A down-to-earth, practical introduction to the ins and outs of preaching for lay preachers, bivocational pastors, and others newly arrived in the pulpit. Recent years have seen a considerable increase in the amount of financial resources required to support a full-time pastor in the local congregation. In addition, large numbers of full-time, seminary trained clergy are retiring, without commensurate numbers of new clergy able to take their place. As a result of these trends, a large number of lay preachers and bivocational pastors have assumed the principal responsibility for filling the pulpit week by week in local churches. Most of these individuals, observes Clifton Guthrie, can draw on a wealth of life experiences, as well as strong intuitive skills in knowing what makes a good sermon, having listened to them much of their lives. What they often don't bring to the pulpit, however, is specific, detailed instruction in the how-tos of preaching. That is precisely what this brief, practical guide to preaching has to offer. Written with the needs of those for whom preaching is not their sole or primary occupation in mind, it begins by emphasizing what every preacher brings to the pulpit: an idea of what makes a sermon particularly moving or memorable to them. From there the book moves into short chapters on choosing an appropriate biblical text or sermon topic, learning how to listen to one's first impressions of what a text means, moving from text or topic to the sermon itself while keeping the listeners needs firmly in mind, making thorough and engaging use of stories in the sermon, and delivering with passion and conviction. The book concludes with helpful suggestions for resources, including Bibles, commentaries, other print resources and websites.

Whether you preach from a pulpit or sit in a pew, you hope (and pray) for a homily that connects the Good News with life. But what does it mean to connect? In a world that buzzes with the synapses of technological “connection,” can the human touch of preaching make a difference anymore? Connecting Pulpit and Pew is a fresh look at the conundrum of Catholic preaching, asking six key questions: Why does Sunday preaching matter and to whom? Why is Catholic preaching such an uphill climb? How can we connect the gospel message with our young people? What are the struggles of clergy-on-the-ground in preaching? What is going on in the listener’s head during the homily? And finally, what can each of us do to help “connection” in preaching become more common? New research speaks to those questions from the voices of youth, the experiences of lay leaders, and the words of priests and deacons. Karla Bellinger offers concrete ways to connect the pulpit and the pew so that preaching becomes an act of love within a community of caring. This practical book breaks open an important and necessary conversation.

“Know your value” and “Find your voice” are two popular motivational recommendations promoted by advocates who want to help aspiring men and women attain a more prominent, influential, and better compensated role in society. Whether in business, government, politics, education, health care or ministry, they are proven factors for achieving relevance and success. In Bruce Johnson’s memoir, Voices from Pulpit and Pew, the author celebrates how, over the thirty-seven years of his pastorate in Coventry, Connecticut, the laity have known their value and discovered and used their voices to define and operationalize a theology that effectively communicated the essence of their faith and ministry. Implicit in their daily religious narratives are discernible truths that inspire and sustain us. His voices from both pulpit and pew tell stories and impart insights that lift the soul.

Men in the pulpit, women in the pew? Addressing gender inequality in Africa is that rarest of gems ? a work that takes a fresh look at familiar biblical teachings, and cause us to question what we have been accepting as a matter of course for so long.

As past president of both the History of Science Society and the American Society of Church History, Ronald L. Numbers is uniquely qualified to assess the historical relations between science and Christianity. In this collection of his most recent essays, he moves beyond the clichés of conflict and harmony to explore the tangled web of historical interactions involving scientific and religious beliefs. In his lead essay he offers an unprecedented overview of the history of science and Christianity from the perspective of the ordinary people who filled the pews of churchesor loitered around outside. Unlike the elite scientists and theologians on whom most historians have focused, these vulgar Christians cared little about the discoveries of Copernicus, Newton, and Einstein. Instead, they worried about the causes of the diseases and disasters that directly affected their lives and about scientists preposterous attempts to trace human ancestry back to apes. Far from dismissing opinion-makers in the pulpit, Numbers closely looks at two the most influential Protestant theologians in nineteenth-century America: Charles Hodge and William Henry Green. Hodge, after decades of struggling to harmonize Gods two revelationsin nature and in the Biblein the end famously described Darwinism as atheism. Green, on the basis of his careful biblical studies, concluded that Ussher's chronology was unreliable, thus opening the door for Christian anthropologists to accommodate the subsequent discovery of human antiquity. In Science without God Numbers traces the millennia-long history of so-called methodological naturalism, the commitment to explaining the natural world without appeals to the supernatural. By the early nineteenth century this practice was becoming the defining characteristic of science; in the late twentieth century it became the central point of attack in the audacious attempt of intelligent designers to redefine science. Numbers ends his reassessment by arguing that although science has markedly changed the world we live in, it has contributed less to secularizing it than many have claimed. Taken together, these accessible and authoritative essays form a perfect introduction to Christian attitudes towards science since the 17th century.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1882.