Imaginative Preaching

Geoff New

Description

From generation-to-generation there has been an anguished cry from preachers about preaching – there is no imagination! The Scriptures present the wondrous hope and vision of “Kingdom Come” and yet contemporary preaching can often be mute and blind by comparison. This book explores what is possible when the Scripture to be preached is prayed through the agency of two ancient prayer disciplines: lectio divina and Ignatian Gospel Contemplation. Through the experiences of eight vocational pastor-preachers this study tracks the difficulties, discoveries and delights as they commit to utilizing these prayer disciplines as part of their regular sermon preparation.
The reader will be orientated to what a biblical imagination entails and how praying the Scriptures affects the preacher, sermon and listener. Careful explanation of how to pray using lectio divina and Ignatian Gospel Contemplation is included. This work is, in places, a raw examination of the forces that regularly conspire against the preacher as they endeavour to faithfully expound the Scriptures. The study is a rousing exclamation of the joy experienced when a preacher’s imagination and their preparation is formed by the Spirit, bringing the Scriptures to bear on all who speak and hear it.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 14 octobre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 3
• EAN13: 9781783688784
• Langue: English

Extrait

If the Scriptures have not grasped and spoken to the preacher, the sermon is unlikely to say anything that grasps the congregation. And if the preacher has not been involved with the Scriptures via imagination and personal involvement, they are unlikely to have grasped him or her. So this work on imaginative engagement with the Scriptures might be the most important book that many preachers read, apart from the Scriptures into which it leads them.
John Goldingay
David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament, School of Theology,
Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, USA
I am drawn to any exposition of “imagination” in the practice of faith. This remarkable volume focuses on imagination, but sets it squarely in the midst of the great triad of pastor-prayer-congregation. This is pastoral theology at its best, inviting pastors and church leaders to let the power of the Spirit – via the generative force of Scripture – be in defining play in ministry. Coming close to articulating “how to,” this book will challenge and engage pastoral leadership in a sense of immense risk and opportunity. “Imagination,” it turns out, is openness to the Spirit and being led by a spirit other than our own. The invitation of this book is warmly companionable.
Walter Brueggemann
Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, USA
I was fascinated by the research reported by this book, Imaginative Preaching , and have already started to put it into practice. Preachers all over the world would benefit profoundly if they cultivated these prayer disciplines to rekindle their love for God, deepen their immersion in the Scriptures, and rejuvenate their love and affection for the people whom they serve! A sublime idea!
Marva J. Dawn
Theologian, Author, Preacher and Speaker
Jesus’ disciples watched him pray and then pleaded: “Lord, teach us to pray . . .” (Luke 11:1). Jesus did so and also invited them to imagine that God, like a friend in the night, offers them bread when they ask for it. This book offers a similar assurance of God’s grace and imaginative prayer as a means of receiving that grace. Through careful research and reflection, pastor-scholar Geoff New introduces road-tested Christian practices of praying with Scripture so that depleted souls may be refreshed by the Bread of Life and bear fruit in the world. Dr New’s invitation to imaginative prayer with Scripture is a gift I gratefully accept for myself and also share with Christians, clergy and laity that I meet with in spiritual direction. The blessings flow!
Susan S. Phillips
Executive Director of New College Berkeley,
Berkeley Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, USA
Author of Candlelight: Illuminating the Art of Spiritual Direction and
The Cultivated Life: From Ceaseless Striving to Receiving Joy
How can preachers encounter the risen Christ in ways that make preaching fresh, real and accessible? How can preachers grow in dwelling in Christ and dwelling in the Word? Geoff New presents a powerful and helpful model for meeting God personally through the words of the biblical text, vitally important for authentic preaching in our time.
Lynne M. Baab
author of Sabbath Keeping and The Power of Listening

Imaginative Preaching
Praying the Scriptures so God Can Speak through You
Geoff New
Global Perspectives Series

© 2015 by Geoff New
Published 2015 by Langham Global Library
an imprint of Langham Creative Projects
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-899-9 Print
978-1-78368-877-7 Mobi
978-1-78368-878-4 ePub
978-1-78368-876-0 PDF
Geoff New has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
New, Geoff, author.
Imaginative preaching : praying the Scriptures so God can
speak through you.
1. Preaching. 2. Prayer--Christianity. 3. Bible--
Devotional use. 4. Contemplation. 5. Spiritual exercises.
I. Title
251-dc23
ISBN-13: 9781783688999
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and a scholar’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth, and works referenced within this publication or guarantee its technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB
Contents

Cover


Abstract


Acknowledgements


Introduction


1 Imagination: Seeing the World as God Sees It and Intends It


2 Lectio Divina and Ignatian Gospel Contemplation: Then and Now


Lectio Divina


Ignatian Gospel Contemplation


Definitions: Meditation and Contemplation


Meditation and Contemplation in Lectio Divina and Ignatian Gospel Contemplation


Contemplatives in Action


3 Renewal


Recovering from a Perceived Loss


Authenticity of the Preacher


Dwelling with the Text


4 Repositioning


The Effect of Time Pressure and Pastoral Demands


The Tension between Personal Devotions and Formal Sermon Preparation


The Value of the Ignatian Gospel Contemplation’s Third Prelude


The Place of Exegesis


5 Reorientation


New Connections with the Congregation


The Imagination


Contemplatives in Action


6 Back to the Future: Twenty-First-Century Answers for First-Century Questions


First Emmaus Question: “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?”


Second Emmaus Question: “Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?”


Third Emmaus Question: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the Scriptures to us?”


Appendix A Ignatian Gospel Contemplation on the Nativity


Appendix B Participatory Action Research Method


Participatory Action Research


PEArL


Appendix C Preacher’s Manual


Lectio Divina and Ignatian Contemplation in Preaching


Contents


Imagination


Lectio Divina


Ignatian Contemplation


Definitions of Meditation and Contemplation


Bibliography


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Abstract
This research examines the effect of utilizing two ancient prayer disciplines, lectio divina and Ignatian Gospel Contemplation, as part of regular sermon preparation. A group of eight ministers and pastors, including the author of this work, committed to using both prayer disciplines during a four-month period in 2010. During this time, lectio divina and Ignatian Gospel Contemplation were integrated with the preachers’ normal rhythm of exegetical and theological preparation for the text at hand. The group members met regularly and their reflections and action were facilitated by an action-research model.
This research was a response to a long-standing and widespread call for the use of the imagination in preaching, a call which is marked by an associated lament at the lack of progress in preaching in this regard. Connected with the lack of imagination, and to some extent the reason for it, are the intense demands of pastoral ministry and the struggle experienced by the preacher-pastor to engage personally with the Scriptures in preparation for their public exposition. Chapter 1 discusses the imagination in relation to the Scriptures and preaching. Chapter 2 explains and describes the two prayer disciplines. Appendix B outlines the research method employed for this research exercise.
As a result of the engagement with the two ancient prayer disciplines, ten major themes emerged. These themes clustered naturally into three areas which form three chapters discussing the findings (chs. 3 to 5). The three clusters of themes cover:

• A sobering discovery of the preacher’s state in relation to their call to preach, the growth of a sense of personal authenticity and a renewed relationship with the Scriptures.
• The struggles and triumphs of wrestling with the text as a result of the prayer disciplines. This includes the issue of which personal encounters, experienced during prayer, warranted public expression in the sermon and the positive discoveries which aided that disce