Can Christian preaching and worship in multicultural contexts be more faithful to the Christian gospel and more meaningful and memorable to worshipers? In this book, Eunjoo Mary Kim explores this theological and liturgical concern and proposes a paradigm shift from monocultural to multicultural worship. This volume will help preachers and worship leaders, as well as homiletics and liturgics scholars, seek theological and biblical wisdom for the practice of Christian preaching and worship in multicultural contexts. Kim also provides homiletical and liturgical insights into this practice. By integrating this paradigm shift, ministers and worshipers can participate in a life worthy of living together in our multicultural world.
Few vocations share more in common with preaching than stand-up comedy. Each profession demands attention to the speaker’s bodily and facial gestures, tone and inflection, timing, and thoughtful engagement with contemporary contexts. Furthermore, both preaching and stand-up arise out of creative tension with homiletic or comedic traditions, respectively. Every time the preacher steps into the pulpit or the comedian steps onto the stage, they must measure their words and gestures against their audience’s expectations and assumptions. They participate in a kind of dance that is at once choreographed and open to improvisation. It is these and similar commonalities between preaching and stand-up comedy that this book engages. Stand-Up Preaching does not aim to help preachers tell better jokes. The focus of this book is far more expansive. Given the recent popularity of comedy specials, preachers have greater access to a broad array of emerging comics who showcase fresh comedic styles and variations on comedic traditions. Coupled with the perennial Def Comedy Jams on HBO, preachers also have ready access to the work of classic comics who have exhibited great storytelling and stage presence. This book will offer readers tools to discern what is homiletically significant in historical and contemporary stand-up routines, equipping them with fresh ways to riff off of their respective preaching traditions, and nuanced ways to engage issues of contemporary sociopolitical importance.
This revised edition of the popular textbook on worship by renowned hymn writer and professor Ruth C. Duck provides theological foundations for worship and explores the ways Christians have adapted worship to various cultures to help them live faithfully and to communicate the gospel to others. The author celebrates the many languages and cultural settings in which the gospel has been, and is, preached, sung, and prayed. The goal of this volume is to support good pastoral and congregational reflection on what worship is and does. Consequently, Duck discusses many different forms of worship from several cultures (African American, Asian, Euro-American) and offers advice on how to read a congregation and define its culture in order to plan culturally appropriate worship. She includes many practical suggestions for preparing and leading worship, including diverse ministries of music, movement, and visual arts that are becoming more popular today. From worship's theological underpinnings, the book turns to worship leadership, forms of prayer, preaching, the sacraments, ordination, and various other liturgies. Because of its emphasis on vital and Spirit-led worship, this comprehensive book on Christian worship will be used in years to come, not only as a core textbook for seminarians and ministry students from a variety of cultures and traditions but also as a resource for local church pastors and laity who are dedicated to the enlivening of Christian worship. In this new edition, Duck updates and expands the recommended resources, updates the section on worship trends, enhances the section on multicultural worship, and revises marriage information based on cultural and denominational changes. Highlights include stories of four churches that are developing creative ways to grow and meet the possibilities and challenges of these times, especially in seeking justice, serving people in their neighborhood, and building bridges among cultures and religious groups. In addition, a new appendix by David Gambrell addresses the theological and practical questions surrounding online worship in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.
What could we accomplish if only we acted more wisely? Could we mitigate the effects of diseases; help the vulnerable feel safer; make progress on justice; cooperate on common problems? We don’t see enough wisdom, but neither did Woman Wisdom herself, who cried out in the streets wanting to gain attention. For every preacher who feels the urgency for more wisdom, this book has heard you. We know the urgency and we want to help. With contributions from: O. Wesley Allen Karoline M. Lewis John C. Holbert Ruthanna Hooke David Schnasa Jacobsen J. Dwayne Howell Margaret Wenig Luke Powery Eunjoo Kim
Pastors and others who lead Christian worship want to offer worship that is truthful and hopeful. They yearn to create worship that involves and includes everyone in their midst. To develop new approaches to planning, so that their worship can reflect and respond to the realities of the community. To create worship for the church that is becoming. A Worship Workbook introduces crucial and under-examined liturgical and social concepts for students and leaders of worship. Each chapter offers a brief lesson, teaching new skills and inspiring creativity for honest, faithful, and versatile worship leadership.
