The Homiletics Online Blog
I am writing in the frenzied climate of the sexual abuse scandals hitting the political, media and entertainment industries. Big names are involved — Harvey Weinstein, Al Franken, Charlie Rose, Louis C.K., Matt Lauer, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey and others. Many of those implicated or accused have admitted wrongdoing and offered some sort of apology. But,…
This interview was from the November-December 2006 Issue of Homiletics Jane Vennard is a spiritual director, retreat and workshop leader and lecturer. She lives in Denver, Colorado, where for many years we was a Senior Adjunct Faculty member at Iliff School of Theology, teaching numerous courses on prayer, spirituality and discernment. Vennard is the author…
When I was in college, I took an involuntary vow of poverty and majored in history. One of my internships was working as a historical interpreter at Gettysburg National Military Park, site of the great Civil War battle in 1863. Every day of the summer, I gave a 90-minute walking tour of different parts of…
Recently, I visited over coffee with a pastor I had never met. I had anticipated the meeting eagerly. He was, after all, a recent arrival in the community, and I believed we might have a good, collegial relationship. I still hope for this. He asked a lot of questions about cultural, political and doctrinal matters….
This interview was from the September-October 2006 Issue of Homiletics Ron Sisk was raised Southern Baptist in Arkansas. He was educated at the University of Arkansas, New York University and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His Ph.D.is in Christian Ethics and Church History. He moved his affiliation to the American Baptists in 1996. Ron served…
As preachers, we spend most of our time trafficking in words. We’re constantly thinking about the words we’re going to speak to a congregation each week, which also means studying the Word of God in the words of the Scriptures. Then we deliver those words and receive the words of encouragement (or rebuke) from the…
Joy is a hot topic right now. I base this conclusion on my extensive research — two books I read recently. They are: Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans (Knopf, 2017), and Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg and…
This interview was from the July-August 2006 Issue of Homiletics Marcus J. Borg holds the Hundere Chair in Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University. Internationally known in both academic and church circles as a biblical and Jesus scholar, he is the author of 12 books including Jesus: A New Vision (1987) and…
One of the most arduous tasks of the Christmas season at the Kaylor household is the annual assembly of the Christmas tree. We have had the same artificial tree for the last 22 years. We bought the tree because of my allergies. Now that it has 22 years of holiday dust on it, it’s probably…
“I see dead people.” —Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), The Sixth Sense (1999) The church calendar has two three-day seasons, if you can call them that. I don’t know what to call them, actually. Three successive days in which something really holy and mysterious is going on — that’s all I know. The first is Good…
