What People Are Saying
We have had extremely positive feedback from pastors and practitioners who have used the content of the 7 Practices in their current contexts.
I used David’s book last Sunday to encourage my church to understand the Great Commission as a calling to sit around the three tables. I actually set the stage with three different tables and I preached sitting around them with different people from the congregation! It was well received! Thanks for your amazing work!
Paulo Pascoal
Lead Pastor
Gormley Church
Toronto
I recently took seven weeks to walk through the Faithful Presence book with our church family on Sunday mornings and found it extremely helpful. Most of our preaching/focus is on our effort to embody the presence of Jesus in relationship with those we serve, both locally and internationally. Faithful Presence provided simple, structured, life-giving direction along those lines. The material was relatively easy to digest, while also being hugely convicting in the best way possible.
Deacon Godsey
Lead Pastor
Vintage Church
Lawrence KS
We’re in the middle of a book study of the 7 Practices at my church. We’re just on chapter four, but it’s yielding the best discussions we’ve ever had in that group. People are beginning to imagine what it looks like in our neighborhood for the first time. There are some leaders in that group, and I want to talk to them about how to best disseminate what we’re learning in the small group to the wider church.
Matt Stout
Pastor
Alpha United Methodist Church
Bloomingdale GA
At our recent Mennonite Church Alberta I led a workshop centered around the themes in Faithful Presence. Recently, several of our churches have engaged in LGBTQ inclusion discussions and they have been difficult. After a time that was heavy on teaching, debating, contesting…etc., there has been a desire to refocus ourselves and to rediscover God’s presence in and among us. Your book was exactly what we needed! Each chapter was compelling and practical. The sharing of your own personal experiences solidified your points. Back in our congregation, we are planning on developing a worship series on the themes of the book. I know others from the workshop want to bring it back to their church boards as well. This is clearly the direction the North American church needs to be moving. There is so much talk these days…but people crave Presence.
Doug Klassen
Senior Pastor
Foothills Mennonite Church Chair of Faith and Life Committee
for Mennonite Church Canada
I’m the interim pastor of a small Christian Missionary Alliance church in Savannah, and I’ve used the book as my conversation partner in developing a sermon series called “Practicing the Presence of God.” The three circles have really helped me make practical connections in each message between congregation, community, and culture. Last Sunday a member came up to me and said, “I feel like you’re teaching us how to be a church with or without a pastor. We’re learning a lot.”
Robb Redmon
Dean College of Theology
South University, Savannah Georgia