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Contributor List, Biographies, and Suggested Resources
- Reach out—almost every day you will come across someone who is
discouraged, down, afraid, or sad. When you fi nd that person, say
something encouraging, hopeful, or uplifting. - Participate—whatever we can accomplish alone, we can accomplish
even more together. Sometime in the next week, ask members of a
group you’re part of—a church group, a political group, a book club,
whatever—what they’re doing to make a difference in the world, and join
them in doing it. - Share—fi nd a group or cause that you care about and budget what you
can give them each month of your time, your talent, and your money.
And then do it.
Contributor: Gary Peluso-Verdend
Professional title: President, Phillips Theological Seminary; Associate Professor
of Practical Theology
Personal e-mail: [email protected]
Bio: Gary Peluso-Verdend is the President and Associate Professor of
practical theology at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is
an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. Prior to earning his Ph.D.
at the University of Chicago Divinity School, he served several congregations
in Illinois.
Dr. Peluso-Verdend is a scholar in the fi eld of practical theology. His 2005
book, Paying Attention: Focusing Your Congregation on What Matters (Alban),
represents his interests in leadership education, congregational dynamics,
social change, and Christian practices.
He and his wife, Cheri, live with their daughter Eliana in Tulsa, Okla-
homa, in the third (and last) house-in-need-of-updating they have owned.
Gary’s other children include Peter, Abigail, and Zachary.
Recommended Books, Web Sites,
Blogs, and Other ResourcesAlban Institute: http://www.alban.org.
Marcus J. Borg, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time (HarperOne, 1995).
Robert Kegan, and Lisa Lahey, Immunity to Change (Harvard Business School
Press, 2009).
Henri Nouwen, Making All Things New (HarperOne, 1981).
Phillips Theological Seminary: http://www.ptstulsa.edu.
Salon: http://www.salon.com.
Visions of Giving: http://www.visionsofgiving.org.