The Academy of
Religious Leadership

Deepen | Develop | Disseminate

The Academy

The Academy of Religious Leadership (ARL) exists to enhance religious leadership education; convene a scholarly roundtable of leadership educators and professional practitioners for the purpose of faculty development and community; and foster and disseminate leadership education and research.

The Meeting

The ARL Annual Meeting invites scholars and practitioners into thoughtful conversation about the (r)evolutionary vocation of leadership. Our methods: discussing provocative, original papers/presentations, networking, and imagining an emerging future in the theological education, formation, and ongoing development of religious leaders in a fast-paced, challenging world.

The theme of our 2024 annual meeting was “Exploring Different Religious Leadership Models“. It was held in St. Paul, MN USA, and Online April 25-27, 2024.

The theme of our 2025 annual meeting will be “Leadership as Justice”. It will be held in Denver, CO, April 24-26, 2025.

The Journal

The Journal of Religious Leadership is published semi-annually by the Academy of Religious Leadership (ARL). As a peer-reviewed journal, the editorial team assesses articles by four criteria: scholarship (in an effort to promote faithful critical thinking about religious leadership), theological (as ARL is focused on religious leadership, matters of faith and practice are instrumental), expansive (the work of ARL seeks to extend and deepen both religion and leadership), and suggestive (work suggests outcomes, practices, behaviors, implications, etc. for readers to incorporate in their contexts).

Featured in the latest issue of the Journal for Religious Leadership

Articles

The Spring 2024 JRL speak from a variety of perspectives about major aspects of religious life in congregations. Each offers life-giving practices by which communities can become more faithful, hopeful, and loving, and we, in turn, are fortified for the struggle and inevitable suffering ahead.

Introduction by Robert K Martin, editor

Strategies to Retain Volunteers in Churches by Anthony D. Brown

Walk Together Children: Reclaiming the Collective Ethical Leadership Model of Black Churches through Leadership-as-Social Ethic by Larry T. Crudup

A Follower Perspective on Followership in the Congregation by Robert Lilleaasen

Theologically Analyzing Secular Leadership Theory: Evidence of Pelagius’s Teachings in the Servant Leadership of Robert Greenleaf by Jason B. Palmer

Book Reviews

The Visual Preacher: Proclaiming an Embodied Word By: Steve Thomason, Reviewed by Neil Dougall

The Three-Dimensional Leader: A Biblical, Spiritual & Practical Guide To Christian Leadership By: Rod Dempsey, Dave Earley, and Adam McClendon, Reviewed by Robert Knapp

Adaptive Church: Collaboration and Community in a Changing World By: Dustin D. Benac, Reviewed by David Penno

Explore: Vocational Discovery in Ministry of Discovery and Hope By: Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi and Matthew Folding, Reviewed by Andrew Rutledge

Leading While Black: The Intersectionality of Race, Leadership, and God By: Torrance J.R. Jones Reviewed by Michael Wilson