The Preacher as Minor Poet

Craig Barnes, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Shadyside Presbyterian Church

July 19-23, 2004

Co-sponsored by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Course Description:
T. S. Eliot has claimed that every culture needs its minor as well as its major poets. The major poets, who are few and far between, speak the eternal words which guide us through the centuries. The minor poet seeks to inculcate those words to particular people in a particular place. Most preachers are called to serve as minor poets who speak the eternal Word into the souls of parishioners.

Unlike those who society reveres as its poets, whose sonnets are written in the sanctuary of quiet places, the pastor-poet lives a crowded and noisy life filled with committee meetings, demanding schedules, counseling appointments, and late night phone calls to rush to the hospital. Rather than avoiding this busyness, the minor poet is always peering beneath its surface to find the subtle but redemptive activity of the Holy Spirit. When this commitment is combined with daily biblical study in preparation of the Sunday sermon, the pastor's soul becomes a crucible in which holy words are ground together with human ones. And it is out of this sacred mix that preachers find their own poetry for Sunday morning.

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For further information contact:
Seminars in Christian Scholarship
Calvin College
1855 Knollcrest Circle SE
Grand Rapids MI 49546-4402
616.526.8558
fax 616.526.6682
seminars@calvin.edu