Winter 2007/Pasadena
PR511
Pannell

PR511: PREACHING PRACTICUM (Two Units). William Pannell.

DESCRIPTION: The course is designed to offer the maximum possible practical experience in preaching and sermon preparation. The class will be limited to a maximum of nine students. Each student will preach twice during the quarter. Sermons are to be original work not previously presented for credit in homiletics or other speech and preaching classes. Each sermon will be evaluated and discussed by class members under the direction of the instructor. All sermons will be recorded on video tape.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Goals for this course are as follows: to provide a safe environment for students to develop their communication skills; to assist students in their ability to ground their sermons in a Biblical text; to assist students in more effectively moving from the text to the audience in order to connect with an audience.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: The spoken word remains an essential means of communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ. Preaching is an essential element in the ministry of the church, a task which all servants of Christ are called to perform in one form or another.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet for a two-hour period each week. The first part of each meeting will be spent in worship where two sermons will be preached by members of the class. The class will then move to informal surroundings where discussion of the sermons will follow in a relaxed atmosphere. PLEASE NOTE: Class attendance is mandatory. If the class is over-subscribed, the first two persons on the wait list should attend the first class session.

REQUIRED READING:

: Students are expected to be familiar with the texts assigned in PR500, or with equivalent standard works on preaching. In addition, the class will, of course, be familiar with exegetical and theological references relating to the texts, passages, or themes to be preached upon.

RECOMMENDED READING:

: The following books will be useful as you build your preaching libraries. I will refer to them in our class sessions:

: Koller, Charles W. How to Preach without Notes. Baker Books, 1997 (paperback ed.); 1st ed.: 1964.; Scheuer, Jeffrey. The Sound Bite Society. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 1999.; Webb, Stephen. The Divine Voice: Christian Proclamation and the Theology of Sound. Brazos Press, 2004.

ASSIGNMENTS: Two sermons preached during the quarter, with outlines submitted. Regular class attendance, preparation for class, and participation in discussions are required. Students who miss more than two class meetings will not receive a passing grade.

PREREQUISITES: PR500.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets MDiv core requirements in Preaching and Communication (MIN 2). The practicum may be taken for credit more than once, though students are encouraged not to enroll in more than one section during any given quarter.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.