Download or read book Preachers Dare written by Bishop William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Preachers Dare is adapted from Will Willimon’s Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale and is inspired by a quote from the great theologian Karl Barth. In a world in which sermons too often become hackneyed conventional wisdom or tame common sense, preachers dare to speak about the God who speaks to us as Jesus Christ. Willimon draws upon his decades of preaching, as well as his many books on the practice of homiletics, to present a bold theology of preaching. This work emphasizes preaching as a distinctively theological endeavor that begins with and is enabled by God. God speaks, preachers dare to speak the speech of God, and the church dares to listen. By moving from the biblical text to the contemporary context, preachers dare to speak up for God so that God might speak today. With fresh biblical insights, creativity and pointed humor, Willimon gives today’s preachers and congregations encouragement to speak with the God who has so graciously and effusively spoken to us.
Download or read book Listeners Dare written by Bishop William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2022-04-19 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discipleship and witness are not self-sustainable. Preaching equips God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11). The gospel is news that passes from the lips of one who has heard to the ears of one who has not yet heard, then (God willing) it burrows in the soul, energizing the hands in daring response to a word received. Preaching is instigated by an astounding claim: Good news; God has spoken to us. The Christian life is what you get when ordinary folk respond: I have heard. The book (a companion to Preachers Dare) is for anyone who listens to sermons—which includes preachers, since there’s no way to preach without gaining skills as a listener. Listening is a human skill, but as God’s word is proclaimed, the hearer experiences a vocal mix of preacher, listener, and God. Praise for Listeners Dare “Books about preaching—how to research, write, and deliver sermons—are legion. But books about how sermons are heard, internalized, and acted upon by ordinary Christians in the pews are rare. Willimon addresses this elusive yet critically important task with his usual wit, acumen, and pastor’s heart. A few hours pondering this thought-filled work will pay handsome dividends come Sunday.” —Grant Wacker, Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian History, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC “There is no shortage of resources out there for how to prepare and preach a sermon, and yet faith comes from hearing. In turning our attention to the homiletical process of listening, Willimon has given clergy and laity alike a true gift. Together, we get to listen for God’s daring Word—a word that in our hearing brings about holy obedience, persistent hope, and daring discipleship.” —Karoline M. Lewis, Marbury E. Anderson Chair of Biblical Preaching, Professor of Biblical Preaching, Luther Seminary; Program Director, Festival of Homiletics “Listening to a sermon is a spiritual discipline—that is the simple, profound insight that underpins this rich offering from Will Willimon.” —Lauren F. Winner, Associate Professor, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC
Download or read book Pastor written by William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-09-01 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ordained ministry, says Willimon, is a gift of God to the church--but that doesn't mean that it is easy. Always a difficult vocation, changes in society and the church in recent years have made the ordained life all the more complex and challenging. Is the pastor primarily a preacher, a professional caregiver, an administrator? Given the call of all Christians to be ministers to the world, what is the distinctive ministry of the ordained? When does one's ministry take on the character of prophet, and when does it become that of priest? What are the special ethical obligations and disciplines of the ordained? In this book, Willimon explores these and other central questions about the vocation of ordained ministry. He begins with a discussion of who pastors are, asking about the theological underpinnings of ordained ministry, and then moves on to what pastors do, looking at the distinctive roles the pastor must fulfill. The book also draws on great teachers of the Christian tradition to demonstrate that, while much about Christian ministry has changed, its core concerns--preaching the word, the care of souls, the sacramental life of congregations--remains the same. Ordained ministry is a vocation to which we are called, not a profession that we choose. To answer that call is to open oneself to heartache and sometimes hardship; yet, given the one who calls, it is to make oneself available to deep and profound joy as well.
Download or read book Thank God It s Thursday written by William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prepare for Easter and enter the holy mystery of Maundy Thursday--with Jesus as host at the table.
Download or read book Countdown to Sunday written by Chris William Erdman and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A seasoned preacher offers concise and practical help to today's busy pastors.
Download or read book Calling Character written by Bishop William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-09-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Calling & Character, Willimon lays out a clear and compelling picture of the pastoral life, one that will inform both those embarking on ordained ministry and those who have been in it for many years. He lays out specific habits such as study, collegiality, and humor as the day-by-day means of following the difficult and dangerous, yet deeply rewarding, calling of a pastor.
