Church and Ministry. Preaching

P501. Introduction to Preaching

Fall and Spring. Credit, three hours. (Faculty)

Introduction to the theology, history, literature, art, and practice of preaching. This is a foundational class that prepares students for other courses in homiletics. (Introductory Arts of Ministry)

P502. Sermon Development and Delivery

Credit, three hours. Prerequisite: P501 or the permission of the instructor. (Faculty)

The main goal of this course is to build upon the knowledge and skills gained in the basic course in preaching (P501) by encouraging creativity in sermon content and lively, engaged delivery of the sermon. The course will involve a mixture of lecture, discussion, reading, and workshop-style activities, all designed to improve the various skills of sermon design and delivery.

P613. Oral Presentation of Scripture and Sermon

Credit, three hours. (Faculty)

Practice and study of factors that increase the interest of a sermon as it is preached. The class emphasizes word as sound and sensitivity of the preacher to the involvement of the body and feelings in sermon delivery.

P617. Lectionary Preaching

Credit, three hours. Co- or prerequisite: P501. (Faculty)

This course examines the lessons of the common lectionary for the major liturgical seasons. It addresses issues of exegesis, hermeneutics, and preaching within the context of the church year. (P617CEE when offered as a Contextual Education elective)

P620. Prophetic Voices for a New Century

Credit, three hours. (Fry Brown)

This course examines contextualization of the preached word, prophetic and pastoral preaching, and critical engagement of contemporary social issues and “isms” in the preaching moment. (P620CEE when offered as a Contextual Education elective)

P622. Preaching Politics

Credit, three hours. (Smith) (Same as ES622.)

This course invites students to analyze the challenges to preaching politics in modern societies, learn some of the main ways that preachers have preached in light of them, consider some contemporary proposals for continuing that work, and then extend the practice with sermons of their own. The course moves, then, from social analysis to a history of practice to practical counsel to the practice of preaching. That movement—a kind of practical theological reflection—is itself one of the main things this course hopes to teach.

P624. Preaching in a Secular Age

Credit, three hours. (Smith) (Same as SR624.)

The course is designed to help students understand, evaluate, and use key concepts from theories of secularization; interpret concrete situations in ministry using these concepts - letting the concepts illumine particular situations, even as the situations rebuke, refine, and revise the concepts; gain a sense of the variety of ways that different preachers from different theological traditions and social locations relate to processes of secularization; preach with richer consciousness of the questions of secularization that might be at stake in a context the student cares about; and cultivate habits for this pattern of practical theological reflection (moving between theories, concrete situations, and the practical actions of everyday ministry).

P626. The Preacher as Theologian

Credit, three hours. Prerequisites: ST501, P501. (McDougall/Faculty) (Same as ST626.)

This course helps students with the act of theological reflection and emphasizes the crafting of sermons that express in accessible ways careful thinking about theological issues.

P631. Contemporary Black Preaching

Credit, three hours. (Fry Brown)

Analysis of historical and contemporary elements of the genre of black preaching. Homiletical preparation; textual integrity; spiritual-social-political content; and style, delivery efficacy, and receptivity of sermons through lecture, multimedia presentations, and preaching opportunities. (Race, Ethnicity, and Gender)

P634. Preaching with Children and Youth

Credit, three hours. (Faculty)

The purpose of this class is to assist preachers with preparing sermons for the children and youth of their faith communities. This class will prepare the students to lead children and youth in the process of thinking theologically and creatively about who God is. Students will be expected to use the assigned readings and other resources to prepare and to preach sermons appropriate for young listeners.

P642. Women and Preaching

Credit, three hours. (Fry Brown)

Study of the preaching tradition of North American women, feminist/womanist hermeneutical techniques, and the social-historical reality of religious foremothers. (Race, Ethnicity, and Gender)

P647. Preaching the Parables of Jesus

Credit, three hours. Prerequisite: P501. (Faculty)

This course helps students recognize and interpret the parables of the synoptic gospels in terms of contemporary pastoral situations. Through this, students produce sermons faithful to the New Testament text and relevant to modern people. This course attends to text, interpretation, and sermon production. May be cross-listed as NT647.

P649. Bible and Sermon

Credit, three hours. (Faculty) (Same as BI649)

This course helps students move from exegetical work to the sermon, attending to preaching that continues both the substance of the biblical text and its form and function. (P649G Bible and Sermon: Hebrews; P649S Bible and Sermon: Mark; P649U Bible and Sermon: John) (P649CEE when offered as a Contextual Education elective)

P660. Preaching Torah

Credit, three hours. Prerequisites: OT501 and P501. (Strawn/Faculty) (Same as OT660.)

The course provides an entrée into the problem and promise of Christian preaching of the Old Testament by focusing on the Torah, or first five books of the Bible. Taking inspiration from the polyvalent nature of the Hebrew word torah (“law, instruction, etc.”), the class attends to the different genres beyond just law that are found in the Pentateuch. Exegetical work on the three large Torah genres (narrative, law, poetry) will be conducted with eye toward, and eventual fulfillment in, sermon writing and performance. In these ways, the course will attend to both big picture issues (the Pentateuch as a whole, Christian preaching of the Old Testament, the problem of law/ gospel) as well as to more detailed matters (specific books/texts/genres, exegesis, sermon production, etc.).

Credit, three hours. (Fry Brown)

This course aims to introduce basic sociolinguistic theory, contextualized language of faith, cultural theory, intercultural language, performance studies, contemporary preaching models and the effect of each issue on congregational reception and engagement with the preached word. Course will investigate cultural communication principles foundational to homiletical theorizing. Methodologies, pedagogies, and strategies for communicating God’s word in a variety of cultures will be discussed. Pedagogical methods include lecture, group discussion, class presentations, writing assignments and viewing of multimedia resources, i.e., film, novels, music, television, news reports, and social media.

P697R. Colloquy Leadership

Credit, two hours.

Offered each semester by invitation of the instructors of P501. Does not fulfill area requirements.

P698. Special Topics in Preaching

Credit, variable. (Faculty)

Special topic or one-time offering courses led by Candler regular and visiting faculty. Prerequisites may be required and are noted on the course schedule when applicable.