Practical Suggestions for the Practicing Pastor

For those who ask for joys and concerns before prayer in worship:

The other Sunday we worshipped in a church in which the worship leader—Ken Pennings—asked the congregation for joys and concerns. In my mind, this works best in smaller groups, but it seems to be a common practice in the places we have visited here. [Does it seem like an “in-house” kind of thing to you? It does to me, though perhaps it can draw in the guests too.] Anyway, one way to help the process is to repeat the joy or concern so that all can hear (or use a handheld microphone). Another thing—and this is what Ken did—is to ask the congregation to “covenant to remember _______ in prayer this week” with the congregational response, “We will.” Works for me.

However, I found myself this week unable to remember what I had agreed to pray for last week! Hence, this idea: have someone prepare a slide to project at points in the rest of the service to help folks recall the persons and situations, or, maybe better, have someone prepare a half-sheet of paper with the prayer requests which could be available as you leave the sanctuary. Again, I could note the requests in my bulletin, but it would be easier for me to have someone else prepare and distribute that list! [The usher counts the crowd so all we curious folks don’t have to. Same principle for noting prayer needs.]