How can postcolonial approaches make a difference in preaching Jesus? The many postcolonial approaches used in this book will help preachers reinterpret the stories, metaphors, and characters in the Bible and create new images of Jesus rooted in his historical identity as a colonized person. Preaching Jesus with new images that are totally different from the traditional colonial ones, not only challenges listeners to reconsider their individual and communal identities as followers of Jesus, but also provides them with theological and ethical guidance for living out those identities in daily life. Ultimately, preaching Jesus through postcolonial approaches is a prophetic ministry that awakens listeners and their communities to seek reconciliation between colonized and colonizers, and suggests a common ground of faith and hope for the life-enhancing future of all people living in the twenty-first century. The five chapters of this book employ diverse postcolonial hermeneutical and homiletical methods across a broad disciplinary spectrum. This range includes intersectional and interdisciplinary studies with historical, literary, and cultural approaches, in dialogue with phenomenological philosophy, a postcolonial practical theological method, postcolonial feminist interpretation, postcolonial biblical hermeneutics, and postcolonial intertextuality. All these approaches invite the colonized and their descendants to be conversation partners and reflect their lived experiences in the reimagining the identity of Jesus. Moreover, the theological and homiletical insights gained through such postcolonial approaches will help preachers invite their listeners into a partnership with the triune God in order to participate in God’s reconciling work. The postcolonial approaches used in this book contest the dominance of traditional assumptions and practices of preaching Jesus, and propose a new homiletical paradigm that makes it possible for Christian preaching to contribute to the transformation of our present world into a life lived together in justice and peace, with the new images of Jesus as postcolonial self, postcolonial song, postcolonial child, postcolonial body, and postcolonial friend.
What makes for powerful preaching? Careful exegesis, logical structure, interesting illustrations, and clear speech can all help. But truly transformative preaching depends on divine power, not human skill alone. Those who would reduce preaching to simple systems or sure-fire strategies for success will find little of interest here. Instead, this book appeals to those (pastors and academics alike) who find themselves confounded by the occasional futility of their best preaching and the unexpected success of their worst. It invites readers to enter more deeply into the uncontrollable mystery that attends all efforts to speak in the name of Christ, above all on the topic of resurrection. Although the gospel always turns our attention to the crucified and risen Lord, preaching about resurrection calls us to trust that the same God who raised Jesus from death will likewise grant life to us as preachers, to our sermons, and to our hearers alike. Drawing on resources as diverse as Luther’s understanding of the Christian gospel, Speech Act theory, and Bhabha’s concept of “Third Space,” Third Voice: Preaching Resurrection argues that the true key to effective preaching is not rhetoric, but spirituality.
Coauthored by a homiletician, a theologian, and a biblical scholar, this book is a preaching primer that provides tools for crafting effective, engaging, and inspiring sermons. Using a unique workbook-style format, Introduction to Preaching equips seminarians and preachers to use appropriate theological claims informed by solid biblical interpretation while providing several sample sermons from the authors. Readers will learn how to use a three-part schema—the Central Question, the Central Claim, and the Central Purpose—to provide the drive, direction, and destination for the sermon. Offering guidelines for using appropriate sermon forms, imagery, metaphors, and creativity, together with advice on how to deliver contextually relevant sermons using our bodies, presence, and voice make this a staple for both new and experienced preachers. Introduction to Preaching includes a chapter on exploring the space of preaching, including onsite and online sermons. In addition, it features charts and worksheets to help organize the sermon-writing process, as well as exercises for the preacher’s voice and body and tips for advice for guest preachers and supply preachers. A glossary of terms and an extensive bibliography make this a handy reference guide for students and all preachers.
"It is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning." Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1960. This quote remains true and begs the question “How do we heal the church divide?” Mario Melendez presents an engaging introduction to the experiences of multi-ethnic believers and a path by which church leaders increase engagement and service to these diverse communities. Finding a model in Saint Timothy, Melendez reveals that multi-ethnic believers have always played a crucial role in Christian fellowship. Having experienced the mixing of their parents' heritage during their upbringing, third cultures kids are invaluable cultural and religious ambassadors. Embracing the unique gifts of third culture congregants and leaders, churches can embody the kaleidescope of their communities and bring about healing amongst the people of God. Church clergy and lay leaders, as well as members of multi-ethnic households and those looking to increase the engagement of diverse groups within their congregation will find Third Culture Faithful an inspiring call to action.
Sticky Faith delivers positive and practical ideas to nurture within your kids a living, loving faith that lasts a lifetime. Research indicates that almost half of high school seniors drift from their faith after graduation. Struck by this staggering statistic, and recognizing its ramifications, the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) conducted the "College Transition Project" in an effort to identify the relationships and best practices that can set young people on a trajectory of lifelong faith and service. This easy-to-read guide presents both a compelling rationale and a powerful strategy to show parents how to actively encourage their children’s spiritual growth so that it will stick with them into adulthood and empower them to develop a living, lasting faith. Written by Fuller Youth Institute Executive Director Dr. Kara E. Powell and youth expert Chap Clark--authors known for the integrity of their research and the intensity of their passion for young people--Sticky Faith is geared to spark a movement that empowers adults to develop robust and long-term faith in kids of all ages. Further engage your family and church with the Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family, Sticky Faith curriculum, and Sticky Faith youth worker edition. Sticky Faith is also available in Spanish, Cómo criar jóvenes de fe sólida.
