From Pulpit to Fiction

From Pulpit to Fiction
Author: Allen Permar Smith
Publisher: Peter Lang
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2007
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9783039113286

This book examines the authority and power of a «sermonic text» through its fictive qualities. The author argues that a sermonic text functions in the manner of a work of fiction and creates an event and space that forces a decision upon the reader. The text creates a place where the Kingdom of God is about to happen and is happening. Consequently, the reader is forced to make a decision. Will he or she «go and do likewise», or reject the Kingdom of God? In this way, a sermonic text acts like a work of fiction and invites a reader into its space and event. If the reader of the sermonic text chooses temporally to enter the event of the text, the reader has the potential to participate in its dynamics and is forced to make a decision either to believe or not believe. Like a work of fiction, it does not require those external guarantees of authority that are found in the community of faith: its doctrines, creeds and ecclesiology. Rather, the authority of the sermonic text is intrinsic as in a work of fiction and stands on its own. The discussion is interdisciplinary, drawing upon literary theory, cultural theory and theology.

Reading for Preaching

Reading for Preaching
Author: Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 147
Release: 2013-11-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802870775

In Reading for Preaching Cornelius Plantinga makes a striking claim: preachers who read widely will most likely become better preachers. Plantinga -- himself a master preacher -- shows how a wide reading program can benefit preachers. First, he says, good reading generates delight, and the preacher who enters the world of delight goes with God. Good reading can also help tune the preacher's ear for language -- his or her primary tool. General reading can enlarge the preacher's sympathies for people and situations that she or he had previously known nothing about. And, above all, the preacher who reads widely has the chance to become wise. This beautifully written book will benefit not just preachers but anyone interested in the wisdom to be derived from reading. Works that Plantinga interacts with in the book include The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini Enrique's Journey, by Sonia Nazario Silence, by Shusaku Endo "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" by Leo Tolstoy "Narcissus Leaves the Pool" by Joseph Epstein Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo . . . and many more!

Pigs in the Pulpit

Pigs in the Pulpit
Author: J. Michael Wittman
Publisher: Booksurge Publishing
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2009-08-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781439246078

Pigs In The Pulpit - Identifying and exposing systematic abuse, cult-like tendencies and deception in the Christian church.

Lent Through Eastertide

Lent Through Eastertide
Author: David L. Bartlett
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 568
Release: 2010-10-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0664231055

"Feasting on the Word offers pastors focused resources for Sermon preparation, written by companions on the way. With four different essays on each of the four biblical texts assigned by the Revised Common Lectionary, this series offers preachers sixteen different ways into the proclamation of God's Word on any given occasion. For each reading, preachers will find brief essays on the exegetical, theological, homiletical, and pastoral challenges of the text. The page layout is unusual. By setting the biblical passage at the top of the page and placing the essays beneath it, we mean to suggest the interdependence of these four approaches without granting priority to any one of them. Some readers may decide to focus on the Gospel passage, for instance, by reading all four essays provided for that text. Others may decide to look for connections between the Hebrew Bible, Psalm, Gospel, and Epistle texts by reading the theological essays on each one. Wherever they begin, preachers will find what they need in a single volume produced by writers from a wide variety of disciplines and religious traditions. These authors teach in colleges and seminaries. They lead congregations. They write scholarly books as well as columns for the local newspaper. They oversee denominations. In all these capacities and more, they serve God's Word, joining the preacher in the ongoing challenge of bringing that Word to life.... We have been honored to work with a multitude of gifted thinkers, writers, and editors. We present these essays as their offering-and ours-to the blessed ministry of preaching."-From the introduction by David L. Bartlett, Barbara Brown Taylor

Power in the Pulpit

Power in the Pulpit
Author: Jerry Vines
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Total Pages: 509
Release: 1999-06-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1575675366

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.

The Shared Pulpit

The Shared Pulpit
Author: Erika Hewitt
Publisher: Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2014
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1558967222

"Here is a complete workshop to help lay people gain experience writing and preaching a full-length sermon for their congregation. This easy-to-use guide for both facilitators and participants provides a step-by-step lesson plan for eight sessions. Workshop members learn about the theory and theology of preaching, then practice writing and speaking with authenticity, gradually building toward composing quality 20-minute sermons. Workshop leaders learn to foster a supportive environment in which participants offer one another helpful feedback. The Shared Pulpit includes a separate leader's guide, readings for homework, sample sermons, and exercises to help first-time preachers polish their preaching craft."--Back cover.

