Select Topic

Testimony as Practice: Implications for Preaching, Worship, and a Christian Way of Life

The way we talk in worship affects the way we talk in the rest of our lives, and vice versa. Worship and daily life are integrally connected—a connection which is fundamental for developing healthy approaches to both worship and preaching.

January 1, 2006
Global Perspectives on Worship

In this Symposium session, we explore cultural and liturgical issues our brothers and sisters are addressing, especially in Africa and Asia - for example, intergenerational and multicultural worship; use of indigenous songs, instruments, and dance; use of technology; challenges of religious pluralism. We explore how God is building his church in ways that move us all closer to the unity we have in Christ even as we celebrate the gifts of cultural diversity.

January 1, 2006

Helping People Include People with Disabilities

This workshop provided practical ideas for including persons with disabilities in Sunday School classes, youth groups, and adult small groups, based on the speaker's book of the same title.

January 1, 2006
Baptism: A Sacrament for the Whole Congregation

This session drew upon biblical passages and confessional and liturgical texts from the Reformed tradition to demonstrate how Christian baptism is a communal, not an individual, sacrament.

January 1, 2006
Symposium 2006 - Conversation with Eugene Peterson

This conversation between spiritual friends explored the art of writing, hospitality, and the pastoral life. Presented at the 2006 Calvin Symposium on Worship.

January 1, 2006

Who You Are Is How You Are Heard: Personality and Personal Ethics in Preaching

The small choices preachers make provide hearers not only with a better understanding of the text, but also with a keen understanding of the preacher.

January 1, 2006
Moving Toward Preaching Extemporaneously

Preaching extemporaneously, without a manuscript, can enliven delivery and improve communication. This session will explain and demonstrate how to carefully make the transition from text to outline, and then from outline to embodied delivery.

January 1, 2006
Becoming a Worship-Centered Congregation: The Process of Cultural Change in Congregations

Becoming a worship-centered congregation is a profound cultural shift for some congregations and often takes as much as ten years. Using leadership theory and theories of transformational learning, this workshop explored the dynamics of congregational change, resistance to change, and the role of congregational leaders in always pointing toward the worship of God as the church's highest calling.

January 1, 2006

Vertical Habits: Missional Churches at Worship

In this workshop for new and emerging, as well as established and evolving congregations, we explored how new Christians and young children learn to relate to God, and what this teaches us about our practices of weekly congregational worship. The workshop featured insights from a number of congregations involved in a new Vertical Habits program hosted by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

January 1, 2006
The Rhythm of God's Grace

Today's hectic pace of life leaves little time for prayer. Daily morning and evening prayer is an ancient treasure of the church that offers a worshipful way to live and pray, no matter how busy our lives feel. Learn more about this classical mode of prayer and how you can incorporate its wisdom into your daily life.

January 1, 2006