Dr. Terry Teykl will deliver the 11 a.m. Sunday service at Carrollton First United Methodist Church on Jan. 13, and will later be the keynote speaker for the 2:30-5:30 p.m. Rome-Carrollton Area United Methodist Church 2013 District Training Event at the Carrollton church.
He will lead a workshop at the district training event on “Worship-Based Praying,” and will also deliver evening services at 7 on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
“Sometimes when we pray, we have a list,” Teykl said. “These are all the things I need God to do for them or me. After we go through the list, we are through praying. And if the list is not answered, we get disillusioned about prayer.”
He said a better way to pray is to worship first. The workshop will explore ways to blend worship and prayer for a more meaningful and lasting experience.
“Teykl is very well known in United Methodist circles,” said Rev. Gerry Davis, pastor of First United Methodist Church. “He has focused his efforts mainly on prayer and all the theology that prayer encompasses.”
Davis said the focus this year at First United Methodist will be on spiritual disciplines and Teykl’s visit is the kickoff for yearlong approach to the ministry.
“We’re calling this overall emphasis ‘Good Morning, God!’ and we invite the Carrollton community to join us as we seek to develop our spiritual lives and relationship with God through the spiritual disciplines,” Davis said.
Teykl will speak on several topics at the Sunday afternoon workshops and at 10 a.m. Monday and Tuesday sessions.
“We’re excited about the Tuesday morning talk, which will focus on how not to pray,” Davis said. “It gets into the theology of prayer and debunks a lot of things about prayer. It also answers the question, ‘Why did Jesus pray?’”
All the sessions are open to the general public and are free. A freewill offering will be taken.
Teykl holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from Sam Houston State University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He earned his master of theology degree at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University and his doctorate of ministry, with honors, from Oral Roberts University.
Teykl has been actively teaching and preaching since 1980 on mobilizing the church to pray. He began his first church, Aldersgate United Methodist Church, with only eight people who were committed to prayer. In five years, the church membership grew to more than 1,000.
Teykl believes prayer evangelism is a lost practice, but an important factor for church growth. His first book, “Pray and Grow,” along with its companion book, “Personal Prayer-Evangelism Guide,” speaks to that theme. He has conducted hundreds of seminars and workshops on the topic.
His book, “Making Room to Pray,” sparked an explosion of prayer rooms in local churches as a place for personal prayer and spiritual awakening.
The title of his Jan. 13 training session at Carrollton First United Methodist Church is “Becoming a Presence-Based Church.” It is based on the title of one of Teykl’s most popular books, “The Presence-Based Church.”
Speaking on the theme of that book, Teykl said, “The presence-based church isn’t defined by procedures or specific worship styles. A presence-based church doesn’t surface by following an prescribed formula, such as singing certain songs or ministering to people in a certain way. Most importantly, a church is not presence-based because of what it does or doesn’t do on Sunday morning. A church service is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. It is simply a weekly expression of all that is going on under the surface.”
Teykl said the presence-based church is not interested in the question, “Are we attracting enough people?” but rather, “Are we attracting the presence of God,” and “Is he welcome and honored above all else?”
In addition to “The Presence-Based Church,” other Teykl book titles include:
• “The Encounter: A Blueprint for the House of Prayer,” which is the curriculum for most of Teykl’s seminars;
• “Praying Grace,” designed to teach people how to pray for the needs of others;
• “How to Pray After You’ve Kicked the Dog,” a study of personal prayer that uncovers common myths about prayer;
• and “Divine Strongholds,” exploring how prayer can capture every thought and mold them to the mind of Christ.
Information on Teykl’s presentations at Carrollton First United Methodist Church can be found on the church website, www.cfumc.com, or by calling 770-832-7069.
Teykl is founder of Renewal Ministries and Prayer Point Press and his websites include www.prayerpointpress.com and www.methodistthinker.com.
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