Making a Scene in the Pulpit
Making a Scene in the Pulpit

Author: Alyce M. McKenzie

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press

Published: 2018-10-23

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1611648963

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How can preachers ensure that their sermons continue to engage listeners in a world defined by visual media and the short, segmented delivery of information? Alyce McKenzie harnesses the element of drama and the human fascination with scenes to offer ministers a modern means of sermon development and delivery. McKenzie's core strategy is to invite listeners into scenes—whether from Scripture or contemporary life—and, once they are there, to point them toward the larger story of God's relationship with humankind. Creating such scenes unifies the whole process of preaching, she says, from the preacher's daily life observations to interpretation of scenes from Scripture, to sermon shaping, sequencing, and delivery. The process culminates in a specific understanding of the purpose of the sermon: to send listeners out into the scenes they'll play in their lives for the next week, equipped to act out their parts in ways that are kinder, more just, and more courageous than last week.

Effective Preaching
Effective Preaching

Author: Rev. Michael E. Connors, CSC

Publisher: Liturgy Training Publications

Published: 2021-01-25

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 1618333208

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Effective Preaching: Bringing People into an Encounter with God is a practical collection of essays, featuring leading preachers, homilists and homily instructors. Compiled by Michael E. Connors, CSC, the Director of the John Marten Program in Homiletics and Liturgics at the University of Notre Dame, this imaginative book focuses entirely on the practical side of Catholic preaching. It will provide imaginative, hands-on, tested advice to help homilists develop preaching effectiveness, using techniques that will turn satisfactory preaching into exceptional preaching. This practical resource will be essential for priests, permanent deacons, seminarians in homiletics classes; retreat leaders, RCIA catechists; all who preach.

Writing for the Ear, Preaching from the Heart
Writing for the Ear, Preaching from the Heart

Author: Donna Giver-Johnston

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2021-08-10

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 150646324X

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Words bombard us every day. Words can be noisy and cheap. And yet, words are all preachers have. In Writing for the Ear, Preaching from the Heart, Donna Giver-Johnston addresses the question: How do you capture ears in an era of noise? Many preachers want to get away from their notes and make a more personal connection with their listeners, but they have not been mentored in methods that enable them to do that. Grounded in a theology of incarnation and articulation and coupled with an awareness of what listeners most need and want to hear, Giver-Johnston explains how preachers can communicate more effectively--how they can write sermons for the ear, with the fewest, most impactful words to craft a memorable message. She also provides guidance on how to preach sermons by heart, without notes, to communicate a message that captures the ears and hearts of listeners. In a time when attention spans are shortening and church participation is declining, this book provides a proven method for preachers to communicate in ways that are meaningful and memorable to aching ears today and that can change the world for good, and for God, one longing heart at a time.

Questions Preachers Ask
Questions Preachers Ask

Author: Scott Black Johnston

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press

Published: 2016-10-01

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1611646901

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"How do we preach in a way that affirms Christian theology while also honoring the insights of other faith traditions?" "How do we preach about and help create genuine Christian community in a social networking culture?" Questions Preachers Ask examines many questions that are on the minds of preachers today, questions that focus on how to preach the gospel in a culture where biblical knowledge cannot be presumed and where the Bible is often viewed as untrustworthy. Well-known preachers, scholars, and authors, including Barbara Brown Taylor, Gail O'Day, Anna Carter Florence, Richard Lischer, and Thomas Lynch, provide the answers. This book, compiled to honor writer, preacher, teacher, and scholar Thomas G. Long at the end of his teaching career, addresses practical questions such as "How do we proclaim the good news to young adults who are on the margins of church or have left it?" and "How do we preach to faith communities that are highly diverse?" Perfect for preachers at any stage of their ministry, these essays offer hope and guidance for handling the difficult task of preaching in today's congregations.

The Plot Thickens
The Plot Thickens

Author: Mary Elizabeth Leighton

Publisher: Ohio University Press

Published: 2018-12-17

Total Pages: 522

ISBN-13: 0821446495

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In the early 1800s, books were largely unillustrated. By the 1830s and 1840s, however, innovations in wood- and steel-engraving techniques changed how Victorian readers consumed and conceptualized fiction. A new type of novel was born, often published in serial form, one that melded text and image as partners in meaning-making. These illustrated serial novels offered Victorians a reading experience that was both verbal and visual, based on complex effects of flash-forward and flashback as the placement of illustrations revealed or recalled significant story elements. Victorians’ experience of what are now canonical novels thus differed markedly from that of modern readers, who are accustomed to reading single volumes with minimal illustration. Even if modern editions do reproduce illustrations, these do not appear as originally laid out. Modern readers therefore lose a crucial aspect of how Victorians understood plot—as a story delivered in both words and images, over time, and with illustrations playing a key role. In The Plot Thickens, Mary Elizabeth Leighton and Lisa Surridge uncover this overlooked narrative role of illustrations within Victorian serial fiction. They reveal the intricacy and richness of the form and push us to reconsider our notions of illustration, visual culture, narration, and reading practices in nineteenth-century Britain.

Preaching that Shows
Preaching that Shows

Author: Margaret Cooling

Publisher: SCM Press

Published: 2022-04-25

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 0334061849

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For many years the resolution plot has dominated homiletical theory, made most famous by the ‘Lowry Loop’ – a staple of preaching theory for today’s ministry student. Whilst the approach is important, some have accused ‘resolution plot’ of leaving little room for ambiguity, and failing to reflect the messy reality of life. Offering a ground-breaking approach as a counter to well-worn preaching strategies, this book explores the ‘revelatory plot’, focused more on the gradual revelation of relevant truths within the biblical text through character and embodied insight, and through imaginative and sensory detail rather than through answering the questions ‘how and ‘why’. It will prove an invaluable resource for students, homileticians and preachers alike.

Finding the Plot
Finding the Plot

Author: Roger Standing

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2012-03-16

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1620320312

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Endorsements: "Preaching at its best is 'truth on fire.' The real quality of this book is that it has been created from the author's own experience of the local pastorate and is concerned with practical insights and realities. I warmly recommend it." --David Coffey, Moderator of the Free Churches and General Secretary of the Baptist Union "For some, the phrase 'finding the plot' suggests a stroll through a graveyard, which is much like their view of preaching. But Roger Standing uses the phrase to describe narrative preaching, an approach that helps preachers accomplish their essential task: to raise the dead." --Marshall Shelley, Vice President, Christianity Today International and editor of Leadership "This book, from a seasoned practitioner and an able thinker, will provide the signposts required by many either for transforming their preaching style in mid-career, or for setting off on the right foot." --Nigel G. Wright, Principal of Spurgeon's College, London "Roger Standing breezily shares his enthusiasm for narrative preaching. He combines theory about narrative and its cultural relevance with practical advice and preaching examples. A helpful stimulus to any preacher to branch out into narrative preaching." --Michael Quicke, Charles Koller Professor of Preaching and Communications Author Biography: Roger Standing is the Deputy Principal of Spurgeon's College in London, England, where he teaches Mission, Evangelism and Pioneer Ministry. His other publications include Preaching for the Unchurched in an Entertainment Culture and Re-Emerging Church: strategies for reaching a returning generation.