Download or read book Incarnation written by William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2013-11-19 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jesus defies simplistic, effortless, undemanding explications. To be sure, Jesus often communicated his truth in simple, homely, direct ways, but his truth was anything but apparent and undemanding in the living. Common people heard Jesus gladly, not all, but enough to keep the government nervous, only to find that the simple truth Jesus taught, the life he lived, and the death he died complicated their settled and secure ideas about reality. The gospels are full of folk who confidently knew what was what--until they met Jesus. Jesus provoked an intellectual crisis in just about everybody. Their response was not, "Wow, I've just seen the Son of God," but rather, "Who is this?"--from the Introduction The church uses the concept of “Incarnation,” (from the Latin word for “in the flesh”) to help us understand that Jesus Christ is both divine and human. The Incarnation is the grand crescendo of our reflection upon the mystery that Christ is the full revelation of God; not only one who talks about God but the one who speaks for and acts as God, one who is God.
Download or read book Proclamation and Theology written by William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: William Willimon, recognized as a master interpreter of theology and the practice of preaching, draws on classical theology and practical experience to provide a cogent, powerful explanation of what it means to live the preaching life. (Christian)
Download or read book Who Will Be Saved written by William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does it mean to say that salvation is God's business, and God's alone? "Who will be saved?" is almost always a question about them, and rarely about us. Thinking itself wrapped securely in the everlasting arms, the church has spent much of its history speculating on whether God will allow anyone else to join the party. But if we truly believe that salvation is God's business, and God's alone, then perhaps we should stop asking, "Who will be saved?" and ask instead, "How is God calling me to participate in the redemption of the world?" Rejecting the idea that God chooses some and not others, drawing on his Wesleyan heritage, and deepening his longstanding theological conversation with Karl Barth, Willimon reflects as a pastor and a theologian on God's intention that all would someday return from the far country into the loving embrace of the One who created them.
Download or read book Dare to Drop the Pose written by Craig Groeschel and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2011-12-14 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is the REAL you getting lost because the FAKE you is just so annoyingly impressive? “Stepping onto the platform to preach that morning, I admitted to myself that I was not a pastor first, but a regular, scared, insecure, everyday guy whose life had been changed by Jesus. And if Jesus really loved me as I was (I knew He did), then why should I go on trying to be someone I wasn’t?” Why DO we fake it so much? Why do we spend so much time trying to please everyone else and make so little effort trying to please God? When Craig Groeschel asked himself those questions, he couldn’t come up with a good answer. So one day he decided to drop the act and start getting real. With that one choice, his life began to change in a big way. And yours can, too. Craig’s passionate, funny, warts-and-all confessions and the lessons he learned will help you find you own path to authentic living and a deeper relationship with God. Includes study guide for personal or group use.
Download or read book Stories by Willimon written by Bishop William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2020-02-04 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Will Willimon is known and read throughout the world for his riveting, edgy, witty, and provocative stories or parables. His most beloved, memorable, and impactful stories are presented in this collection. The Stories of Will Willimon will expose readers to joy, agony, thankfulness, greed, trust, fear, healing, suffering, laughter, weeping, yearning, irony, hatred, and love. Readers may see themselves or their friends at times in these stories. Fellow storytellers are likely to retell these stories to friends, family, colleagues, and churches. Preachers will find illustrative materials to support their sermons and all readers will be inspired by the insights into the Christian faith provided.
Download or read book Why Jesus written by Bishop William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-09-01 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No figure in history has received more attention, and been less understood, than Jesus of Nazareth. Too much of what has been written recently portrays Jesus as a vaguely kind and friendly person whose message sometimes pleases but never challenges us, whose presence might comfort but never completes us. That Jesus, in other words, looks a lot like we do, just with better manners. Meeting that Jesus for the first time, the reader is tempted to ask ""Why all the fuss? What here is worth devoting my life to?""Very little about that Jesus is worth it, says Will Willimon. Yet there is another Jesus, the mysterious preacher from Nazareth who continues to invite men and women to claim the true meaning of their lives by giving their lives away in service to God and others. This Jesus continues to fascinate and compel us, in spite of all the attempts to domesticate his message and put distance between us and the call to follow. In his radical teachings, his self-sacrificial death, and his liberating life beyond death, this Jesus teaches and shows us the true meaning and purpose of our own lives.
