The common ground for Buddhism and Christianity is not then found in texts or philosophical musing. It is found in the hungry, the poor, the suffering, the sick.

I have spent the past several years visiting seminaries and divinity schools around the country in an effort to better understand them and find ways to strengthen them. What I have discovered is a contrast of great challenges and powerful hope.

It is our call to create a sense of urgency infused with compassion and wisdom that can take us beyond the obvious fear we face when encountering this truth.

A month in to my program, after preliminarily discerning that I don't want to work in a church, I started a love affair with my Google search bar: "What can you do with an M.Div. if you don't want to be a pastor?"

Returning to communion for me is a chance to reclaim a part of my spiritual identity, to fully form and own an understanding of my development as a seeker and servant of God.

As far as I know, I am the only practicing Hindu at Union Theological Seminary right now, and this leaves me in a tough spot. This is because I am not sure how I, as a Hindu, as a "Hare Krishna," fit into the fabric of social justice that defines Union.

It's quite clear to me that my life now at Union is a clear gift from God, a lavish God who knows our most intimate yearnings and hopes, much more so than we ever might, and who is constantly arranging for us to have what we need and want.

Identity has long been a theme in religion studies and religious thought and practice. How might something like "digital identity" be shaping and reshaping religious life today?

If you announce plans to attend law, medical, or business school, your friends and family will have a fairly good idea what you'll be doing for the next few years. Share your goal to become a seminarian, however, and you likely will be met with puzzled, if not skeptical, looks.

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At Union Theological Seminary, we stand in full solidarity with the protestors. That's clear to us. As President, however, I'll admit the prospect of my seminarians being in today's events makes me a bit worried and anxious.

To clergy: make a point to preach on welcome, and don't be afraid to talk about how God made LGBTQ persons in God's own image.

Our task as clergy is not to marry everyone who asks. It is to provide honest and caring direction to couples who seek to embark on that awesome task of binding their hearts and minds together.

Over the years, I've continued to ponder my initial reaction to that church and particularly to the hymns. What was it that I found difficult, even embarrassing?

The Smithsonian should realize that there are many ways to interpret art and religious respect. The National Portrait Gallery should re-instate "Fire In My Belly" as an act of righteousness and courage -- and make the exhibit whole again.