Ministry Matters - How to pray | The (upper) room itself

How do we actually teach folks to pray? How to pray by Glenn Stallsmith   One of a pastor’s responsibilities is to teach the laity to pray, but most pastoral instruction on prayer is implicit, assuming the “do as I do” model of imitating the prayers offered on Sunday mornings. Desiring to do something more intentional, I put together a four-session class called “How to Pray” and offered it on successive Wednesday evenings for my congregation. Read here

What makes it proper to praise God always and everywhere? The (upper) room itself: thanksgiving and communion by William McDonald   The Lord is about to speak a word into your preoccupied, overscheduled life. God will not wait for you to become calm and serene, as if you were alone on a mountaintop, the alone seeking the Alone. Instead, you are here, in this gathering of preoccupied selves, all asking that we might hear a word from the Lord. Read here

How can we shift the culture of mediocrity and bring fresh accountability? Is your church practicing mediocre grace? by Rebekah Simon-Peter   These days, cheap grace has competition. To appease a different kind of cultural complacency, grace has come to mean a bar set quite low. Offering this grace requires little to no accountability, enforces few if any, standards, and bears almost no fruit. This low-level grace is most apparent in churches in our communal and organizational life. It translates into a kind of laissez-faire; you’re off the hook, no accountability stance. Read here

What's on your desk?   What books have shaped your ministry most? What biblical commentaries and tools do you keep coming back to? We want to know! Help us support clergy who are just beginning their ministry by sharing your opinion on the resources that matter most. Let us know here!

Living stones, chosen people, and your sermon this Sunday Finding love and refuge in worship with your congregation this Sunday

Leading with kids in worship this week