In his landmark "As One Without Authority," originally published in 1971 and updated by Chalice Press in three decades later, legendary preacher Fred B. Craddock explores the state of American preaching with the goal of restoring the power of preaching in shaping our religious lives.Craddock begins by conceding preaching is viewed by some as outdated and ineffective, with new forms of ministry emerging to meet contemporary needs. He identifies six challenges preachers face:...

Revised and Expanded Edition! When originally published in 1978, Overhearing the Gospel introduced "narrative preaching" and forever changed the shape of contemporary preaching. Now a new generation of preachers can learn from the master himself in this revised and expanded edition of Craddock's groundbreaking method.

This update of Craddock's original work on inductive preaching remains one of the most important contributions to homiletic scholarship. Revised with three new sermons, inclusive language, and NRSV texts, it is still as fresh and provocative as ever.

Travel with revered preacher and author Fred Craddock through his early years as he considers what made him take to the pulpit. "For some reason, I felt I had to say 'Yes' or 'No' to the ministry so I could feel free again. My siblings and friends talked almost casually about options and preferences as to careers, but with no evident sense of urgency. Not so with me. I did not then, nor do I now know whether the burden of choice was a trait of personality, a kind of super-conscientiousness...

The church does not cope very well with dying. Instead of using its own resources to mount a positive end-of-life ministry for the terminally ill, it outsources care to secular models, providers, and services. A terminal diagnosis typically triggers denial of impending death and placing faith in the techniques and resources of modern medicine. If a cure is not forthcoming, the patient and his or her loved ones experience a sense of failure and bitter disappointment.This book offers...

In this postmodern age, women preachers are finding their "voice" a distinctive way of proclamation. This book looks at the metaphor of voice, how women are moving to voice from silence, and how individuals can make themselves heard by those who don't want to hear.

This monograph presents an entirely new solution to the synoptic problem. It demonstrates that the Acts of the Apostles functioned as the structure-giving hypotext for the Gospel of Matthew. Accordingly, the Gospel of Matthew is a reworking of not only the Gospel of Luke, but also, in a strictly sequential way, of the Acts of the Apostles. This strictly sequential, hypertextual dependence on Acts explains the Matthean relocations of the Marcan and Lucan material, numerous Matthean modifica...

Providing fundamental homiletical principles, this classic book gives readers all the tools they need to prepare a meaningful sermon."Sermon design"--James Massey's contemporary, creative approach to shaping specific classifications of sermons--focuses on order (What is the preacher's goal?) and on movement (What structure is he or she using to get there?). The discussion of his approach begins with an appraisal of the sermon in context--in relation to goals, design, basic forms, c...

Practical Strategies for Responding Biblically to Gossip, Criticism, and Negative WordsCommunication expert Michael Sedler gives readers practical strategies for identifying, counteracting, and responding graciously to gossip, criticism, and negative words. He shows readers how to· positively handle negative language· reconcile with those who have spoken harm to you· build others up by speaking life-giving words, even when you don't want to

How could a loving God send people to hell? Will people have a chance after they die to believe in Jesus and go to heaven?With a humble respect for God's Word, Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle address the deepest questions you have about eternal destiny. They've asked the same questions. Like you, sometimes they just don't want to believe in hell. But as they write, "We cannot afford to be wrong on this issue."This is not a book about who is saying what. I...

“Reading of God's silence in the Bible gives me courage to explore the practice of restraint in preaching-not as a deliberate withholding of God's word nor, I hope, as a rationale for my own reticence, but as a sober reaching for more reverence in the act of public speaking about God.”In these 1997 Lyman Beecher Lectures in Preaching delivered at Yale Divinity School, Barbara Brown Taylor focuses on the task of those who preach and those who hear sermons in a world where people thi...

For when your trust has been broken: discover how to set firm boundaries again, how to connect deeply without being hurt, and how to safely grow your most intimate relationships.Painful relationships violate our trust, causing us to close our hearts. But to experience the freedom and love God designed us for, we eventually have to take another risk.In this breakthrough book, bestselling author Dr. John Townsend takes you beyond the pain of the past to disco...