Rooted in a Christian vision of God’s mission, the Center for Reconciliation at Duke Divinity School inspires, forms, and supports leaders, communities, and congregations to live as ambassadors of reconciliation.

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The Center’s mission flows from the Apostle Paul’s affirmation in 2 Corinthians 5 that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself,” and that through Christ, “the message of reconciliation has been entrusted to us.”

In many ways and for many reasons, the Christian community has not taken up this challenge. In conflicts such as the Rwandan genocide and challenges such as family fragmentation, neglected neighborhoods, urban violence, the mentally and physically disabled, and on-going racial and ethnic divisions in America and worldwide, the church has typically mirrored society rather than offering a witness to it. In response to these deep needs, the Center seeks to form and strengthen transformative Christian leadership for reconciliation.

• Cultivating New Leaders
  Form students into transformative Christian leaders who are well- prepared for the mission of reconciliation in the church, academy, and world, by connecting to and building on Duke Divinity School ’s programs of teaching and learning.


• Communicating Wisdom, Insights, Hope and Practices
  Re-frame scholarship, teaching, and Christian practice of reconciliation, justice, conflict, and peace by generating theologically-formed resources to serve Christian witness in a divided world.


• Connecting in Partnership to Strengthen Leaders
  Inspire, renew, and strengthen pastors, practitioners, key leaders, and congregations worldwide in the journey of reconciliation.

Distinctive Marks of the Center

Reconciliation as God’s Story:

The starting point for any work of reconciliation is not humanity, what we must do—it must be God, God’s story. Reconciliation is God’s mission (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Center’s first and primary task is to be about the discipline and practice of faithfully remembering the vision of God’s new creation and to invite others into this vision.

The Breadth and Depth of Brokenness:

We strive to account for many areas and dimensions of human life, from personal to social to structural, including the story of the church’s brokenness. We are also committed to forming partnerships with particular geographical locations of brokenness.

Standing in the Church:

Located in a school of Christian formation, we seek to constantly engage Scripture and the thinking and practices through which Christian life and mission is shaped and disciplined. We take seriously the need for renewal of the church in the world and the formation of Christian leadership for reconciliation.

Housed in a Major Research University:

The Center's location in Duke University offers unique gifts concentrated around education, leadership development, and the cultivatinon of new knowledge for the mission of reconciliation. We pursue vibrant teaching and intellectual inquiry into reconciliation, engaging the social sciences and collaborating with other schools and disciplines.

A Place of Intersection:

The Center weaves a rich interplay across deep divides — theologians and practitioners; intellectual inquiry and everyday life; racial, ethnic, and ecclesial divisions; justice and reconciliation; remembering and forgiveness; conversion and social transformation; power and the margins; the seminary, the sanctuary, and the streets.

Seeing Signs of Hope:

Locating, describing, and telling the stories of people, places, and practices of hope, we seek to demonstrate that “the ways things are is not the way things have to be” — from one person learning to forgive, to the church living the “alternative,” to small practices of everyday faithfulness, to broader changes in society.

Strengthening & Cultivating Leadership:

We cultivate leaders with the vision, passion, and skills integral to the journey of reconciliation. The Center acts as a catalyst — shaping new visions; inspiring learning, partnership, and theological resources; engaging leverage-point leaders of diverse institutions and communities; and helping leaders on the ground to be more faithful and effective in their ministries.