Preaching [PR]
PR0510 Foundations of Biblical Preaching
Proclaiming the gospel reveals the word of God incarnated in the world and in the life and ministry of Christian communities. This course introduces the fundamentals of biblical preaching with the primary goal of helping students integrate their own unique voice with how biblical texts connect to the daily life of faith. By nurturing the skills of effective and moving communication—including faithful biblical interpretation, consideration of the role of the sermon in congregational worship, use of language and imagery, and embodied delivery—this course helps students develop interpretive, creative, theological, homiletical, and practical disciplines that will inform and shape their preaching and lay the groundwork for lifelong learning and discovery. Close attention is given to how biblical preaching equips discipleship, forms communities eager to engage the Bible, and empowers witness in the world.
Prerequisites: OT0115 Law and Narrative or equivalent and NT0214-18 Gospels or equivalent
Full course
PR3550 Contemporary Approaches to the Bible for the Pulpit
This course introduces students to contemporary approaches in biblical interpretation with a specific focus on how these perspectives make a difference for preaching. With an attention to contextual hermeneutics, students will grow in their understanding of and appreciation for the diversity of how the Bible is read and heard by listeners. The course will also address the ethical and pastoral implications of tending situational hermeneutics for homiletics and Christian public leadership.
Prerequisite: PR0150 Foundations of Biblical Preaching
Full course
PR4537 Preaching in a Changed World
Over the last half century, the Western World has been transformed by cultural impulses routinely described by terms such as postmodernism, secularism, and pluralism. Yet patterns of preaching (and worship) remain relatively unchanged. This course investigates these movements and their impact and invites students to reflect theologically and practically our current culture and to construct faithful and fitting homiletical responses to our current situation.
Full or half course
PR4553 Storied Words: Preaching as a Creative Practice
This course is designed to deepen the theological insights of students and to sharpen the creative skills that relate to their homiletical work. Special attention will be given to creativity in the use of language, development of the sermon’s form, and issues relating to drama and performance in preaching. Issues relating to media use in proclamation will also be addressed. An emphasis will be placed upon the life-long task of acquiring practical habits appropriate to the pastoral vocation, focusing on the cultivation of judgment required for faithful communication of the biblical witness in service of the gospel in the context of personal, social, and cultural challenges.
Prerequisite: PR0510 Foundations of Biblical Preaching or equivalent
Full course
PR4557 Preaching and Interpreting the Gospel of John
The Gospel of John presents a very different portrait of Jesus when compared to its counterparts. As a result, its role in the imagination of the church’s preaching has been supplementary to the three-year lectionary preaching cycle that favors the Synoptic Gospels. This course focuses on the narrative integrity of the Fourth Gospel, its specific theological claims, and the particular ways in which it interprets the meaning of the Word made flesh so that its unique voice might be respected and heard into the life of the church.
Fulfills New Testament elective in John
Prerequisites: OT0115 Law and Narrative or equivalent; NT0215-18 Gospels or equivalent
Full or half course
PR4559 Public Speaking, Public Voice: Speech, Communication, and Ministry
A call to ministry invites and compels imagination about one’s vocation as a public theologian. This course is an introduction to the primary skills of oral communication, the principles of rhetoric, and the various kinds of discourse and speaking techniques necessary for effective public speaking and leadership. Designed both for students with little public speaking background as well as those wanting to hone their communication skills, this course will encourage students to identify strengths and areas of growth in delivery, to discover and develop their unique voice for the sake of incarnational ministry, and to gain confidence in their ability to articulate their own theological thinking.
Full or half course
PR4563 Preaching and Its Liturgical Contexts
People come to services, not sermons and go to worship, not to preaching. As the sermon is not the only event in worship and in the life of a congregation, to what must a preacher attend when interpreting biblical texts into the multiple contexts of congregational life? This course explores the various congregational and liturgical circumstances that shape our preaching, including weddings, funerals, congregational and community situations, and the church’s ecclesial seasons for the sake of preaching that is deeply contextual, situational, and meaningful.
Prerequisite: PR0510 Foundations of Biblical Preaching or equivalent
Full or half course
PR4565 Preaching and Congregational Leadership
This course is governed by three intertwined convictions. 1) Professional ministry is primarily about leadership, both eschatological (announcing God’s promises) and temporal (leading God’s church forward in mission). 2) Leadership is something that is learned over time through experimentation, reflection, and experience. 3) Preaching is a primary and public arena where pastoral leadership is regularly exercised. This course therefore delves into the nature and exercise of pastoral leadership in a variety of settings and situations, particularly with regard to the public role of preacher, through readings, presentations (by instructor and participants), case studies, and reflection on past experience.
Full course
PR4567 Race and the 21st Century Pulpit: Learning from the African American Tradition
This course provides a preaching practicum for students by critically exploring the role of oral interpretation of Scripture through the historical, theological, ecclesial, and aesthetic tradition of the African American Pulpit.
Prerequisite: PR0510 Foundations of Biblical Preaching or equivalent
Full course
PR4597 Guided Reading and Research in Preaching
An independent study for qualified students under the personal supervision of a member of the division. Consult faculty within division.
PR6598/8599 Guided Reading and Research in Preaching
An independent study for students in Advanced Theological Education. Consult faculty within division and Advanced Theological Education Office.