In this groundbreaking work, Paul A. Djupe and Christopher Gilbert analyze national data from a survey of over 2,400 Episcopal and Evangelical Lutheran Church of America clergy, looking deeper into their motivations for political action. Using these data, the authors argue that clergy roles in politics and civic life result from the intersection of their personal beliefs and interests, the specific needs of their congregation and community, and ongoing influences from their denomination.
Muslim preaching has been central in forming public opinion, building grassroots organizations, and developing leadership cadres for the wider Islamist agenda. Based on in-depth field research in Egypt, Patrick Gaffney focuses on the preacher and the sermon as the single most important medium for propounding the message of Islam. He draws on social history, political commentary, and theological sources to reveal the subtle connections between religious rhetoric and political dissent. Many of the sermons discussed were given during the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, and Gaffney attempts to describe this militant movement and to compare it with official Islam. Finally, Gaffney presents examples of the sermons, so readers can better understand the full range of contemporary Islamic expression.
Using the analogy of a crack-cocaine addict's journey from addiction to recovery, Prophetic Crack describes the unhealthy emotional, hermeneutical, and legalistic manipulations of church leaders that may lead to "pushing" a toxic faith that inadvertently may lead to church addiction. It also outlines a clear path to recovery and restoration for both "pushers" and "addicts." Using Acts chapter 16, verse 16 as a foundation for her research, Dr. McMillan has explored the causes and effects of church addiction and paralleled its destructive patterns to that of the crack cocaine addict. You ll find the similarities astonishing! The foreword is written by Dr. Claudette Anderson Copeland and the book is published by Yorkshire Publishing.
Muslim preaching has been central in forming public opinion, building grassroots organizations, and developing leadership cadres for the wider Islamist agenda. Based on in-depth field research in Egypt, Patrick Gaffney focuses on the preacher and the sermon as the single most important medium for propounding the message of Islam. He draws on social history, political commentary, and theological sources to reveal the subtle connections between religious rhetoric and political dissent. Many of the sermons discussed were given during the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, and Gaffney attempts to describe this militant movement and to compare it with official Islam. Finally, Gaffney presents examples of the sermons, so readers can better understand the full range of contemporary Islamic expression.
The debate over women's roles in the Southern Baptist Convention's conservative ascendance is often seen as secondary to theological and biblical concerns. Elizabeth Flowers argues, however, that for both moderate and conservative Baptist women--all of whom had much at stake--disagreements that touched on their familial roles and ecclesial authority have always been primary. And, in the turbulent postwar era, debate over their roles caused fierce internal controversy. While the legacy of race and civil rights lingered well into the 1990s, views on women's submission to male authority provided the most salient test by which moderates were identified and expelled in a process that led to significant splits in the Church. In Flowers's expansive history of Southern Baptist women, the "woman question" is integral to almost every area of Southern Baptist concern: hermeneutics, ecclesial polity, missionary work, church-state relations, and denominational history. Flowers's analysis, part of the expanding survey of America's religious and cultural landscape after World War II, points to the South's changing identity and connects religious and regional issues to the complicated relationship between race and gender during and after the civil rights movement. She also shows how feminism and shifting women's roles, behaviors, and practices played a significant part in debates that simmer among Baptists and evangelicals throughout the nation today.
The call to preach is just that- a call to preach. The call to preach, however, is more than just preaching. The call to preach is a call to prepare. Too many pastors have refrained from preparation while they await the Holy Spirit to do all of the work. God expects preachers to prepare sermons as much as possible and allow Him to prepare the preachers. Join Dr. Jerry Vines and Dr. Jim Shaddix as they achieve a balanced approach to teaching sermon preparation in Power in the Pulpit. This book combines the essential perspectives of a pastor of forty years with another pastor who also devotes daily time to training pastors in the context of theological education. Thus, Power in the Pulpit is a practical preaching help from a pastoral perspective in the tradition where expository preaching is a paramount and frequent event in the life of the local church. Power in the Pulpit is the combined work of Dr. Vines's two earlier publications on preaching: A Practical Guide to Sermon Preparation (Moody Press, 1985) and A Guide to Effective Sermon Delivery (Moody Press, 1986). Dr. Shaddix carefully organizes and supplements the material to offer this useful resource which closes the gap between classroom theory and what a pastor experiences in his weekly sermon preparation.
Where have all the prophets gone? And why do preachers seem to shy away from prophetic witness? Astute preacher Leonora Tisdale considers these vexing questions while providing guidance and encouragement to pastors who want to recommit themselves to the task of prophetic witness. With a keen sensitivity to pastoral contexts, Tisdale's work is full of helpful suggestions and examples to help pastors structure and preach prophetic sermons, considered by many to be one of the most difficult tasks pastors are called to undertake.
This new book by best-selling author Rev. Dr. Marvin McMickle (now president of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School) is a rich and provocative exploration of the Baptist distinctive of separation of church and state and its historic expression in the social justice traditions of the African American church. Featuring historical examples as well as personal experiences, Dr. McMickle argues for the vital role of the preacher, not only in prophetic preaching and teaching on social issues but also in serving the community and challenging the government, whether from within or without.
The transformation of patriarchal church culture begins with gender equality in the pulpit. For too long, the Christian pulpit has been monopolized by men. This pattern is especially pronounced in evangelical Asian American and Latinx congregations, where women’s voices are marginalized and male dominance is reinforced in the church as well as the family. The consequences are enormous: oRobbing the church of the fullness of the gospel oSilencing the voices of women preachers oMasculinizing Christianity oLosing younger generations of women leaders oModeling structural power inequality oIncreasing violence against women Making academic hermeneutical work accessible for the pulpit, A Biblical Study Guide for an Equal Pulpit reappropriates a gendered approach to biblical texts. Among the perspectives investigated, Kay Higuera Smith’s “Two Mothers—Two Promises” takes a perspective-shifting look at Sarah and Hagar; Eunny P. Lee’s "Valorous and Wise: Women Who Build Up the House of God” depicts Ruth and the woman of Proverbs 31 as builders of the household; and Sophia Magallanes-Tsang’s “Listening for Your Voice; Let Me Hear It: The Prophetic Feminine Voice in Songs 8” interprets the Song of Songs as a prophetic female voice.
This book is a call for preachers to learn the importance of keeping their eyes on the vision of Jesus and biblical prophets when preaching - that of doing justice, caring for others, and being equitable. The book attempts to make a biblical argument for the importance and the content of prophetic preaching, and argues that the issue is not preaching from a text taken from the prophetic corpus but preaching on the themes that echoed over and over from the biblical prophets themselves.
