Despite efforts by conscientious and gifted educational institutions, ministers invariably discover in their first church that they still have a great deal to learn. The question they face is how they are to learn it. . . . -from the foreword by Fisher Humphreys After realizing that much of daily pastoral work can only be learned as ministers begin their first pastorate, Christopher M. Hamlin and Sarah Jackson Shelton decided to ask more than eighty of their colleagues what their churches had taught them. Their primary question was this: Could it be that the church, its people, and the life events experienced within the context of the faith community become the educational experiences that mold and shape ministers into pastors? Collected in The Teaching Church: Congregation as Mentor are the stories of the pastors who shared how congregations have shaped, nurtured, and, sometimes, broken their resolve to be faithful servants of God.

Sessions with Peter is a ten-lesson study unit designed to provide a compelling study of 1 and 2 Peter. Each session is followed by exercises for spiritual reflection that allow for a deeper experience of the scriptural passages. These exercises can be used by seminar leaders during preparation and group discussion, as well as in individual Bible study. Sarah Jackson Shelton takes readers on a journey through Peter's letters to the churches in exile. Through these sessions, Shelton connects today's readers of these passages to the tangible encouragement that these letters offer. Just like the example of Jesus, Peter reminds us that our call is to be found faithful to God's grace in spite of persecution, temptation, alienation, or social oppression. As it was to its original audience, Peter's encouragement for us to stay true to our Christian beliefs is a welcome drink of cold water in what can often seem a spiritual desert.