Preaching from memory to hope / Thomas G. Long.
Series: Lyman Beecher lectures ; 2006Publication details: Louisville, Ky. : Westminster John Knox Press, c2009.Description: xv, 152 p. ; 23 cmISBN:- 9780664234225 (alk. paper)
- 0664234224 (alk. paper)
Item type | Current library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Main Collection | John Kinder Theological Library | BV4211.3 LON (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | J00926283 | ||
Main Collection | Theology House | BV4211.3 LON (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | A00437669 |
"Chapters 1, 2, and 5 ... are the 2006 Lyman Beecher lectures"--P. x.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 133-143) and index.
A likely story : the perils and power of narrative in preaching -- No news is bad news : God in the present tense -- Nasty suspicions, conspiracy theories, and the return of gnosticism -- Meeting Marcus Borg again for the first time -- Preaching in the future-perfect tense : eschatology and proclamation.
In this compelling and hard-hitting book, respected preacher and teacher Thomas Long identifies and responds to what he sees as the most substantive theological forces and challenges facing preaching today. The issues, he says, are fourfold: the decline in the quality of narrative preaching and the need for its reinvigoration; the tendency of preachers to ignore God's action and presence in our midst; the return of the church's old nemesis, gnosticism--albeit in a milder form--evidenced in today's new "spirituality"; and the absence of eschatology in the pulpit. Long once again has his finger on the pulse of American preaching, demonstrated by his creative responses to these challenges. Whether he is calling for theologically smarter and more ethically discerning preaching, providing a method of interpretation that will allow pastors to recover the emphasis on God in our midst, or encouraging a kind of "interfaith dialogue" with gnosticism, he demonstrates why he has long been considered one of the most thoughtful and intelligent preachers in America today.