Many individuals take risks in life such as mountain climbers, magicians, farmers, and gamblers. But do we ever include preachers in that category? Preachers have opportunities to be some of the greatest risk takers. In Preacher as Risk Taker, Richard Hart, O.F.M. Cap., challenges preachers to be on the cutting edge by taking risks resulting in better preaching. How many preachers are willing to submit their homilies to an editor or have their homilies taped? Are poetic preachers ready to preach in a changing Church? How often do preachers discuss social sin, the environment, ageing, the reign of God, or Paul's epistles? Do today's preachers realize how important it is to preach through healing or Jesus as a wisdom figure? Finally, do preachers know the true difference between a eulogy and a homily? Hart offers insight to each of these questions for preachers interested in improving their homilies. Preachers might not be asked to scale a mountain or act as a magician. But preachers are asked to take similar risks when preaching on challenging topics. In Preacher as Risk Taker, Father Hart provides answers for those interested in becoming spirited preachers.
A choice lies before you: Either waste your life or live with risk. Either sit on the sidelines or get in the game. After all, life was no cakewalk for Jesus, and he didn't promise it would be any easier for his followers. We shouldn't be surprised by resistance and persecution. Yet most of us play it safe. We pursue comfort. We spend ourselves to get more stuff. And we prefer to be entertained. We are all tempted by the idea of security, the possibility of a cozy Christianity with no hell at the end. But what kind of life is that really? It's a far cry from adventurous and abundant, from truly rich and really full, and it's certainly not the heights and the depths Jesus calls us to. Discover in these pages a foundation for fearlessness. Hear God's promise to go with you into the unknown. And let Risk Is Right help you see the joys of a faith-filled and seriously rewarding life of Jesus-dependent abandon! Risk Is Right is a significantly expanded version of a chapter previously published in the book Don't Waste Your Life (chapter 5).
Ingenuity introduces a theology and practice of preaching that emerges from the faith and wisdom of black women. Preaching has been resourced and taught from a narrow field of cultural or gendered experiences, historically. Without much support from established channels, black women are left to “figure it out” on their own, and others discern how to preach from a limiting scope. The best preachers understand their own voices and the voices of others. They stretch and grow, and this enables them to preach more effectively. Ingenuity equips readers to negotiate tradition, life experiences, and theological conviction in the creative work that makes way for sacred speech. With Ingenuity, Lisa Thompson offers deep insights for anyone seeking to enlarge their understanding, their language, and their sense of lived experiences, and offers practical help through “In Practice” segments for those who preach. "Written from the deep well of the spirituality of Black women, Thompson has given us a remarkable guide for what preaching should be and must be for the times we are in. Accessible, thoughtful, probing, pastoral, prophetic—all come together in this text. A must read for anyone committed to faithful excellence in proclaiming the word." -Emilie M. Townes, Dean and E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of Womanist Ethics and Society, Vanderbilt University Divinity School
The headlines are where daily life meets the public square--be it through social-media feeds, news outlets, or daily chatter. Preachers often feel stuck when met with quickly shifting and dense media topics. If and when preachers determine it is appropriate to address issues that arise in the news cycle, they are often at a loss for how to speak about these issues from the pulpit. When preachers understand that a responsibility to sustain life is embedded in the purposes of preaching, they discover greater fluidity between the everyday world, the biblical text, and preaching itself. Preaching the Headlines engages the intersections of social and religious discourse for the purpose of helping communities attend to everyday issues as matters of faith and faith as a practical, everyday aspect of life.This book reframes preaching as an ongoing conversation between the modern world and the world of the text, exploring where the divides between the two may be less rigid than we acknowledge. In preaching, the preacher uses what they know about life as a bridge to the text, while life in the text provides the bridge back to faith in the contemporary world.
"When people are committed to gender equality, what gets in their way of achieving it? Why do well-intentioned people reinforce sexist outcomes? Why does dissonance persist between organizational actors' good intentions of equality and sexist outcomes? This book provides answers to these questions by applying the critical lens of gendered organizations to moderate-liberal congregations that separated from their mainline denomination in support of women's equal leadership yet remain predominately male in positions of authority. This critical methodological study investigates congregations affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) with some dually aligned with The Alliance of Baptists. Although the CBF identifies the equal leadership of women as a core component of its collective identity and women are enrolling in Baptist seminaries at almost equal rates as men, only five percent of CBF congregations employ women as solo senior pastors. This book provides an organizational analysis investigating gendered congregational processes on the individual, interactional, and organizational levels including themes such as gendered hiring criteria, a perceived incongruence of women's bodies and leadership, unconscious biases of organizational actors, and how women pastors' experiences of discrimination influence their more risky approaches to leadership"--
What accounts for the spiritual power and vitality of black preaching? What are the distinctive contributions of black preaching to the life of The United Methodist Church? How must black preaching evolve if it is to rise to the new challenges facing the UMC? Fifteen distinguished preachers from across the connection answer these and other questions in this important and illuminating volume. Gennifer Benjamin Brooks not only edits this collect, she also shares one of her own sermons along with the sermons of the following fourteen other preachers: Rose Booker-Jones, Leo W. Curry, Safiyah Fosua, Telley Lynette Gadson, Linda Lee , Pamela R. Lightsey, Okitakoyi Lundula, Tracy S. Malone, Gregory Palmer, Vance P. Ross, Robert O. Simpson, Rodney P. Smothers. James E. Swanson, Sr., and Dorothy Watson-Tatem.
