Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey and the Cabinet offer support for Michigan pastors interested in the Styberg Preaching Institute.

The Styberg Preaching Institute at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is committed to support pastors in the essential and demanding task of preaching the gospel. As we face the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century, our churches and communities need effective preaching that delivers transformative good news. With support from Lilly Endowment Inc., the Styberg Preaching Institute has developed a program that reaches out to pastors as they engage this essential, ecclesial task.

A Partnership in Effective Proclamation is a peer support program that encourages pastors to:

• Gain new perspectives on the challenge of preaching;
• Discover new resources that will help them in developing sermons;
• Learn ways to help them to critically reflect on their practice of preaching;
• Build supportive relationships with colleagues through Peer Learning Groups.

Peer Learning Groups will consist of local church pastors who gather monthly to focus specifically and deliberately on their preaching. Gatherings will be hosted by a pastor/colleague who has been trained as facilitator for the group. The group will determine its specific agenda, but will focus on topics related to helping group members to be effective preachers as they learn ways to analyze their own preaching as well as to listen to the preaching of others and offer feedback that is both affirming and constructive.

The Peer Group Facilitator functions as the coordinator of the monthly peer group meeting. The facilitator is also a pastor who preaches regularly and who has received training in group dynamics and group leadership in order to guide the monthly meetings and help the group to function effectively. Facilitators will also be trained in engaging specific topics that are related to effective preaching for each monthly meeting. 

Monthly Meetings will be held at a time and location that is convenient to group members. The facilitator will be responsible for the meeting location, and each group will develop the schedule and agenda for their meetings. Each group is encouraged to meet monthly, but is required to meet at least ten (10) times for the year. Each group will develop a unique covenant that defines their commitment to each other and the group as a whole.

The Group Covenant lists the rules and agreements that will govern the functioning of the group and the meetings, especially as it represents members support of each other. In developing this covenant, group members will identify areas of focus that the group will engage during its time together. Persons who wish to be part of a group must complete and submit a peer group application.

A Peer Group Application provides the opportunity for pastors to identify briefly the concern or interest in preaching that fuels their desire to be part of the program. Since the program is intended to support preachers to help them become more effective at the task of preaching good news to the people, applicants must be pastors or clergy who are regularly engaged in preaching in the church.

Participants are asked to commit for a year and facilitators are asked to commit to the program for three years and are paid $3000 each year. New groups will begin in January 2017.

Further information is available on the Garrett website. To express interest in becoming either a facilitator or a participant in a Michigan Area Peer Learning Group, please contact The Bishop’s Office.

Last Updated on December 29, 2022