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
Challenges for the 21st Century Church
A few years ago, Brett McCracken, who writes regularly for Christianity Today, wrote a very interesting article titled “21 Challenges Facing the 21st Century Church.” It was later turned into a book titled Uncomfortable. Brett was very honest and forthright in his...
Religion & The Pursuit of Happiness
Years ago, Arthur Brooks gave a TED talk where he shared insight on the key to achieving happiness. That talk has now been viewed over seven hundred thousand times on YouTube. He argues that happiness is roughly fifty percent genetics, the way we are wired, and fifty...
We Are All “Under Construction”
In his excellent book The Road to Character, David Brooks raises the following questions in the final chapter: • Toward what should I orient my life? • Who am I and what is my nature? • How do I mold my nature to make it gradually better day by day? • What virtues are...
Rethinking Happiness, Values, and Success
This fall, I am teaching an undergraduate course at Vanderbilt focusing on the notion of success and the American Dream, a concept defined in many different ways. We started the semester with some basic working hypotheses. First, in the Declaration of Independence,...
The Enneagram and Relationships
On Wednesday nights, we are starting a brand-new series with Hunter Mobley focusing on “The Enneagram and Relationships.” Dinner will be at 5:30 and his talk will begin at 6:15 pm. This will take place on Wednesday nights, September 25th, October 2nd, and October 9th....
7 Key Challenges for 21st Century Christianity
I recently gave a talk about the church of the future. This is a subject that I think about often and it’s on the mind of many church leaders. Within mainline Christianity, denominational decline and statistics are depressing. Many churches are aging and struggling to...
Religion, Hope, and the American Dream
Columbia University professor Andrew Delbanco published a fascinating book in 1999 titled The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope. In the book, he gives a spiritual history of our nation and how each generation has worked to create a culture of meaning to make...
The Lost Art of Peacemaking
In his most famous sermon, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” To that, he added, “If you are angry at a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment.” In the gospel of John, he tells the disciples, “My peace I...
What Mass Shootings Reveal About Our Culture
I was a freshman in college when the Columbine massacre occurred in 1999. I remember watching the news coverage in my dorm room, completely dismayed that somebody would do such an evil thing at a high school. If you remember, the killers asked some of the young...