We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rev. Jenna Sullivan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rev. Jenna below.

Rev. Jenna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

In 2021, I decided to publicly come out as a queer person. The pandemic in some ways was an invitation to be with myself. After months of therapy and processing on my own, I decided that it was important to me and my ministry to be fully aligned in my evolving truth. This felt incredibly risky. I mean, what increasingly gay Baptist woman pastor beginning a career in church-work thinks, let’s tell the whole world who we are! It’s the bravest thing I have ever done and it opened so many miraculous doors. I know who I am. I know how complex sexuality really is. Most importantly, I’m more empathetic than ever with those who are on a path of identity deconstruction and are challenging oppressive norms. So many queer people have been wounded by religion. It’s becoming clear to me that my decision to show up fully as myself particularly in faith communities is making an impact. This impact goes beyond even my specific story. Taking the risk to be vulnerable and authentic has invited others to do the same. Our precious lives deserve congruence and joy. I am so proud of choosing me even when it felt terrifying. It turns out to be the blessing that is saving and guiding my vocational path rather than inhibiting it.

Rev. Jenna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an ordained reverend serving as the lead pastor of Life in Deep Ellum, an inclusive faith-based cultural center in urban Dallas. I am originally from Arkansas and discerned a call to preach and lead faith communities from a young age. My first church’s youth group was my safe space. I learn more all the time how rare my early experience with institutional religion really is.

I earned a four-year bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. I majored in religious studies and minored in Africana studies. I was also a Bonner scholar and learned to integrate my coursework with community development and service. I was the chaplain of my college chapter of Kappa Delta and often prayed for the sorority. I learned about the white supremacist history of Memphis and the role the church played. I learned that my faith was more complex than I thought it was and also more relevant and central to my life’s path than I could have ever imagined.

I then earned a master of divinity degree from Wake Forest University School of Divinity. This gave me more theological training and hands-on experience in church internships. I’ve since formed my foundational skills at several churches and most recently begun a true dream position as lead pastor of Life in Deep Ellum.

LIDE is located in the historic and vibrant neighborhood of Deep Ellum. It is the ultimate opportunity for me to integrate my passion for art, spirituality, and faith-based community development. I lead as a trauma-sensitive leader, which means I do what I can to be a safe and supportive resource to people I encounter on their path of healing. This requires a lot of inner work and energetic boundaries. I see wild miracles of connection happen every day and I have a stubborn hope for what the new Church can be. As a multifaceted cultural center in a unique neighborhood, LIDE is doing church with daring innovation. There is no handbook. We’re on an adventure. I feel much less alone in my innovation these days. LIDE has already been doing something new and our hearts are meant to dream together. Now I get to accompany them as we soar to what’s next.

I see us as the hub of an emerging church renaissance in America. We know that faith is personal and communal. We embrace complexity and vulnerable questioning. We’re ethically entrepreneurial. We’re figuring things out as we go. We welcome everyone and we believe in more than just polarized labels. We seek to find the space between–where unconditional love can create something new.

I am always seeking connection with others on this journey. I am also creating content that hopefully gives people permission to experience the divine in more healing ways. I see my role ultimately as a witness who is called to notice celebrate the world in all of its complexity— and to do the brave work necessary to make it more beautiful.

Anyone who wants to explore their spirituality and still have some sort of connection to a theological leader can follow me on instagram at miss.modern.rev. Together, we are creating communities where humor, joy and art are just as important (and perhaps more important!) as serious theological debate. The guiding force is art itself because I believe that the divine is bursting with creativity. If we wan to know more about wisdom and truth, we must return to artistic wonder and delight. Life in Deep Ellum is one place you can do that.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Historically, pastors have been expected to be perfect experts and moral superstars. But the best leaders aren’t experts who never make mistakes. Narcissism and spiritual abuse is an epidemic in faith communities across America. So many leaders have been taught that they should never show vulnerability and should always have the answers. This is a recipe for isolation, wounding and religious trauma. I want to see a new generation of faith leaders who aren’t afraid to acknowledge their own vulnerabilities. They are willing to do their inner healing work with a therapist or somatic coach. They are connected to their bodies and their own internal spiritual wisdom. They are learning to disembody colonial theology and judgment. They are healing from the impact of white supremacy on their faith and their own ancestry. They are brave enough to ensure their own faith practice is equitable and compassionate. They’re also ready and willing to drop the handbook and improvise constantly with God. They are willing to innovate and co-create realities that don’t exist yet. They’re also willing to constantly think and pray outside the box. Oh and an entrepreneurial spirit is a must!

It has helped me immensely to take good tender care of my own soul and body. This is the key to success in ministry today. You must be overflowing with imagination and creativity. You can’t do this if you are feeling limited by institutional perfectionism or rigid doctrines. The emerging church renaissance requires flexibility and creativity. This is critical. This permission for joy helps us to stay in our integrity. We can make decisions from a place of love instead of fear. We are not called to be experts. We are called to be excited about what God is up to in our midst and endlessly curious about how we get to join the dance.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I would always choose this path. I can see my lanky teenage self approaching the pulpit for the first time with a pounding heart and a hopeful grin. I wish I could tell that girl she will go far just by being herself as she dances with the divine. I would tell her that there will be challenges but she will face them with grace and humility. Even though she felt a bit like an outcast from other teens, I would tell her that she was made for the renaissance. The more I learn about historical changes in religion–the more I realize that innovation and art have always been connected to the divine. And we are so due for this kind of reformation. We need spiritual care. We need permission for grief, embodied prayer, and safe relationships with others. It’s all a remembering. We’re just remembering a better way–a way that doesn’t wound or impose salvation but offers an eternal invitation to feel less alone–no matter who you are or how much money you have. Wealth and power just aren’t important ways to access God.

Every day I look around our coffee shop and feel like I am in our own version of Harlem. Creatives and activists and dreamers are sipping coffee while Leon Bridges plays ‘Texas Sun” in the background. It soothes my soul and also sets it ablaze. I’m so hopeful. And it confirms to me there is nothing else I would rather do than be the spiritual witness–the curator of sorts. I get to be a jill of all trades, express myself authentically, and lead the way toward a new expression of an old religion that could change everything. If I could go back, I would choose it all again. I would say, “buckle up preacher-girl! It’s gonna be a wild ride and God has a lot of work for us to do.”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lifeindeepellum.com
• Instagram: miss.modern.rev
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/missmodernrev
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rev-jenna-sullivan-745858234/
• Other: Email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Photos by Christopher Griffith (Dallas, TX)