best selling author
What the World Needs Now
Redefine leadership and character.
Discover a path to a more connected and meaningful life with What the World Needs Now. Written by Clay Stauffer, a seasoned pastor, professor, husband, and father, this book explores moral leadership, character, and values that transcend generational and cultural divides.
With 30 concise chapters covering topics such as love, hope, diversity, and joy, Stauffer invites you to reflect on how we can improve our relationships, reshape culture, and build a sustainable future for generations to come. Blending Christian wisdom with universally accessible principles, the book illuminates the importance of virtues, emotional intelligence, and spiritual growth.
What the World Needs Now inspires readers from all walks of life to embody values of decency, civility, and mutual respect.
best selling author
What the World Needs Now
Redefine leadership and character.
Discover a path to a more connected and meaningful life with What the World Needs Now. Written by Clay Stauffer, a seasoned pastor, professor, husband, and father, this book explores moral leadership, character, and values that transcend generational and cultural divides.
With 30 concise chapters covering topics such as love, hope, diversity, and joy, Stauffer invites you to reflect on how we can improve our relationships, reshape culture, and build a sustainable future for generations to come. Blending Christian wisdom with universally accessible principles, the book illuminates the importance of virtues, emotional intelligence, and spiritual growth.
What the World Needs Now inspires readers from all walks of life to embody values of decency, civility, and mutual respect.
Clay Stauffer
Author
About
Clay Stauffer is the Senior Minister of Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and teaches moral leadership at Vanderbilt University. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University (2002), a Master of Divinity from Princeton Seminary (2005), and a Doctor of Ministry from the University of the South at Sewanee (2015). His doctoral work explored the intersection of faith and politics and the growing polarization within American culture. Known for his preaching and leadership ability, Clay is a community leader in Nashville and serves on many nonprofit boards. He is a regular columnist for The Tennessean Newspaper, writing articles about faith, values, spirituality, and culture. Clay is married to Megan, and together they have three children.
My Books
This book addresses the deeper issues that matter most in life: faith, wisdom, values, spirituality, relationships, connection, and self-reflection. As our world becomes more and more secular, people remain restless and hungry to discuss these important topics. What does it mean to grow spiritually? What does it mean to do meaningful soul work? What are the values and priorities that should matter most? What type of culture will our children and grandchildren inherit? Here are a few insights that I believe to be true.
-All human beings long for meaning and deeper purpose in their lives.
-Jesus Christ continues to speak to and challenge our culture.
-Issues of character and integrity are very important.
-Growth in the spiritual life has become much more challenging in this busy age of technology, multi- tasking, and over-commitment.
Religion, politics, and money. Three things you’re never supposed to discuss in polite company. But what if you’re a pastor? Forget red state/blue state divisions, what happens when your church members disagree about politics? In this age of prosperity preaching, how do you preach, “You cannot serve God and money?” Clay Stauffer addresses the challenges that preachers face when serving a politically diverse congregation in Preaching Politics. Money, materialism, and their effects on modern-day faith and spirituality are viewed through the teachings of Jesus, as well as the work of Methodist minister Adam Hamilton and Duke University ethicist Stanley Hauerwas.
Posts from Clay
Our Culture’s Struggle for Truth
The election is over. It appears that Joe Biden has received enough votes to become the 46th President of the United States. Lawsuits are pending in multiple states. Recounts are happening in certain places. We have ongoing accusations of voter fraud, ballot...
November Update – Advent is Coming!
We have now moved into the month of November, so I wanted to write and give you a few general updates of plans we are making here at the church. Health and safety continues to be a top priority in everything we do. At the same time, the church must press on and live...
7 Life Lessons from the Pandemic
We have entered the eighth month of what feels like a pandemic that will not end. Many of us are tired of it and long for life to be “normal” again, whatever normal is. It has disrupted every aspect of our lives including family, work, education, social gatherings,...
The Gift of Family
Our family just returned from a fall break trip to the beach. It was good to get away and relax for a few days. Of the many hats I get to wear – minister, pastor, preacher, counselor, professor – the most important roles that I have are that of husband and father. On...
Civility Should Help Us Navigate Faith and Politics
My undergraduate course this fall at Vanderbilt is called “Faith, Politics, and Polarization in American culture.” We are closely studying the research of NYU’s Jonathan Haidt and Harvard’s Arthur Brooks. Haidt is a social psychologist who has done significant...
Turning Anger & Pain Into Hope
I recently sat with a heartbroken family who tragically lost their husband/father to suicide. It came out of the blue – no hints, no warnings, no signs whatsoever. I was there because I lived through the same thing years ago with my own mother. The only difference...
Is Covid Making America More Secular?
I want to continue to encourage all of you to remain engaged in the life of the church during this time. We are working very hard to carry on the mission and ministries at Woodmont during this pandemic. Lots of exciting things are happening. We are thinking outside...
“5 at 5” Groups this Fall
I invite you to join us Wednesday nights for our Racial Reconciliation conversations. Here is the Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/96103564378. This series is being sponsored by Woodmont’s Task Force for Racial Reconciliation as an educational opportunity. We hope these...
New Fall Sermon Series: ”Common Ground“
This Sunday, September 13th, I will begin a new fall sermon series called “Common Ground: Unity in a Polarized World”. We will be studying Jesus’ most famous set of teachings known as The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7). As you know, this is a challenging...