"A Contemporary Handbook for Weddings & Funerals and Other Occasions" (Aubrey Malphurs, Keith Willhite, and Dennis Hillman)

TITLE: A Contemporary Handbook for Weddings & Funerals and Other Occasions: Revised and Updated
AUTHOR: Aubrey Malphurs, Keith Willhite, and Dennis Hillman
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Ministry, 2022, (456 pages).
 

Pastors play a key role in any Church. They are frequently called to initiate, implement, and innovate on Church programs. Members of the Church rely on them for the smooth running of the Church. From Sunday services to weekly Church visitations, they are expected to meet the needs of the congregation members. Amid these weekly routines, there are happy events like weddings and baptisms, or sad events like illnesses and funerals. Then there are the seasons of the Church calendar such as Lent, Easter, Christmas, and others. This handbook covers a lot about these events, with a particular focus on weddings and funerals. Part One looks at a typical wedding service, providing sample service outlines, messages, and other relevant resources pertaining to the nature and meaning of marriages. 

Part Two follows the same framework as weddings above. Written with great sensitivity to the families of the bereaved, the chapters contain eulogy outlines, graveside instructions, memorial services, comforting messages, and sermons of hope. There are even outlines for pastors to provide for family members wanting to give memorial messages. Also included are resources that share some different perspectives of death and dying.

Part Three gives brief guidelines for other occasions such as Holy Communion, Child & Family Dedications; Baptisms; Christmas; Good Friday; Mother's Day; Father's Day; Church Anniversaries; Ordination; Installation services; and other miscellaneous events of interest. The book also includes special poems for the occasion and additional resources for leadership. 

My Thoughts

Amid the bountiful resources available on the Internet, is such a handbook still relevant today? Most certainly so for two main reasons. Firstly, the handbook has weathered the test of time. With the latest update, the handbook not only retains its appeal to pastors from an older generation, but also refreshes tried and tested frameworks with new material for a new generation of ministers. Church leaders will find it helpful to get these ready to use outlines to quickly put together important events. One never knows when a sudden event will hit, so with a handbook like this, ministers do not have to start everything from scratch. Moreover, many of these events are bound to happen sooner or later. There will always be people getting married from time to time. There will also be people who would need pastoral care in times of need. Secondly, there is a team of reputed and respectable authors that the editors have gathered. This handbook is a treasure of resources from such expertise. There are biblical scholars like John Walvoord; educators like Bill Hendricks & Robertson McQuilkin; powerful preachers like Haddon Robinson & Jeffrey Arthurs; evangelists like Larry Moyer; seasoned pastors like Raymond Johnson & Andy McQuitty; etc. We can find materials on the Internet, but they often require us to exercise caution and discernment due to the amount of information to be sieved through. With this book, the contributors have done the heavy-lifting of vetting and consolidating on our behalf. Chances are, it is more likely for readers to approve what they read from this book than to approve links randomly assigned to them from an Internet search!

This classic reference remains a must-have resource for any pastoral library. First published in 2003, this third edition updates the content to reflect the changing needs of the Church today. The editors bring together a host of contributors to cover all of these topics, often based on their area of expertise. Written to be used as quick templates for busy pastors, the authors have generously given permission for anyone to use or modify the resources for their ministry purposes. This does not mean wholesale reproduction by pastors, especially the less experienced ones. Contextualization must always be done before application. 

For young and new pastors, this handbook is a must-have. For those with several years of experience as ministers or Church elders, this book might have already been on your bookshelves. If not, get a copy for the Church library, and maybe a second copy to give away to a younger pastor. 

Dr. Aubrey Malphurs serves as Department Chairman and Professor of Field Education at Dallas Theological Seminary.  He earned both ThM and PhD degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Dr. Keith Willhite served as Professor of Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary.  He earned the PhD degree in communication from Purdue University and the ThM degree from Dallas Seminary.

Dennis Hillman is a former pastor and publishing leader. He retired
in 2019 after 28 years with Kregel Publications in Grand Rapids, MI.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Kregel Publications without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.