Overview

Have you ever felt that the tools and techniques you mastered in preaching class are failing you? Disheartened by the boredom and scowls of people in the pews whenever you preach? Convinced that God does not want you to preach? Wondered whether you have any business in a ministry centered around preaching? If so, you are invited to eavesdrop on eight conversations between Benjamin, a priest who is considering leaving ministry because of the weight of preaching, and Sophia, a wisdom figure who helps him develop the one missing component--an overarching spirituality of preaching that offers God's healing love to a wounded and suffering world. Written in an easy-to-read novella format and drawing from interviews with dozens of preachers, Conversations brings together preaching best practices, the Gospels, human anthropology, spirituality, communication, and more.

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9781725296084

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Reviews

"""With wisdom, clarity, and imagination, Martha Brune Rapp weaves a seamless fabric of preaching theology and practice for her readers. Part Socratic dialogue and part storytelling, Conversations with Benjamin offers a thoughtful exploration of who the preacher is and what skillful preaching does. Dr. Rapp's insights are fresh and encouraging--good news for today's preachers and other ministers of God's word."" --Deborah Wilhelm, coauthor of Preaching Matters: A Praxis for Preachers, and codirector, Delaplane Preaching Scholars, Aquinas Institute of Theology ""Spiritual director and preaching guru Martha Rapp tells the story of young Fr. Benjamin and his painful sense of burden, ineffectiveness, and self-doubt in the pulpit. Benjamin finds healing for his preacher's dis-ease when he meets a divinely-sent teacher and embarks on a mountaintop experience of courageous trust in God, himself, and his people. He learns that preaching is a love story and an all-encompassing invitation to health and healing."" --Gregory Heille, OP, Professor of Preaching and Evangelization, Aquinas Institute of Theology ""This book is a delight to read and a homiletical jewel. Engaging and sagacious, Conversations with Benjamin holds a unique place in preaching literature: a novella! Within its candid pages you will discover both Sophia-light and spiritual direction. Wherever you are in your pilgrimage of preaching, newly minted or weary-worn, this book will prove a wonderful companion, faithfully guiding and nourishing your vocation as preacher."" --Kay Lynn Northcutt, formerly the Fred B. Craddock Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship, Phillips Theological Seminary"

With wisdom, clarity, and imagination, Martha Brune Rapp weaves a seamless fabric of preaching theology and practice for her readers. Part Socratic dialogue and part storytelling, Conversations with Benjamin offers a thoughtful exploration of who the preacher is and what skillful preaching does. Dr. Rapp's insights are fresh and encouraging--good news for today's preachers and other ministers of God's word. --Deborah Wilhelm, coauthor of Preaching Matters: A Praxis for Preachers, and codirector, Delaplane Preaching Scholars, Aquinas Institute of Theology Spiritual director and preaching guru Martha Rapp tells the story of young Fr. Benjamin and his painful sense of burden, ineffectiveness, and self-doubt in the pulpit. Benjamin finds healing for his preacher's dis-ease when he meets a divinely-sent teacher and embarks on a mountaintop experience of courageous trust in God, himself, and his people. He learns that preaching is a love story and an all-encompassing invitation to health and healing. --Gregory Heille, OP, Professor of Preaching and Evangelization, Aquinas Institute of Theology This book is a delight to read and a homiletical jewel. Engaging and sagacious, Conversations with Benjamin holds a unique place in preaching literature: a novella! Within its candid pages you will discover both Sophia-light and spiritual direction. Wherever you are in your pilgrimage of preaching, newly minted or weary-worn, this book will prove a wonderful companion, faithfully guiding and nourishing your vocation as preacher. --Kay Lynn Northcutt, formerly the Fred B. Craddock Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship, Phillips Theological Seminary

Author Information

Martha Brune Rapp is a preacher, spiritual director, and hospital chaplain who works with patients in behavioral medicine programs. Called to ministry after a long career in corporate marketing communications, she holds a DMin in preaching and a certificate in spiritual direction. This is her first book.

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