Preaching Justice brings together eight very diverse voices from eight distinct cultural/ethnic communities, challenging them to articulate the specific justice concerns, issues, and passions that give rise to a preaching ministry within the their own community and beyond. Theological analyses are offered by theses persons representing their particular communities: Kathy Black - persons with disabilities Martin Brokenieg - Native Americans Teresa Fry Brown - African Americans Eleazar Fernandez - Filipino Americans Justo Gonzalez - Hispanics Eunjoo Mary Kim - Korean Americans Stacy Offner - Jews Christine Marie Smith - lesbians and gays This volume offers a rare vision of what transforms preaching might sound and look like, and urges that all preaching - whatever community it comes from, whatever community it hopes to reach - be grounded in the sacred acts of listening and knowing.
The book is divided into two parts with an introduction. Part 1 has four chapters, and part 2 has three chapters. Part 1 is kingdom keys for succeeding in life, and part 2 is principles for success. The book has seven chapters in whole. The book is all about succeeding in life, and there are pathways you must follow to get there. Apparently, success is not a destination but a movement upward from one level to the next level. Success can become a failure when you dont continue moving forward. Success of yesterday can become failures of today, if there is no further progress. Through this book, you will understand that failure is a confession, as success is. So when you say it is impossible, you become a failure indeed. Even God cannot help you until you change your confession. Failure is the beginning of success because it tells you to try it again. And in doing it again, you win. Through this book, you will also learn how to invest in Gods kingdom, obey his word, and manage your life and time in others to get to your wealthy place. There is a wealthy place God has prepared for you, and he wants you to get there. The pathway to success is summed up in the following: Dont lose the sight of God. You will learn that if you loss the sight of God, you will lose sight of greatness. King Uzziah lost sight of God as well as Apostle Judas Iscariot. Both never became great. Succeeding through the force of labor. You will understand that your wealth, success, or prosperity is traceable to your assignment or Gods purpose you are carrying out. There is no entitlement in title bearing. It is the work you do that bears the title and brings about your wealth. Invest in the kingdom of God. Here in this chapter, you will learn how to serve God properly. You will also know that if you dont service your purpose, your purpose will become purposeless. Kingdom investment is what brings life increment. Whatever that is saved in Gods hands is secured and generates wealth. There is a bank of heaven and given is the channel through which you store up treasures in the bank and righteousness is the medium through which you activate it for withdrawal, and through the name of Jesus withdrawal is made possible. Patience is a divine factor that stabilizes your faith for effective performance in any given areas of life. Obedience is one of the spiritual tests for succeeding in life. You will get to understand that when you obey Gods Word, natural and even spiritual things will obey you. Application is the scientific way of getting answers to any equations of scientific nature, and so it is in the kingdom of God. Manage your life. You will know that God created you to be a leader and a manager. Management is the key to enthronement. You will manage your life through planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. Manage your time wisely. You will get to understand that time is the currency of life and the key to fulfillment. Time management is the proper use of time to achieve all your goals and prioritizing them according to importance. Time management will help you prioritize, know your objective, plan very well, and then schedule your task. Discipline helps to maintain sanity and prepares one for future glory.
Written BY Preachers and Teachers FOR Preachers and Teachers Combining fresh insights with readable exposition and relatable examples, The Preacher's Commentary will help you minister to others and see their lives transformed through the power of God's Word. Whether preacher, teacher, or Bible study leader--if you're a communicator, The Preacher's Commentary will help you share God's Word more effectively with others. This volume combining commentary on Jeremiah & Lamentations allows the prophet to speak to us and to call us to obey God even as he called the children of Israel centuries ago. Each volume is written by one of today's top scholars, and includes: Innovative ideas for preaching and teaching God's Word Vibrant paragraph-by-paragraph exposition Impelling real-life illustrations Insightful and relevant contemporary application An introduction, which reveals the author's approach A full outline of the biblical book being covered Scripture passages (using the New King James Version) and explanations The Preacher's Commentary offers pastors, teachers, and Bible study leaders clear and compelling insights into the Bible that will equip them to understand, apply, and teach the truth in God's Word.
