A mix of scholars and practitioners, colleagues, former students and friends celebrated the academic career and lived theology of Dr. Christine Pohl, Professor Emeritus of Christian Ethics at Asbury Seminary, with the release of Practicing the Kingdom: Essays on Hospitality, Community and Friendship in Honor of Christine D. Pohl. Each of the 13 contributors submitted an essay that built upon aspects of Dr. Pohl’s work in the areas of hospitality, community and friendship.  Co-authors and Seminary alumni Dr. Maria Russell Kenney and Dr. Justin Barringer hope that readers choose to honor Dr. Pohl by taking the wisdom within these pages and embody that in life together.

“Christine is the reason I came to Asbury Seminary as a student,” Dr. Kenney, Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics, said. “She gave me an hour of her time when she didn’t even know me, and now, as a professor, I know what the value of an hour is. She shaped my life and we wanted to craft this work as a gift for Christine because she has been a gift to so many people. To get to honor her in this way is really a blessing.”

Through her work in the academy, Dr. Christine Pohl helped the church rediscover central practices, such as hospitality, community, and friendship. In addition to her groundbreaking books Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition (Eerdmans, 1999) and Living into Community: Cultivating Practices that Sustain Us (Eerdmans, 2012), she significantly contributed to discussions on Christian community, feminism and the academy, and friendship. Throughout her life, her academic work informed her personal and professional practices, and she truly lived her theology.

Dr. Pohl retired in the summer of 2018 after having taught Christian Ethics at Asbury Theological Seminary for twenty-nine years. Prior to graduate studies (Ph.D., Emory University) and teaching at Asbury Seminary, she was involved in congregational, parachurch, and refugee ministries.

“Christine Pohl embodies the virtues and practices discussed in this book,” Dr. Justin Barringer said. “She first invited me in with her gracious hospitality, always being available to offer feedback, encouragement, knowledge, and wisdom. Her welcome helped me find my place in the Asbury Seminary community. Her mentorship has morphed into friendship as she continues to be an exemplar of Christian discipleship that calls me and many others into our shared practice of the kingdom.”