Resource Search Results

A COVID-19 Prayer Based on Psalm 51

Calvin University professor Chad Engbers prayed this prayer on March 12, 2020 during the daily chapel service. This was one of the last chapel services conducted before the campus closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Reflection | Video | Worship Service | April 02, 2020

A Prayer to God in Anxious Times

Rev. Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. wrote this prayer in March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Reflection | April 02, 2020

Palm Sunday Prayer

A Palm Sunday prayer during COVID-19 written by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

Reflection | April 01, 2020

Holy Week in Uncertain Times

The pandemic of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, has thrown Lent and Holy Week plans into turmoil. But the remembrances and celebrations of Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday present opportunities for both innovation and stability amid uncertainty.

Reflection | March 22, 2020

Funeral Practices during COVID-19: Praying for Wisdom in Pastoral and Liturgical Adaptations

During the COVID-19 pandemic, pastors and churches preparing to conduct funerals face unique challenges, particularly restrictions on public gatherings even for those who grieve.

Reflection | March 19, 2020

Preachers Need Friends, Too

The peer cohort is a place for preachers to strengthen their skills in real time while building intentional friendships.

Reflection | February 04, 2020

Final Exams Every Week: Life with a Peer Learning Group

Peer learning groups promote faithful endurance and mutual encouragement in the face of what makes the preaching life challenging.

Reflection | January 06, 2020

From Colleagues to Companions: Unexpected Fruits of a Peer Learning Group

What do you get when you put a diverse group of clergy around a table once a month? More beauty than you might expect.

Reflection | August 28, 2019

How Academic Study Intersects with Christian Ministry

Calvin professors across disciplines share how their areas of study intersect with ministry and how their disciplines would complement the Ministry Leadership Cohort program.

Reflection | February 13, 2019

Five Things I Love about My Preaching Peer Group

A young pastor calls his preaching peer group “a funeral and a pep rally in the same ninety minutes.” Find out why.

Reflection | February 06, 2019

The Role of a Peer Learning Group in My Preaching Journey

God’s message of inclusiveness reaches past the walls that divide us, says Deborah Jungmi Kang, a Korean pastor serving a largely Anglo-American church in Illinois. As Kang develops her preaching voice, a peer learning group provides support.

Reflection | October 02, 2018

What I Learned through Preaching Partnerships

Fred Provencher has participated in two preaching peer groups in his twenty-plus years of ministry. Read his reflections along with his advice for younger preachers.

Reflection | October 02, 2018

Yes, And . . .

Experiencing pastoral burnout, Denise Luper began a yearlong leave of absence soon after joining a peer preaching and learning group. The peer group became an important part of her healing process.

Reflection | September 17, 2018

A Community That Affirms

A peer preaching group changed the course of a student’s seminary journey—and her ministry path.

Reflection | September 14, 2018

Three Reasons to Join a Preaching Peer Group

Sermon preparation is a recurring task that can be lonely and draining. A Texas pastor describes how a peer learning group revitalized her preaching.

Reflection | September 12, 2018

Improving Preaching through Mutual Reflection

Newly trained as a homiletic peer coach, a veteran pastor builds on the experiences that had the greatest impact on his formation as a preacher: mutual reflection with colleagues.

Reflection | September 05, 2018

Considering a Preaching Peer Group? Five Things to Think About

A seasoned pastor found a preaching peer group to be a source of refreshment, challenge, and growth. Here are his top five reasons.

Reflection | September 05, 2018

My Preaching Journey and the Power of Peer Learning

A certified lay minister, hesitant to preach, finds her voice with the support of a preaching peer group.

Reflection | August 20, 2018

Authenticity and Preaching: Reflections of a Reluctant Peer Group Participant

A preaching peer group held surprises for pastor Estee Valendy, who discovered—in herself and in her peers—that “excellent preaching is fundamentally authentic preaching.”

Reflection | August 15, 2018

The Peer Group as Incubator

At a time of transition in his personal and church life, a young pastor jumped at the chance to join a pastor peer group. Learn how this group has helped shape his preaching process.

Reflection | August 13, 2018