Summer 2013/Pasadena
PR500
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 (1) 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); (2) increased skills in articulating biblical truth in a coherent and interesting way, appreciating the need to preach out of genuine love for their listeners; (3) improved delivery skills (through spoken exercises and two sermons, through reviewing recordings, class feedback, and written feedback from professor and class); (4) 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 five weeks for four-hour sessions. After the first week, the second half of each evening will be spent in a small group practicum setting, led by the professor or a teaching assistant. 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. Westminster John Knox, 2005. ISBN: 978-0804215718, Pub. Price $24.95 [216 pp.].
Pitt-Watson, Ian. A Primer for Preachers. Baker Academic, 1999. ISBN: 978-0801070969, Pub. Price $9.99 [112 pp.].
Lowry, Eugene. How to Preach a Parable: Designs for Narrative Sermons. Abingdon Press, 1989. ISBN: 978-0687179244, Pub. Price $21.00 [173 pp.].
Taylor, Barbara Brown. Your choice of ONE of these three collections of her sermons:
Seeds of Heaven. Westminster John Knox, 1993. ISBN: 978-0664228866, Pub. Price $15.00 [113 pp.].
Gospel Medicine. Cowley Publications, 1995. ISBN: 978-1561011100, Pub. Price $16.95 [188 pp.].
Bread of Angels. Cowley Publications, 1997. ISBN: 978-1561011421, Pub. Price $16.95 [176 pp.].
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.
Five written sermons found online or on reserve, and five heard sermons.
Choose ONE of these:
Nieman, James, and Thomas Rogers. Preaching to Every Pew. Fortress, 2001. ISBN: 978-0800632434, Pub. Price $18.00 [chapters 1 and 2 and pp. 100-111].
LaRue, Cleophus. The Heart of Black Preaching. Westminster John Knox, 2000. ISBN: 978-0664258474, Pub. Price $30.00 [chapters 1, 4, and three sample sermons]. ***OUT OF PRINT. If you cannot find this and wish to read a book by LaRue, you may choose to read all of I Believe I’ll Testify. Westminster John Knox Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0664236779, Pub. Price $17.00.
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: 36 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: 26 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 Nieman Rogers or LaRue (4-5 pages): 25 points.
Seven Sermons: A paperevaluating five written sermons (roughly 1 page per sermon) and two that you hear: 36 points.
Storytelling Exercises: As class time allows, we will tells stories from Scripture and our lives. 6 points, which will be redistributed to other assignments if we don’t have time to do this.
Regular, punctual class attendance is required, with 5 points for good participation and penalty points assessed as well for unexcused absences and chronic lateness. Each unexcused absence from practicum (preaching groups) 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.
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.