Lauren Calvin Cooke

Dr. Lauren Calvin Cooke is a scholar in the fields of religious education and youth ministry with experience teaching in those areas and in Hebrew Bible, leading training sessions and workshops for youth ministers, and guest teaching at Christian youth conferences and camps. She earned a PhD in religious education at Emory University, an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a BA in theology and ministry from Lipscomb University.  She has written widely, including the peer-reviewed article “Deep in the Body: Neurodiversity and Embodied Knowledge in Youth Ministry” (The Journal of Youth Ministry, 2021)  and “A Surprising Invitation to Joy: What Qohelet’s Theology of Joy Means for Adolescents,” which won a 2018 essay award from Yale Divinity School.

Cooke served as interim director of Candler’s Religious Education program in the 2019-2020 academic year, as assistant director of the Youth Theological Initiative’s (YTI) Summer Academy in 2019, and as a mentor in other YTI programs.  She is associate pastor of Northlake Church of Christ in Tucker, Georgia.