transition—moving from Maryland to North Carolina, and from a faculty position teaching undergraduates at Loyola College in Maryland to a position as dean of Duke Divinity School.

Faith Matters

You’re lonely, I’m lonely

We are created for communion
Jan 26, 2010 by L. Gregory Jones
Could loneliness be as contagious as the H1N1 virus? Is loneliness dangerous to the public’s health? Usually we think of “infection” or “contagion” only in relation to medical viruses and define lonely people as those who keep their feelings to themselves.
Faith Matters

Pastors by degree

Evolution of a vocation
Dec 15, 2009 by L. Gregory Jones
There is no state regulation for the profession of pastoral ministry. Although you need a license to practice medicine or law, or to open up shop as a massage therapist, you don’t need one to be a minister. There are expectations about what qualifies people for ordination, of course, but these expectations are changing.
Faith Matters

Boldly humble

And humbly bold
Oct 20, 2009 by L. Gregory Jones
"What causes you to become discouraged?” I asked a visitor from eastern Congo who started a university in that country a few years ago. He told me that the school had grown from 200 to 500 to 800 students, and that it was adding new areas of study. I was impressed as he described the intersections of pastoral training, agriculture and health.
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