Resources
Home > Resources > Publications 
|
|
When God Speaks through Change: Preaching in Times of Congregational Transition (The Alban Institute, 2005)
Description
Anyone who has preached at a wedding and a funeral in the same week can attest to the power of the occasion to impact the preaching event. At times, a congregational transition looms so large in a sermon that it becomes the lens through which scripture is interpreted, the congregation is addressed, the preacher is heard, and God is experienced.
Homiletics professor and parish pastor Craig Satterlee reflects in this accessible, provocative volume on how to integrate such significant events in a congregation's life into the preaching ministry of the church. Rather than offering a blueprint for preaching, however, he walks alongside pastors, seminarians, and other congregational leaders who want to make sure the gospel, not an agenda, is preached.
Issues considered include: (1) the benefits and risks of using preaching to address the transition, (2) how preaching collaborates with other congregational processes involved in the transition, (3) how scripture and the transition interpret one another, (4) how to incorporate the transition into the form, content, and delivery of the sermon so that the gospel and not a program or agenda is proclaimed and heard, and (5) how the transition affects the preacher's ability to proclaim and the congregation's ability to receive the message.
"In this book," says Rev. Dana S. Hughes, "Craig Satterlee brilliantly demonstrates that change is an active participant in the life of every congregation, sometimes sitting quietly on the back row, sometimes directing the choir, but always present and always insisting, for good or ill, that it be included in the conversation about how the church is church. For anyone preaching in times of transition, this book is a must read."
Read related story: Hearing God's Voice through Change: The preacher's role
Author
Craig A. Satterlee is associate professor of homiletics at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and dean of the Doctor of Ministry in Preaching Program of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS).
Endorsements
"Craig Satterlee reflects on the rich and defining way in which the sermon can aid congregations as they face and make transitions. Satterlee has a pastoral heart and knows how to think critically and theologically. His pastoral colleagues will benefit from his seasoned wisdom."
-Walter Brueggemann
"Satterlee's book belongs in the core library of preachers who want to help congregations experience God's presence, grace, power, and direction in the midst of transition."
-Alice Mann
Vital Worship, Healthy Congregations Series with The Alban Institute
This series is designed to call attention to instructive examples of congregational life and to explore these examples in ways that allow readers in very different communities to compare and contrast these examples with their own practice.
To find all the books in this series, go to Publications and under "Publisher," select "Alban Institute."