The Craft of Preaching
Resources to strengthen authentic biblical preaching
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Theology & Preaching
I used to find it incredibly frustrating.
The Sunday texts would be before me. I would diligently study them -- analyze their historical context, tease out the challenges and possibilities within and between the texts, meticulously execute word studies, and while listening to the context of the community I served, seek to discern the preachable meaning from inside the texts.
In a previous article, posted on this site last year while our normally alert editors nodded off, I proposed that the Second Evangelist may be the New Testament's unsung comedian.
Exhibit A of my case was Mark 11:1-11, which in the other Gospels is Jesus' triumphal entry to Jerusalem. Mark sets up readers for such a tale before pulling the platitude out from under them. I intended to try sneaking another essay in this vein onto WorkingPreacher.org before now, but I've been laughing too hard.
"He who controls the pace, controls the victory."
Scrawled on a whiteboard in his office, we find Frank Campana's training philosophy. Frank is a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) coach of some renown for his unorthodox training methods. Rather than employing the typical cadre of cacophonous heavy metal or rap beats to train his fighters, Frank enlists Beethoven.
Next time you see a group of young adults dining together at a restaurant, take a closer look at the table.
Nine times out of ten, you'll be able to glimpse at least one cell phone resting on the tablecloth or, just as likely, in someone's hand. In many cases, multiple phones will dot the table as if they were part of the place settings. One might deduce that young people today have a medical condition causing indigestion unless they eat with their phones near at hand. Come to think of it, that's dangerously close to the truth.