Leanna K. Fuller

The Rev. Dr. Leanna Fuller is the Joan Marshall Associate Professor of Pastoral Care. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University (Ph.D.), Vanderbilt Divinity School (M.Div.), and Furman University (B.A.). Her most recent book is titled When Christ’s Body is Broken: Anxiety, Identity, and Conflict in Congregations (Wipf and Stock, 2016). Fuller has earned numerous fellowships, awards, and honors. She was selected to participate in the 2016-2017 Wabash Center Workshop for Early Career Theological School Faculty, and she received the Louisville Institute Dissertation Fellowship in 2010-2011. Fuller’s most recent conference paper, “One Body, Many Parts: An Ecclesiology for Churches in Conflict” was presented at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. Her ministry experience includes serving as associate pastor of Oakland Christian Church in Suffolk, Va., where she coordinated youth ministry and Christian education programming. Fuller also worked as chaplain resident at Riverside Regional Medical Center, in Newport News, Va., providing pastoral care for patients. Fuller's family includes her spouse, the Rev. Scott Fuller, a UCC minister and chaplain; and their young son, Simon.

“A Splinter, Then a Crack: Leadership in the Aftermath of Divisive Conflict.” Journal of Religious Leadership. 20:1 (Spring 2021)

“In All Things Charity: Toward a Theology of Intra-Christian Dialogue.” Ecclesiology. 15:2 (2019)

“Relearning the World: Pastoral Care in the Midst of Loss and Grief,” Journal of Pastoral Theology 32.2 (2022)

“In Defense of Self-Care,” Journal of Pastoral Theology 28:1 (March 2018)

When Christ's Body is Broken: Anxiety, Identity, and Conflict in Congregations (Pickwick, 2016)

“Ways of Grieving,” The Caregiver Space (May 3, 2015), http://thecaregiverspace.org/ways-of-grieving-reverend-leanna-k-fuller/

“When Learning Hurts: Content Warnings in Seminary Classrooms,” The Christian Century (Aug. 31, 2016) and https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2016-07/when-learning-hurts

“Anxiety, Emotions, and Encounters with Difference: Exploring the Roots of Conflict in Congregations,” Journal of Religious Leadership 13:2 (Fall 2014)

“Perfectionism and Shame: Exploring the Connections,” Journal of Pastoral Theology 18:1 (Summer 2008)