Hello, friend. It's been a while.

Here's what's been up in my world, and where I'd like to go from here.

About a year ago, I fell off the grid to finish my doctoral work. The good (make that great) news is that I graduated in May and I am now officially Dr. Amber Hogan Jones, at your service. The not-so-good news is that I had to let my blog, newsletter, and podcast lay fallow so I could channel all my energy into finishing the doctoral race well.

I’ve joined Substack because:

• I’m more authentically myself than I’ve ever been and I have things to say. It’s not that the doctorate has provided me more confidence, but that I was deeply formed through the three year process and the Spirit of God has ripened some things within me. That’s why I named my newsletter The Gold Path Academy. It’s not that I have so many profound things to teach, but that I’m more convinced than ever that God uses every single voice, experience, and breath to teach us more about the way of love. I’m here to continue learning too. May it always be so.

• I want and need a space to write and share authentically, without worrying about algorithms, word count, trolls, and the other ills of social media. I want to connect with you, my dear readers, in a way that’s as un-curated as possible.

• Stories are our super power and I want to share stories in this space. I want to dig deep within stories to find God and one another.

What you can expect to find here if you subscribe:

• Value. I will not spam you, use this platform to ramble or vent, or waste your precious time. My sacred intention with every post is to add (even a small amount of) value to your life.

• Honesty. I’m going to write about the real here. Every time.

• God-talk. My posts here will explore how we are formed spiritually, the intersection of hot-button issues with formation/theology, contemplative and inspirational content, and personal stories.

• Leadership. We are all leaders in some way. This space will be for exploring why leadership matters and how to accept God’s invitation to co-lead in the world.

I hope you’ll stick around and contribute in this space. We need each other, even across the miles and through the medium of this screen. Your voice matters to me and I value and look forward to the ways we can be formed by one another here.

Warmly,

Dr. Amber Hogan Jones

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