Leanna K. Fuller

The Rev. Dr. Leanna Fuller is the Joan Marshall Associate Professor of Pastoral Care. She is the author of When Christ’s Body is Broken: Anxiety, Identity, and Conflict in Congregations (Wipf and Stock, 2016) and Embodied Reconciliation: Congregational Healing as Pastoral Care (Fortress Press, 2026). Dr. 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. Dr. Fuller is active both in the accademy, presenting nationally at conferences such as the annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Academy of Religious Leadership, and in the church, teaching and preaching in local congregations. She regularly publishes articles in academic journals, including Journal of Religious Leadership, Journal of Pastoral Theology, and Ecclesiology, and works of public scholarship through channels such as The Christian Century, The Presbyterian Outlook, and Faith and Leadership. Before entering the academy, she served as associate pastor of Oakland Christian Church (Suffolk, Va.) and as chaplain resident at Riverside Regional Medical Center (Newport News, Va.). Dr. Fuller holds degrees from Furman University (B.A.), Vanderbilt Divinity School (M.Div.), and Vanderbilt University (Ph.D.). She is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.

Embodied Reconciliation: Congregational Healing as Pastoral Care (Fortress Press, 2026)

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

“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)

“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)

“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

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

“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)