Some people find their life’s calling in a profession or a place. Sue and I found ours in a generation. The one constant in our lives has been teaching and mentoring young men and women in educational settings. At times that means ministering to students and those who lead them. Other times it means teaching students how to minister and lead. Often it is both. From college undergraduates to seasoned Hollywood professionals, our life has been shaped by a deep love for students.
Our current day jobs have us serving at Johnson University (Knoxville, TN, and Kissimmee, FL). Gary serves as Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences while teaching spiritual formation, theology and film, and a little bit of history. Sue teaches spiritual formation, leadership, and the Old Testament. For the past decade, our “night job” has been helping young Hollywood filmmakers learn to live soul-nourishing lives in a soul-deadening environment. The two are not as disparate as you might suspect. A deep grasp of story, worldview, and character development are as central to spiritual formation as they are to filmmaking.
Our dream is to help our students grow into true “Two-Handed Warriors” — men and women capable of integrating the life of the Spirit with the life of the Mind in everything they do. We believe this process begins with a philosophy of leadership development rooted in the deep understanding of story (God’s, ours, and our culture’s) made possible only through the spiritual disciplines of study, prayer, and contemplation, fleshed out through a deep commitment to solitude, community, and service.
We’ve devoted this Two-Handed Warriors website to educators, filmmakers, artists, philanthropists, business, and spiritual formation professionals who have found themselves on a similar journey. If you’re tired of settling for the false dichotomies of contemporary life (sacred vs. secular, faith vs. culture, etc.) then you’ve found the website for you.
Peruse the original and curated posts to see if they strike a nerve. Then, if you’d like to join our private conversation (we no longer invite public comments), contribute an original article, or point out someone else’s work we should curate, email us through the contact link.
We’re glad you found us,
Gary & Sue
Read more at About Two-Handed Warriors.
Speaking Bios:
Dr. Sue Stratton (D.Min. Portland Seminary, M.A. Gordon-Conwell Seminary, B.A. Pennsylvania State University) is a college professor, author, spiritual director, and creative talent manager devoted to helping students, leaders, and emerging artists find the spiritual and relational resources they need to thrive in their calling. Sue has served as a staff writer for Publish magazine, an Associate Dean of Students, and a Biblical Studies professor. She currently teaches spiritual formation and leadership for Johnson University’s (TN) Master of Arts in Ethical Leadership (MAEL) for both The Knoxville Fellows, and the Lilly Endowment funded Thriving Congregations programs. Sue holds a Master’s degree in Old Testament studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a D.Min. in leadership and spiritual formation from Portland Seminary. Her passionate teaching in classrooms, retreat centers, and coffee shops, has richly blessed her students, her Hollywood mentees, her children, and her adoring husband.
Dr. Gary David Stratton (Ph.D. Biola University, M.A. Talbot School of Theology, B.A. Wheaton College) is the author of The Jesus Climb: Journeying from Student to Disciple. He serves as the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Spiritual Formation and Cultural Leadership at Johnson University (TN). His lifelong passion for fostering global spiritual awakening and society-wide cultural engagement has propelled him to an unusual career of developing leaders from Hollywood to the Ivy League. He has served as a board member, vice president, dean, director, and professor at ten universities in the U.S. and China. ABHE named him a Senior Fellow in 2009.
Gary also led two Hollywood-based nonprofits devoted to training and supporting Christians in mainstream film and television. The graduates of these programs include Academy and Emmy Award-winning creative staff and producers, as well as writers for numerous feature films and shows appearing on CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC, SyFy, TNT, OWN, USA, Disney+, NetFlix, and Amazon Prime.
Gary is a frequent chapel speaker and faculty workshop leader. Notable speaking engagements include Princeton Theological Seminary, Columbia University School of the Arts Film Festival, The Institute for Campus Renewal sponsored by the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale Divinity School, Messiah College, Geneva College, Nyack College, Tabor College, Bryant College, Bethel University, Biola University, Gordon College, The Stony Brook School, The Association for Youth Ministry Educators (AYME), The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), and Christian Higher Education Canada (CHEC).
Gary and Sue co-founded the Wheaton in Watts program as students. Living with and learning from the Rev. E.V. Hill and the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in South Central Los Angeles marked them for life. Gary has since served on the steering committees of city-wide multiracial pastor gatherings in Los Angeles, Boston, and Knoxville. Gary currently serves as board chair for the Future of Hope Youth Theology Institute, devoted to Knoxville African-American high school student leaders, and The Three Rivers Collaborative, devoted to guiding Knoxville-area congregations through a process of refining their God-given mission within their ever-changing cultural context.
Gary and Sue have four grown children and live on the French Broad River in the woods outside of Knoxville, TN. They enjoy fostering healthy spiritual communities, taking long hikes with their dog, Beuargard the Brave (he’s not), snorkeling with sea turtles, and rescuing box turtles from roadside disaster.
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Recent Press Releases and Interviews
Johnson University School of Arts and Sciences sponsors Faith and Justice Summit, 2021
The Podcast with John C. Lemon (Spotify) “The Two-Handed Warrior: Life of the Mind and Spirit,” 2020
Bezalel Rising: Gary David Stratton Speaks at Princeton on Hollywood Storytelling and Culture-Making Communities of Faith (Bethel University Magazine), 2013
Can Anything Good Come from Hollywood? (Acton Institute Interview with Gary David Stratton), 2012
Soul-Nourishing Practices in a Soul-Deadening World (Emmy Magazine Interview with Gary David Stratton, Kurt Schemper, and Korey Scott Pollard), 2009
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