Fall 2012/Pasadena
PR500
L. Lamb
PR500: HOMILETICS. Lisa Lamb.
DESCRIPTION: The call to preach provokes a potent mix of terror and delight in
those to whom it comes. Our goal will be to cut down the angst and to grow in
boldness, passion, and joy as we explore the ministry of preaching the gospel.
This course will build a biblical and theological foundation for preaching and
attend to the nitty gritty aspects of sermon design and delivery. Students will
develop their skills as they preach two sermons, hear and offer constructive
feedback, evaluate their own sermons, and complete other written assignments.
SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: The preaching of the gospel of Jesus
Christ is a central and essential means through which God grows God's church.
Those who are called to pastoral and evangelistic leadership are called to
develop their skills in biblical exegesis and their capacity to preach with
genuine love, faithfulness, passion, and joy.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this course students will demonstrate
- growth in both their conviction that the biblical text is the proper
foundation for preaching and in their skill in unfolding the biblical text in a
way that is compelling to hearers (through exegetical work, preaching of
text-based sermons, and through class discussion and written feedback from
professor and class);
- increased skills in articulating biblical truth in a coherent and
interesting way, appreciating the need to preach out of genuine love for their
listeners;
- improved delivery skills (through spoken exercises and two sermons, through
reviewing recordings, class feedback, and written feedback from professor and
class);
- ability in evaluating both their own preaching and that of others (through
reading and hearing sermons, receiving feedback on their own preaching and
through providing written and oral feedback to classmates).
COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet twice weekly for two-hour sessions. After
the first two weeks, one of the two-hour sessions each week will be spent in a
small group practicum setting, led by a teaching assistant. (Note: this may
meet at a different time than the class hour.) In these groups students will
preach twice; sermons will be recorded. Attendance is crucial due to the highly
experiential and participatory nature of this course.
REQUIRED READING:
- Long, Thomas. The Witness of Preaching. 2nd ed. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox, 2005. 200 pages. ISBN: 0804215715. List Price: $16.06.
- Pitt-Watson, Ian. A Primer for Preachers. Grand Rapids: Baker Books,
1986. 100 pages. ISBN: 0801070961 (available through Fuller Bookstore, used
copies can also be found online [but can be expensive]).
- Lowry, Eugene. How to Preach a Parable: Designs for Narrative
Sermons. Nashville: Abingdon, 1989. ISBN: 9780687179244. List Price: $21.
- Taylor, Barbara Brown. Your choice of one of these three collections
of her sermons:
- Seeds of Heaven. Louisville: Westminster John
Knox, 1993. ISBN: 0664228860. List Price $13.60.
- Gospel Medicine. Cambridge: Cowley Publications, 1995. ISBN:
156101110X. List Price: $10.95.
- Bread of Angels. Cambridge: Cowley Publications, 1997. ISBN:
1561011428. List Price: $10.08.
- Thirty pages of theological reflection on preaching from sources on
reserve or on our Moodle page.
- Commentary reading as needed to prepare two high-quality exegetical sermons
with submitted notes.
- Three other written sermons found online or on reserve, and five heard
sermons.
- One of the following:
- Nieman, James, and Thomas Rogers. Preaching to Every
Pew. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001 (chapters 1 and 2 and pp. 100-111). ISBN:
0800632435. List Price: $18.00.
- LaRue, Cleophus. The Heart of Black Preaching. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox, 2000 (chapters 1 and 4). ISBN: 0664258476. List Price:
$21.48.
RECOMMENDED READING: List will be given in syllabus.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
- First Sermon: Pass/Fail, 20 points (20 points will be given to those
who preach with reasonable evidence of solid effort): upload manuscript of
sermon to Moodle and print for class as well.
- Second Sermon: 40 points, graded, follow same procedure as above.
- Exegetical papers of roughly 4 pages demonstrating the scholarly and
reflective work you did with your text will accompany each sermon: 20 points
each.
- Self evaluations of each sermon will be due a week after they are
preached (1 page): 10 points each.
- Book Report on Long, Pitt-Watson, Lowry, and theological reading
(4-5 pages): 30 points.
- Paper evaluating five written sermons (roughly 1 page per sermon):
25 points.
- Paper evaluating five heard sermons (roughly 1 page per sermon): 25
points.
- Regular, punctual class attendance is required, and grades will be
lowered for lateness/poor participation. Each unexcused absence from practicum
will lower the course grade by 3 points. (You may make up two legitimate
absences by reading your peers' manuscripts and posting feedback to Moodle for
them and for your TA.) Missing more than two practica sessions for any
reason will result in failure of the course.
PREREQUISITES: NE502.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets MDiv core requirement in Preaching and
Communication (MIN2) and the Communication (COMM) requirement in MA
programs.
This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (July 2012)