New Creation Conversations

If anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. However, living in the new creation isn't easy, it takes honesty with God, vulnerability with one another, and the empowerment of the Spirit. These conversations with Christian scholars, pastors, and lay-leaders - hosted by pastor and theologian Dr. Scott Daniels - are meant to encourage, inform, and expand the imagination of those seeking to live as a reflection of Christ's new creation.

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New Creation Conversations

New Creation Conversations Episode 027 - Dr. Chris Adams on Pastoral Health and Flourishing in Ministry

August 17, 2021 • Scott Daniels • Season 1 • Episode 27

Welcome to episode twenty-seven of New Creation Conversations. In this conversation I am joined by a longtime friend and colleague in ministry Dr. Chris Adams. Chris is an alum of Trevecca Nazarene University and has Master’s degrees in both Theology and Marriage and Family Therapy from Fuller. And he has a PhD in Clinical and Family Psychology from Fuller as well.

Chris and I are kindred spirits in many ways. We are both third generation Nazarene pastors. We both have backgrounds in not only the preaching side of ministry but in worship. Chris served in full-time music ministry for several years after college – travelling and singing frequently with his father and brother. Chris actually followed me at Pasadena First Nazarene as the minister to college-age students while he was in graduate school at Fuller Seminary. He served for 8 years as the associate campus pastor for pastoral care at Azusa Pacific University and now serves as the executive director for the Center for Vocational Ministry at Azusa Pacific University and Seminary. The center focuses on cultivating resilience and health in ministry leaders and in guiding students through their call and preparation for ministry.

Chris does a great deal of consulting with a number of denominations and mission organizations, and as you will hear is an important thought-partner in a couple of significant projects currently in process connected to pastoral health and well-being. I’ve been blessed by my friendship with Chris and am very thankful for the impact his research and work is having in my own journey and on my sisters and brothers in ministry.