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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.

January 6, 2020 | 5 min read
Pedagogical Insights on Teaching African American Preaching

This essay reflects on Frank Thomas' unique journey through the pastorate to become a teacher of preaching, and on the pedagogy he developed along the way.

December 11, 2019 | 16 min read
Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. on Sculptor Spirit

It is impossible to become more like Jesus on your own. A new book offers five ways to recognize how the same Spirit who worked in Jesus’ life can shape us to be more Christlike.

December 10, 2019 | 8 min read

When Local Churches Learn and Worship Together

Four congregations in Durham, North Carolina, discovered that planning worship, learning, and reflecting together helped them be better witnesses in their East Durham neighborhood.

November 26, 2019 | 8 min read
Georie Bryant and Reynolds Chapman on Prayer Walks

Sometimes Christians worry that praying in public will be embarrassing or offensive. Four congregations in Durham, North Carolina, organized a prayer walk that connected with neighbors.

November 26, 2019 | 6 min read
Teacher-Scholars awarded Vital Worship Grants for 2020 by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship announced today that it will fund 15 grants to Teacher-Scholars for 2020-2021 as part of its Vital Worship Grants Program.

November 26, 2019 | 2 min read

Christus Paradox 2019

A service of lessons and carols that invites people to approach Advent and Christmas with songs that sing about both forgiveness and justice, healing and correction, personal serenity and cultural reconciliation, human flourishing and the flourishing of all creation.

November 13, 2019 | 9 min read

Tim Shapiro on How Your Congregation Learns

Many congregations suspect they need to change but don’t know how. Tim Shapiro’s book describes eight steps that healthy congregations can take to learn together. These learning journey stages have parallels to elements of Christian worship.

November 12, 2019 | 5 min read
Trauma-Informed Worship: Address Trauma to Begin Healing

Most pastors realize that people come to church with deep fears, sorrows, and concerns that often remain unexpressed in worship. But because Mount Aery Baptist Church has worked to become a trauma-informed congregation, its worship services are becoming a communal place of healing.

November 12, 2019 | 8 min read
Mandy Smith on The Vulnerable Pastor

Christian leaders, especially pastors, sometimes feel bad about the gap between their ideal of Christlike ministry and the reality. Pastor Mandy Smith explains that honestly accepting vulnerabilities and human limitations makes room for God’s strength to be revealed in people and congregations.

November 5, 2019 | 5 min read