“Lord, let my words be seasoned with salt, that they may minister grace to the hearers.” –John Wesley, 18th Century Source: John Wesley, Journals and Diaries V (1765–75), ed. W. Reginald Ward and Richard P. Heitzenrater, vol. 22 of The Bicentennial Edition of the Works of John Wesley (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), 215.
Column entry, “From the Valley to the Summit,” by Chris Hamstra
Column Title: Leadership Life Stories: Communicating and Leading through Your Story Column Entry: “From the Valley to the Summit” By Chris Hamstra, PhD, Davenport University Description: There is a power when people come together to share stories. As people of faith, the practice and process of storytelling helps us understand ourselves, our communities, and our organizations. When combined with leadership, stories provide examples …
Column entry, “The Value of Human Labor, the Challenges of AI, and the Image of God,” by Elizabeth McLaughlin
Column Title: Communitas Column Entry: “The Value of Human Labor, the Challenges of AI, and the Image of God” Column Description: The term Communitas refers to an unstructured community of equal members often traveling from one place to another. Like the characters in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, we are fellow pilgrims on the road towards the Father’s house, following Jesus as …
Summer 2025 Workshop Recordings Now Available
In case you missed one more more of our summer workshops, you may still access the recordings and workshop resource pages with PPTs and other materials. Contact CCSN Executive Director, Robert Woods (rwoods@theccsn.com), and indicate which one or more of the recordings below you wish to access. Summer 2025 Workshops 1. Word-Gardening: From Seed (Idea) to Fruit (Publication), June 2 …
Quote of the Week, Silence and Spiritual Discipline, St. Peter Damian
Below is a quote from St. Peter Damian (1007–1072), a prominent 11th-century reformer and theologian known for his ascetic writings and deep reflections on monastic life. In his treatise Letter 28: The Book of Gomorrah, he writes: “The talkative man’s tongue is a sword that kills his own soul; silence, on the other hand, is the guardian of innocence and …
A Prayer to Call to Silence the Noise, by St. Anselm of Canterbury, 11th Century
“Come on now, little man, get away from your worldly occupations for a while, escape from your tumultuous thoughts. Lay aside your burdensome cares and put off your laborious exertions. Give yourself over to God for a little while, and rest for a while in Him. Enter into the cell of your mind, shut out everything except God and whatever …
Still time to register for Fall Pre-con at NCA, Denver, Nov. 18
Imagining the Kingdom: Cultivating Faith-full Habits and Practices for Christian Scholars and Educators A Dialogic Unconference Hosted by the Christianity and Communication Studies Network (thecssn.com) Date/Location/Time: Tuesday, November 18, 2025; noon to 8:30 pm, Doubletree by Hilton, 6900 Tower Road, Denver, Colorado, 80013; Phone: 303.574.1300; https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/denaadt-doubletree-denver-international-airport/. The event coincides with the annual Religious Communication Association and National Communication Association conferences. A …
Quote of the Week, Speech as an Image of Mind, by St. Basil the Great
“Speech is really an image of mind: so I have learned to know you from your letters, just as the proverb tells us we may know the lion from his claws.” –St. Basil the Great (Basil of Caesarea) (4th Century) Question for reflection: In what ways does Basil’s metaphor suggest that language reveals our soul? Source: Letter 9 to Maximus …
Prayer, The Heart Behind Our Speech, John Chrysostom
“O Lord, grant me good thoughts. O Lord, grant me the thought of confessing my sins. O Lord, grant me humility, chastity and obedience. O Lord, grant me patience, courage and meekness. O Lord, plant in me the root of all blessings, the fear of You in my heart. O Lord, grant me to love You with all my mind …
Article, “Reconciliation as Impetus and Frame for Faith Integration in Intercultural Communication,” by John Hatch
Reconciliation as Impetus and Frame for Faith Integration in Intercultural Communication By John Hatch, CCSN Senior Fellow Among courses commonly required for Communication Studies majors, Intercultural Communication presents distinctive challenges and opportunities for faith integration. While secular approaches assume cultural relativism, a Christian approach recognizes that all cultures have both gifts and besetting sins relative to a holy Creator; and God became …