For the Love of Preaching: Scripture is More than a Tool (1st in a 4-Week Series)
Now that 2020 is actually over, are you feeling full of renewed energy, ready to preach in 2021? No? Me neither. To counteract our preaching “blues,” I’ve created a four-week series to help us all rediscover and relish the craft of preaching again. Each week will offer a reflection and experiences, exercises, or tools for you to engage and apply. I hope you’ll join us this week in rediscovering scripture as the font and source of our being rather than just a means to an end (a sermon).
For the Love of Preaching: We *Get* to Preach (2nd in a 4-week Series)
There may never have been a more difficult time in our lifetimes to minister in God’s name when many listeners actively seek fault, agendas, or flat-out disagree with sharing Christ’s love with all. That makes for a stressful ministry environment. All the more reason to remind yourself of the extraordinary blessing it is that we get to do this work.
Recovering from 2020: Your Free, At-Home Christmas Retreat
“This retreat will not completely fill your tank, assuage your exhaustion, or provide a clear path of hope for the future. But it will, I pray, provide a theological and spiritual framework to what you have endured, witnessed, and felt this past year. By God's grace we will minister in 2021 with an open heart, confident that God will continue to provide all we need to preach, minister, and lead. This, too, shall pass. And in the meantime, people need Good News.”
"I do not cease to give thanks for you."
This has been an unbelievable year. Surreal. Tragic. Bring-us-to-our-knees stressful. Yet you have preached, led, and ministered throughout. So I give thanks for you for a multitude of reasons…
Practical Wisdom for Trying Times: A Conversation with Clergy Coach Laura Jackson
How do we lead effectively during constant change?
How do we find respite during constant change?
When we feel caught in the middle, how do we move out?
The Path to Moving Forward in Disaster
All of us are being called to exercise a part of our Christian belief to a breadth and depth few of us have experienced before. We are being called to shower forgiveness in all directions. Not only because Jesus forgave us, but because our nation and world will require rebuilding when this pandemic and election are over. And we won’t be able to move forward constructively if we believe some are unworthy to receive our forgiveness.
"How is your prayer?" A simple question with big impact (A Guest Post)
“Over the years I have discovered again and again that prayer, the interior life, is the backstory to my life, marriage, parenting, ministry, teaching, preaching. As my prayer goes, so goes everything else.”
Using Money for Good: Preaching Tips & Tools to Grow Conscious, Ethical Consumers (A Guest Post)
It’s rather surprising we don’t find ourselves preaching a lot about money since fully 1/3 of the parables are about money and one in ten verses in the Gospels are connected to money. Getting money situated in its right relationship with our lives, and the world around us, is an important spiritual topic. And we need to tackle it.
"Preaching God's Economy": A Panel Discussion Hosted by Faith+Finance
To help the people in our pews deal with the very real challenges, impacts, and opportunities of their money, we have to find a way to have difficult conversations about finance. Preaching about money is a good start. Listen in on this panel discussion to discover how you might approach these conversations in your own church.
Preaching on money and finances: the Church's role in shaping our economy (A Guest Post)
Money shapes all of life. We—and our congregants—need to think about how we spend our money, how we invest our money, and how we relate to our money. As uncomfortable as these topics are for preachers, I believe we need to be willing to put our personal anxieties aside and walk into the deep waters where our parishioners live to launch some hard conversations. Our people desperately need that from us, and the Church must become a place where these necessary conversations can find a home.
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I participated in the Lectio study today with a complicated and double-speak Gospel (John 17:6-19) and WOW! I received so much great insight and am headed in a direction I feel really good about. Thank you to all my colleagues! If you are wondering if this is worth it, wonder no more. It is.
—Donna G.
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The Gospel People Don't Want to Hear: Preaching Challenging Messages was written to aid preacher’s in understanding what’s at stake for their listeners so they can craft sermons their audience can receive, even if they challenge cherished beliefs.
I just have to say WOW. I'm so grateful that I made the investment and joined The Collective. These Thursday [workshops] are a game-changer for me.
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