Restoring the professions: Kintsugi leadership initiative takes root

By Russell Roberts

TUPELO, Miss. — Several months ago, readers of “The Baptist Record” were introduced to a question that increasingly confronts Christian professionals: How should Sunday shape Monday? In medicine, law, business, education, ministry, and public life, believers are often trained to perform their work with technical excellence. Yet the specialized ethical and practical questions arising within these professions often require focused theological formation beyond what even faithful local churches are ordinarily equipped to provide on their own.

That need helped give rise to Kintsugi, a redemptive leadership initiative named after the Japanese art of restoring broken pottery with gold. The image points to a distinctly Christian hope: God is able to redeem what is fractured and use people to bring truth, beauty, and wholeness into the places where He has called them to serve. Kintsugi seeks to help restore the professions through theological formation, Christian fellowship, and faithful stewardship.

A Cohort Becomes a Community

When the first article appeared, six professionals from Tupelo had enrolled in the Doctor of Educational Ministry in Professional Leadership at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In July, that inaugural cohort gathered in Louisville for the intensive on-campus portion of its first seminar, which continues through early September. The week exceeded our expectations.

We spent long days immersed in theological study, discussing the relationship between biblical truth and the moral challenges facing our professions. Just as importantly, we prayed together, shared meals, and formed friendships that confirmed this work is about far more than earning another degree. Christian professionals are hungry for serious theological formation, but they also need a community that will encourage them to lead faithfully when obedience is costly.

The seminar also strengthened relationships with Southern Seminary faculty and leaders who share this vision. Applications for the January 2027 cohort continue to grow, with professionals from other states preparing to join the program. Churches in Mississippi and Arkansas have begun exploring how similar cohorts might develop in their communities, while relationships through the Christian Medical & Dental Associations are introducing the program to professionals across the country.

Building for Multiplication

One of the most promising developments is a growing vision for multiplication. A professional doctorate should not end with a project that sits unread on a library shelf. We are exploring ways for students to develop practical curricula, ministry tools, and other resources that can be tested in real settings, refined, and then shared across churches, professional organizations, and institutions.

The aim is simple: create, disciple, and disseminate. Christian professionals can create resources rooted in Scripture and shaped by firsthand vocational experience; use those resources to disciple others; and distribute them through networks capable of multiplying their effect. A project developed by one physician, attorney, educator, or business leader could eventually equip thousands of believers facing similar questions.

An Invitation: Five Talent Faithfulness

These developments have led to a public gathering this fall. On Monday, November 2, Kintsugi, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and National Christian Foundation will host Five Talent Faithfulness: Stewarding Our Vocations and Resources at the Community Development Foundation in Tupelo. The evening’s theme is “All that we are and all that we have in service to Him.” Doors will open at 6:00 p.m., and the program will begin at 6:30 p.m., with heavy hors d’oeuvres provided.

The program will draw from Jesus’ parable of the talents and will consider two dimensions of Christian stewardship. The first portion will focus on stewarding our vocations: How can believers offer their training, influence, and daily work to Christ? Speakers will include Dr. Andrew T. Walker, dean of the School of Theology at Southern Seminary; Dr. Matthew Haste, director of the Professional Leadership program; and Dr. Ronny Young, a longtime Tupelo physician and member of the inaugural cohort.

The second portion will focus on stewarding our resources. Chris McAlpin and Michael King of National Christian Foundation will help attendees consider how the resources God has entrusted to them—including businesses, property, and other noncash assets — might be deployed with wisdom and generosity for His kingdom. King is an attorney who works with complex charitable gifts.

This will not merely be a fundraising event or an academic presentation. It is intended to be an evening of Christian vision: a call to consider how every part of life — our knowledge, relationships, opportunities, possessions, and influence — can be placed in service to Christ.

An Invitation to Pray and Participate

Mississippi Baptists have already played an important role in this work. Please pray that the Lord will continue to raise up professionals who love Christ deeply, think theologically, serve faithfully, and lead redemptively. Pray for the students undertaking this formation, for the churches encouraging them, and for the institutions and communities they serve.

There are also three practical ways to participate. First, join us on November 2 for Five Talent Faithfulness and consider how all that you are and all that you have might be placed in service to Christ. Second, if you are a Christian professional who desires deeper theological formation and wants to lead more faithfully within your vocation, explore the Doctor of Educational Ministry in Professional Leadership at Southern Seminary. Third, if you share this vision, consider supporting the Kintsugi Fund. Your generosity helps develop leaders, strengthen churches, create lasting resources, and sustain this work for generations.

These are different ways of participating in the same work. What began as a small conversation in Tupelo is taking tangible shape. By God’s grace, it may become part of a much larger movement to form faithful leaders and restore the professions for generations to come.

Roberts is a member of First Baptist Church, Tupelo, and a practicing radiation oncologist. For questions, email p.russell.roberts@gmail.com.