Mastering Ceremonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In today\u2019s secular society, the only personal contact many people have with a pastor is some public occasion: a wedding, funeral, baby dedication or baptism, an awards ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These settings, where clergy are front and center, offer unique opportunities to minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bubbling joy or the piercing grief of these events waken people, if only for a moment, to pastors and to the divine realities they represent. Birth, death, and human achievement become, in C. S. Lewis\u2019s words, \u201ca megaphone to rouse a deafened world.\u201d And pastors who are called upon to lead, officiate, or pray during these events do well to consider how to speak clearly through them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This book offers clear, tested counsel on how to prepare for special occasions and how to conduct the events themselves. Each chapter is written by a pastor who has had extensive experience in that area. These church leaders relate honestly their failures and successes\u2014and the lessons learned\u2014as they\u2019ve ministered during weddings, funerals, and special events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"