What’s Right with Preaching Today?
The Enduring Influence of Fred B. Craddock
Edited by Mike Graves and André Resner
Foreword by Thomas G. Long
Imprint: Cascade Books
In 1928, when Riverside Church (NYC) pastor Harry Emerson Fosdick asked the question in Harpers Magazine, "What's the Matter with Preaching Today?" he did not know that one response to that question had just entered the world in Humboldt, Tennessee. Fred B. Craddock revolutionized preaching theory and practice by flipping pulpit logic from deductive to inductive--often called the preaching-as-storytelling revolution--and in so doing brought renewed interest and impact to the practice of preaching, effectively rescuing it from an often tedious and moralizing fate. With Fred, preaching was anything but boring. Rather, it was an exciting and enlightening ride that led to the renewal of faith.
To honor Craddock's legacy, Mike Graves and Andre Resner invited ten leading voices in homiletics to identify something that is right about preaching today. In addition, they issued a call to a wide variety of people to contribute stories about Fred's impact on their lives and ministries. Twenty-seven remembrances of Fred are included here throughout the book.
If you appreciate effective and engaging preaching--as either a preacher or listener--the essays and remembrances here will speak to you and provide encouragement about preaching's present and future.
With contributions from:
Ronald J. Allen
Barbara K. Lundblad
Alyce McKenzie
Debra J. Mumford
Luke Powery
Andre Resner
Richard Ward
Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm
Paul Scott Wilson
Mike Graves is Wm. K. McElvaney Emeritus Professor of Preaching and Worship, Saint Paul School of Theology and Scholar in Residence and Minister of Spiritual Formation at Country Club Christian Church in Kansas City, Missouri.
André Resner is Professor of Homiletics & Liturgics at Hood Theological Seminary and Professor of Preaching & Rhetoric in the PhD program in African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric at Christian Theological Seminary.
“Reading this book can cause whiplash, and I mean that in the best way possible. Short remembrances of Fred Craddock lead the reader to gaze nostalgically back to the 1970s and ’80s. The longer essays about what is right with preaching today make you quickly turn your head to look toward the future of preaching. As your head turns back and forth, however, you come to realize that you have been looking in both directions at the same time all along. The essays look backward to ground where preaching is going now and needs to go in the future. And the remembrances provide hidden nuggets not only of what was good about Craddock’s preaching but what is and can be good in preaching today and beyond.”
—O. Wesley Allen Jr., Lois Craddock Perkins Professor of Homiletics, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
“A worthy tribute to the legacy of Fred Craddock and a gem for preachers today. When preachers wonder if their sermons matter, this collection of stirring essays will be an endless source of encouragement and a trusted companion for inspiration. The many challenges of the craft of preaching give way to celebration—good news all preachers need to hear.”
—Karoline M. Lewis, Marbury E. Anderson Chair in Biblical Preaching, Luther Seminary
Related Titles
