Rev. Cody J. Sanders, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Congregational and Community Care Leadership
Luther Seminary
St. Paul, MN
Email: cody.j.sanders@gmail.com
Weblinks: Luther Seminary Faculty Profile
Cody is an ordained Baptist minister and pastoral theologian who works in both community and academic settings, he currently serves as associate professor of congregational and community care leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Previously, was pastor to Old Cambridge Baptist Church in Cambridge, MA, where he also served as a chaplain at both Harvard and MIT. His work has most often addressed the intersection of religion and embodiments of human difference and he holds a particular interest in queer theory and theology, narrative therapeutic theory, the cultivation of care with LGBTQIA people, and practices of care in the Anthropocene. He has published several books including, Corpse Care: Ethics for Tending the Dead with Mikeal Parsons (Fortress, 2023), Christianity, LGBTQ Suicide, and the Souls of Queer Folk(Lexington, 2020), A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth (Westminster John Knox, 2017), and Microaggressions in Ministry: Confronting the Hidden Violence of Everyday Church with Angela Yarber (Westminster John Knox, 2015).
Current projects include:
Spiritual Care First-Aid: An All-Hands Approach for Church and Community, forthcoming from Fortress Press in Spring of 2025, draws upon narrative theory and practice to train clergy and laity in the practice of spiritual care first-aid. Recognizing that not everyone is a clinician, the book provides instruction in basic skills of spiritual care in a way nearly anyone can use. The book offers an approach of hearing, helping, and healing so whoever is near can serve as a spiritual-care first responder when and where needed. Readers will gain skills and confidence in their abilities to provide peer-to-peer care that contributes to their communities in life-sustaining ways.
Selected Articles:
- Sanders, C.J. (2019). Mor(t)al remains: Pastoral theology & corpse care. Journal of Pastoral Theology 29(2), 116-131.
- Sanders, C. J. (2013). Preaching messages we never intended: LGBTIQ-based microaggressions in classroom and pulpit. Theology & Sexuality, 19(1), 21-35.
- Sanders, C. J. (2013). Dying to believe or dying to belief? Systemic violence and the possibilities of constructive nihilism in pastoral theology. Pastoral Psychology, 63(4), 437-452.
- Sanders, C. J. (2012). Queer shifts in therapy: Appropriating queer theory in pastoral counseling. Sacred Spaces: The E-Journal of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, 4, 94-127.
- Sanders, C. J. (2011). An exploration of knowledge and power in narrative, collaborative-based, postmodern therapies: A commentary. The Professional Counselor: Research and Practice, 1(3), 201-207.
- Bozard, R. L., & Sanders, C. J. (2011). Helping Christian lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients recover religion as a source of strength: Developing a model for assessment and integration of religious identity in counseling. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 5(1), 47-74.