Download or read book The Truth About God written by Stanley Hauerwas and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-08-01 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two popular authors consider not only what the Ten Commandments say about the people who observe them, but what they say about God. They are not some set of universal rules-they simply offer ways for a certain people to know a certain God-our God. What truths about God can be known through the Ten Commandments? God cares how we treat other people. God cares how we behave in marriage. God cares about the importance of being truthful. God wants people to take a day off from work each week. Readers will encounter Willimon and Hauerwas at their best as they explore the overarching question-What does it mean for people and the way they behave when they know some of these truths about God?
Download or read book Conversations with Barth on Preaching written by Bishop William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-09-01 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of today’s greatest preacher-theologians engages one of the twentieth century's greatest teacher-theologians on the meaning of preaching.Readers of William H. Willimon’s many books have long found there the influence of Karl Barth, probably the most significant theologian of the twentieth century. In this new book Willimon explores that relationship explicitly by engaging Barth’s work on the pitfalls and problems, glories and grandeur of preaching the Word of God. The Swiss theologian, says the author, expressed one of the highest theologies of preaching of any of the great theologians of the church. Yet too much of Barth’s understanding of preaching lies buried in the Church Dogmatics and other, sometimes obscure, sources. Willimon brings this material to light, introducing the reader to Barth’s thought, not just on the meaning, but the practice of preaching as well.
Download or read book The Gospel for the Person Who Has Everything written by Will Willimon and published by Paraclete Press. This book was released on 2020-11-03 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Secure, content, competent, reasonably happy and fulfilled, such persons of strength go their own way without any apparent discomfort at having missed the benefits of the Christian faith. . . . What do you say to the person who says, through his or her neglect of the faith, "Thanks, but I don’t need it"? —from the book Bishop William Willimon brings the Gospel of Jesus Christ to life for the person who has everything – happy, fulfilled human beings, who don’t feel the same level of need expressed by the downcast, the outcast, the brokenhearted, and the miserable. Willimon says that the church’s message to the wretched and sad must not exclude the strong and the joyous. In nine concise, inspired chapters, he discusses these ideas: • Must one be sad, depressed, wallowing in sin and degradation, immature, and childishly dependent in order truly to hear the Good News? (See chapters 1 and 2.) • “What do we say to the strong?” (See chapters 3 and 4.) • Speaking to the strong and to the people who are weak and want to be stronger: a particular kind of evangelistic message. They have their sins, but these sins are not the sins of the weak (chapter 5). • Worship which takes God’s strong love seriously (chapter 6) • Ethics which arise out of our response to that love (chapter 7) • Church as a place of continual growth and widening responsibility (chapters 8 and 9)
Download or read book Making Disciples Mentor Guide written by William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2018-06-19 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making Disciples is a 13-session mentor-based confirmation program that pairs confirmands with adult mentors and guides them through a variety of learning experiences that will strengthen the student's understanding of the faith while connecting him or her with the community of believers in a personal way. It can be used as a stand-alone program, or in conjunction with your current curriculum as a special experiential unit. This is a confirmation program that is more like a process and less like a reading assignment, more engaging and congruent with the nature of the Christian faith than existing programs. Using an “apprenticeship” approach to confirmation Will Willimon produced a series of learning experiences where adult mentors and confirmands are both teachers and learners at the same time. This time-tested approach has been extensively revised and updated for usage in today’s churches that take seriously Christ’s command to be engaged in disciple making The bulk of the Mentor Guide is exactly the same as the Confirmand's Journal. You are encouraged to work through the activities right along with the confirmands and to complete the activities and writing assignments just as he or she does. By working along with your confirmand you will demonstrate the need to keep learning and growing. Topics explore the basics of Christian faith: •God •Jesus •the Holy Spirit •worship •the Bible •gifts •ministry •baptism •spiritual life •death and resurrection •the church
Download or read book Worship as Pastoral Care written by Bishop William H. Willimon and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 1982-06-01 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Demonstrates how worship and pastoral care can be blended to sustain and enrich each other. Using insights gained from pastoral care and pastoral psychology, William H. Willimon explores what happens to people when they become involved in Christian worship. True pastoral care, he shows, cannot take place apart from an active worshiping community of faith. Worship as Pastoral Care sensitizes pastors to the many ways Christian worship and pastoral care methods can be blended to enrich and support one another. It encourages pastors to broaden their understanding of corporate worship and to become aware of the importance of their role as priests. To illustrate his concepts, Dr. Willimon examines four familiar acts of worship: the funeral, the wedding, baptism, and the Lord's Supper. The psychological dimensions are discussed and suggestions are given on ways pastors can nurture and sustain their congregations through these services.
