Contemporary Preaching

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Contemporary Preaching

Cincinnati Christian University Bob Russell and

January 11-15, 2010 Barry McCarty

Course Description

This course looks at the art and craft of contemporary preaching through the experience of two seasoned practitioners: Bob Russell and Barry McCarty.

Upon graduating from CCU in 1965, at the age of twenty-two, Bob Russell became the pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. By the time Bob retired from Southeast in June 2006, that small congregation of 120 members had become one of the largest churches in America, with 18,000 people attending the four worship services. Today Bob devotes himself to a mentoring and teaching ministry that draws upon his forty years of insight as one of the most influential ministers in America. An accomplished author, Bob has written over a dozen books, including When God Builds a Church: 10 Principles for Growing a Dynamic Church, and he is one of the contributors to the textbook for this course, The Art and Craft of Preaching. He also has a weekly column in The Lookout magazine.

Dr. Barry McCarty has been a lifelong student of preaching from both an academic and a practical perspective. He is a past president of CCU, a former professor of preaching, and currently serves as the senior minister of Valley View Christian Church in Dallas and the speaker for The Christians’ Hour, the longest-running radio broadcast associated with the Christian churches. He is the author of several books on practical ministries, including Well Said and Worth Saying: A Public Speaking Guide for Church Leaders.

This class will unpack proven principles these two preachers have followed to lead and feed people through sermons that are biblically sound, interesting, and relevant to the needs of contemporary listeners.

Text

Haddon W. Robinson and Craig Brian Larson, The Art and Craft of Preaching (Zondervan, 2005).

Objectives

The primary aim of this course is to help you become a life-long student of best practices in preaching. The course will also help you begin a personal preaching development plan.

Requirements

1. Reading. Each student must have perused and made himself familiar with the contents of the course text, The Art and Craft of Preaching, before the first day of class, and must have completely read the text within 30 days of the last day the class meets (February 12). You must have read the text in order to complete your Preaching Development Notebook.

2. Preaching Development Notebook. Each student will submit a Preaching Development Notebook that contains the following: (1) A Top Ten Things to Improve My Preaching checklist taken from ideas/topics in The Art and Craft of Preaching. (2) Ten 1-2 page summaries of each of the topics/areas identified in your Top Ten list. Each entry must also summarize at least two of the best books you have identified to help you improve in that area of preaching. (3) A 5-7 page profile of a contemporary preacher who is a model of best practices in preaching. The profile should explain the best practices you think make that preacher a great model.

3. Sermon Outline. Each student will write and submit an original sermon outline that he believes represent his best preaching to date. The outline should be 2-5 pages in length, contain a thesis and major points, a short bibliography of at least three resources for that sermon, and at least 3-5 key illustrations, word studies, analogies, or other supporting material that could be used in the sermon.

4. Best Ten Minutes of Preaching. Each student will deliver in class what he believes to be his best ten minutes of preaching to date. This can be your best single point of a sermon, best introduction, best conclusion/application, or best illustration. The idea is to give us ten minutes of whatever you think is your best stuff. The professor and class will participate in a group critique of your preaching. We will have at least one round of Best Ten Minutes, but be prepared for a second round if time permits.

Course Policies

1. Attendance and punctuality. Because of the compressed nature of this class every student needs to attend every session. If you paid good money to go to a preaching conference, it wouldn’t make much sense not to show up for the sessions. It doesn’t make much sense here either. If you come down with a life-threatening illness or are killed on the way to class, we’ll consider posthumously granting an excused absence. (OK, that last line was hyperbole, but the point is that excused absences are reserved for dire, unavoidable circumstances.)

2. Grades. Most of the value of this course will be realized in the months and years to come as you pursue your own personal preaching development plan. But, alas, the academic nature of the class requires a nasty little bit of bookkeeping we call grades. Here’s how your final grade for the course will come to pass: 20% will be determined by completing the reading, 20% by your Best Ten Minutes of preaching in class, 20% by your sermon outline, and 40% by your Personal Preaching Development Notebook. While the requirements to receive academic credit for this class are not strenuous, the real value will depend on what you put into the learning process begun here in the years ahead.

3. Submission of written assignments. An email message stating that you have read the course textbook must be submitted to Dr. McCarty at no later than midnight on February 12. Your sermon outline and Preaching Development Notebook must be sent to Dr. McCarty as email attachments no later than midnight on April 12. Submit all work to Dr. McCarty at .

Course Calendar

Date / Agenda
Mon., January 11 / The morning session will examine some current research on contemporary listeners. This Seek, Inc. research project was specially commissioned for this class.
In the afternoon session, Barry McCarty will lecture on a contemporary biblical theory of how people change and how preachers can serve as instruments of sight and agents of change.
Tues., January 12 / Bob Russell lectures both morning and afternoon on various topics from his 40 years in the pulpit, including the preacher’s spiritual life and how to stay fresh.
Wed., January 13 / In both the morning and afternoon sessions, Barry McCarty will lecture on various topics and discuss personal preaching improvement plans for students.
Thurs., January 14 / The morning session will focus on digital sermon preparation resources, featuring a demonstration of the Libronix system by special guest lecturer John Fallahue from Logos Bible Research Systems.
In the afternoon session, students will deliver their Best Ten Minutes of Preaching.
Fri., January 15 / The morning session will wrap up the week, discuss topics from the text, and discuss the students’ Top Ten Lists. The class will adjourn by noon.