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Douglas J. Brouwer served nearly forty years as a Presbyterian pastor. He retired in 2018 from the International Protestant Church in Zurich, Switzerland, and now lives near Holland, Michigan. This conversation at the CICW annual grants event in 2019 marked the end of his eighteen-year service on the Vital Worship Grants Advisory Board.
The entire fifty-minute conversation covered pastoral ministry, learning to listen well, insights from Brouwer’s many books, vocation in retirement, and more.
Witvliet and Brouwer talked most about how “pastoral imagination” influences pastors, mentors, congregations, and grant projects. Theologian Craig Dykstra coined the term during his years as senior vice president at the Lilly Endowment Inc. Vital Worship Grants are made possible through the generous support of Lilly Endowment Inc.
To learn more about pastoral imagination, read Dykstra’s essay “Pastoral and Ecclesial Imagination” in For Life Abundant: Practical Theology, Theological Education, and Christian Ministry, eds. Dorothy C. Bass and Craig Dykstra, pp. 41–61.
Related books: Beyond “I Do”: What Christians Believe about Marriage and How to Become a Multicultural Church, reviewed here.
A podcast from Calvin University featuring thoughtful leaders discussing key topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the context of Christian life and witness.
Congregations, pastors, and parents/caregivers have many opportunities to join together in worship and prayer practices that more intentionally engage children and help them come to know and love God and grow in faith together. Panelists will discuss ways to intentionally create intergenerational community in which people of all ages, including children, are welcomed as full participants whose participation enriches the community and gives praise to God.
What is the role of preaching in situations of deep conflict and division? How can preaching participate in the Christian call to peacemaking? This panel will explore the connections between gospel preaching and peacemaking efforts.
A podcast from Calvin University featuring thoughtful leaders discussing key topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the context of Christian life and witness.
Congregations, pastors, and parents/caregivers have many opportunities to join together in worship and prayer practices that more intentionally engage children and help them come to know and love God and grow in faith together. Panelists will discuss ways to intentionally create intergenerational community in which people of all ages, including children, are welcomed as full participants whose participation enriches the community and gives praise to God.
What is the role of preaching in situations of deep conflict and division? How can preaching participate in the Christian call to peacemaking? This panel will explore the connections between gospel preaching and peacemaking efforts.
This session will explore how to talk about differences in Catholic and Protestant worship. Every time we talk with a neighbor, teammate, or coworker from a different Christian tradition about what we do in worship and why, we are practicing liturgical theology.
