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Mentoring with Morgan
Foreword by Alton B. Pollard III
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
Our journey began the first day I preached a sermon in front of people. Morgan told me after that sermon, "You must free yourself from the manuscript." I couldn't imagine doing that, and asked Morgan for help. Our journey continued for fifteen years. I shared my sermons (written and video) with Morgan and we engaged in conversations about preaching, congregations, struggles, God, and life. Join us and watch as I learn to preach, Morgan shares a lifetime of wisdom with me, and we both receive the blessing of friendship and sharing ministry. For anyone who presumes to preach, and those who listen to their sermons, this book peeks behind the screen to the place where sermons are made.
Karen Schlack is retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Elgin, IL. Prior to becoming a pastor, Karen was the administrator of child and adolescent psychiatric units, opened the Laureate Day School, was a manager in the healthcare practice of Ernst & Young, and wrote and taught the leadership curriculum for Good Samaritan Society.
“Deeply moving. . . . When I finished Schlack’s book, I felt like I’d been on a rafting trip with two friends, Karen and Morgan. Conversation flowed. We basked in the sunshine of ministerial wisdom. We shot through the rocks of preaching social justice. My companions were unafraid to tackle hard homiletic questions: how to preach with humility, to care about the people, to have the courage of conviction. I enjoyed the journey!”
—Karla Bellinger, Associate Director, John S. Marten Program in Homiletics and Liturgics, University of Notre Dame
“Karen’s conversation partner, Dr. F. Morgan Roberts, tells her, ‘The conversation between the Christ in you and the Christ in every other life is happening all the time.’ Karen gives readers an intimate glimpse into this conversation and the sermon-making process. She shows us the transformation possible when we listen deeply to ourselves, to one another, and to Scripture.”
—Lynne Smith, OSB, Presbyterian pastor and Benedictine sister at Holy Wisdom Monastery, Madison, Wisconsin
“Those of us in the pews want and need clear, understandable, inspirational preaching. Students of church ministry and even experienced preachers seek to provide that. This book gives a highly readable example of how that can be accomplished for both audiences, through a delightful mentoring experience.”
—Dot Ridings, former Board Chair of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
"A wonderful book, a love letter of sorts to the world of pastoral ministry, focused on your engaging work and relationship with Morgan."
—Alton Pollard, president of Louisville Seminary