Passion in the Pulpit

Passion in the Pulpit
Author: Jerry Vines
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2018-07-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802496849

Biblical exegesis doesn’t stop with the words alone. Faithful preachers exegete the emotion of the text as well. It’s easy to let our own personalities dictate the emotional dimension of our sermons, but the best preachers mirror the Bible’s emotive intent in their sermons. In Passion in the Pulpit, Jerry Vines and Adam Dooley will teach you how to exegete not just the verbal content of Scripture, but its emotional appeal as well. They show you the role the Bible’s emotional intent should play in each stage of sermon prep, and: Offer exegetical steps to discern the biblical pathos Teach you how to avoid manipulation while making your sermons emotional Help you determine the appropriate limitations of emotional appeal Give you verbal, vocal, and visual techniques to help convey the biblical emotional intent in your sermons When we elevate the Bible’s emotional intent above our own, we preach truth rather than personality.

Caught in the Pulpit

Caught in the Pulpit
Author: Daniel C. Dennett
Publisher: Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA)
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2015-05-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1634310225

What is it like to be a preacher or rabbi who no longer believes in God? In this expanded and updated edition of their groundbreaking study, Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola comprehensively and sensitively expose an inconvenient truth that religious institutions face in the new transparency of the information age—the phenomenon of clergy who no longer believe what they publicly preach. In confidential interviews, clergy from across the ministerial spectrum—from liberal to literal—reveal how their lives of religious service and study have led them to a truth inimical to their professed beliefs and profession. Although their personal stories are as varied as the denominations they once represented, or continue to represent—whether Catholic, Baptist, Episcopalian, Methodist, Mormon, Pentecostal, or any of numerous others—they give voice not only to their own struggles but also to those who similarly suffer in tender and lonely silence. As this study poignantly and vividly reveals, their common journey has far-reaching implications not only for their families, their congregations, and their communities—but also for the very future of religion.

Pulpit Rock

Pulpit Rock
Author: Kate Rhodes
Publisher:
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2020-10-15
Genre:
ISBN: 9781471189876

The fourth instalment in a gripping and atmospheric crime series set on a small island where there is no escape . . . 'Gripping, clever and impossible to put down' ERIN KELLY AN ISLAND ON LOCKDOWN. A KILLER ON THE LOOSE . . . As the scorching summer sun covers the small Scilly island of St Mary's, DI Ben Kitto and his team are training for the annual Swimathon. But their morning session comes to a climactic end when they discover a body hanging from Pulpit Rock. The victim has been dressed up in a bridal gown, and Ben quickly realises that a dark and sinister killer is at large on the island. To prevent the killer from escaping, Ben has no choice but to lock down St Mary's, yet in doing so he is unwillingly trapping the killer's next victim. When another woman is attacked, Ben gathers the island's at-risk residents inside the local hotel for safety, but the killer is already watching and remains one step ahead . . . Everyone is a suspect. No one is safe. PRAISE FOR KATE RHODES: 'Gripping, clever and impossible to put down. I've been a Kate Rhodes fan for years and in Ben Kitto she has created a detective who is just as complex and compelling as Kate's elegant plotting and stunning prose. The claustrophobia and paranoia of the island are so brilliant evoked, I could almost feel the tide encroaching as time ran out to find the killer' ERIN KELLY 'Absorbing and complex, Hell Bay kept me guessing until the final pages' RACHEL ABBOTT 'A vividly realised protagonist whose complex and harrowing history rivals the central crime storyline' SOPHIE HANNAH 'Beautifully written and expertly plotted; this is a masterclass' GUARDIAN 'Expertly weaves a sense of place and character into a tense and intriguing story' METRO 'Rhodes does a superb job of balancing a portrayal of a tiny community oppressed by secrets with an uplifting evocation of setting' Jake Kerridge, SUNDAY EXPRESS 'The whole book tingles with tension. I hope it does for the Scilly Isles what Ann Cleeves did for Shetland' MEL MCGRATH 'I love reading Kate's books in the way I love reading Sophie Hannah - a poet writing crime fiction is a great thing . . . It is at once a locked-room mystery, a story of the returning hero, and an examination of fear and abuse. It has the air of a twenty-first century Agatha Christie' JULIA CROUCH

Love on the Pulpit

Love on the Pulpit
Author: Taiwo Iredele Odubiyi
Publisher:
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2004
Genre: Clergy
ISBN: 9789780626846

Teni couldn't imagine herself marrying her neighbour's nephew, more so a preacher. She knew that such a man should be respected and seen as a man of God, but that was as far as it could go for her - until she met Dave. He made her feel, smile, think. But could they overcome the challenges of her past? And if so, what about Dave's mother's disapproval?**********Find out what happens to a woman who falls in love with a preacher and has to come to terms with her past in the Christian romance novel, LOVE ON THE PULPIT.