Easter isn’t a finish line—it’s our kickoff to a season of celebration. Still, pastors can be forgiven for admitting that after Holy Week, they are a little exhausted. Whether your church hosts vigils, daily services, or some other Easter extravaganza, there is a lot to juggle. Especially tricky is managing the liturgies. Palms and Passion,…
Ash Wednesday Excerpt: Giving Up
In Giving Up, I relate a moment from a particularly memorable Ash Wednesday. Other memories of this solemn service have been more somber, but none more soberly illustrates our ‘selfie culture’ or the need we have for this Lenten season that can draw us out of ourselves—if only we will let it. A few years ago,…
The Gift of Lent
Lent begins with a necessary reminder: you are dust and to dust you shall return. In Ash Wednesday, we speak these difficult words so that we might resist the influential fictions that our daily lives impress upon us. The fiction that we are in control. That we can fix ourselves. That we were designed first and…
How to Lead a Daily Office Service (Morning or Evening Prayer) for a Group
Daily Office: Easier Said (Alone) than Done (With a Group)! In the interests of making the Daily Office (Morning and Evening Prayer) more accessible, I’ve been putting together Daily Office Booklets for a while now. Ideally, with just a Bible and a booklet, you should be able to work your way through both Morning and…
What’s on Your Christmas Wish List?
At LeaderWorks, we are all about helping church leaders do their work. To that end, we posted a new idea for helping your church give in the final month of the year: make a Christmas Wish List for your church! Still, you deserve more than a lump of coal, so take a break and write…
LeaderWorks Updates
It’s been a little while since we highlighted what’s happening over at LeaderWorks. Here’s a round-up of the latest news and resources: Thanks for your continued support of LeaderWorks. Stay in touch through our newsletter, and let us know how we can help you do your work! David+
People of the Book
We’ve made two wrong turns so far, and that’s my fault. I keep looking up from the map on my phone at the mountains surrounding us here in northern Washington state. We are looking for a retreat center in Sumas, a town that seems to be mostly small farms patched in among the forested hills….
The Vital Role of the Small Church Leader
The mission of LeaderWorks is to help church leaders do their work. In that effort, James K.A. Smith and Tim Keller have blessed us richly with their recent conversation in Comment Magazine. Church leaders who have just begun their ministries, whether planting a church or leading a small congregation, often feel frustrated by a lack…
Listen to the Word & Table Podcast to Learn More about Liturgical and Sacramental Christian Worship
I don’t know about you, but I’m quite possibly addicted to podcasts. Right now, NPR’s UpFirst, The Tim Ferriss Show, and The Art of Manliness are some of my favorites. However, it’s been a bit of struggle for me to find great Anglican podcasts. Granted, perhaps that’s due to my own ignorance, but when you…
Why Pray for the Dead?
“For all those who departed this life in the certain hope of the resurrection, in thanksgiving let us pray to the Lord.” In Anglican worship, we don’t pray to the dead. But, we do pray for the dead and we pray with the dead. Many people have asked me why we do this. Most of the time they…
