Partnering in Preaching

Published:: June 07, 2012

A new partnership between the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Calvin Theological Seminary's Center for Excellence in Preaching and the Ogilvie Institute of Preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary will work to encourage better preaching in pulpits across a wide variety of denominational settings and locales. It is being funded by a three-year, $1 million grant from the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc.

One featured dimension of the program will be the expansion of the Ogilvie Institute's Micah Groups, preacher-formation groups made up of men and women from varied denominational, racial and ecclesiastical contexts that meet for two day-retreats and also every other month for four hours over two years. Those groups use a curriculum put together for them by the Ogilvie Institute and primarily provided through the Micah Group portal of the Institute's website.

With this new Lilly Endowment-funded partnership between the Worship Institute, the Center for Excellence in Preaching and Ogilvie, the project will expand to include not just existing Micah Group resources, but also resources from the CICW and the CEP.

Ogilvie Institute director Mark Labberton said that the cooperative partnership will be a key to the project's success. And, he added, the process will be bathed in prayer from start to finish.

"We look forward to experiencing the Holy Spirit's work through our combined efforts to develop empowered, wise preachers who seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God, and lead others to join God's mission in the world," he said.

Kathy Smith, associate director of the Worship Institute, concurred.

"This is a great opportunity for all three of us," she said. "We are particularly grateful for the leadership of Mark Labberton and for the insightful design of the Micah Group program. The vision of the Ogilvie Institute to proclaim Jesus Christ and to catalyze a movement of empowered, wise preachers is a terrific fit with the work we have been doing at the Worship Institute and at Calvin Seminary. Their resources will benefit us, and we think we have resources and opportunities that can be of benefit to them. Together we pray that we will be able to be even stronger in our efforts to serve preachers from around the continent."

CICW director John Witvliet added: "At the heart of all this work is the conviction that congregations and the pastors who lead them flourish when they are marked by a culture of discipleship, learning and gratitude. Collaborative learning and accountability, around open Bibles, in the context of authentic prayer and concern for the larger world God so loves, offers preachers resources for spiritual renewal and discernment to equip, encourage and challenge their congregations toward greater faithfulness and service."

Labberton noted that in addition to incorporating many of the CICW and CEP special resources for preaching into ongoing Micah Groups, participants also will participate in various online and in-person consultations and will be encouraged to attend future Calvin worship conferences.

"We are delighted to embark on this journey," he said.