The Word Made Plain: The Power and Promise of Preaching

by Harris, James Henry

• ISBN13: 9780800636876
• ISBN10: 0800636872
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-07-01
• Publisher: Fortress Pr

Author Biography

James Henry Harris is Associate Professor of Practical Theology at the School of Theology, Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
1. The Preacher's Self-Understanding	1	(29)
The Black Church and Self-Understanding	3	(1)
The Selfhood of the Preacher: The Example of Martin Luther King Jr.	4	(11)
The Self in Community	15	(8)
Sermon: Everybody's Talking (Luke 4:31-37)	23	(7)
2. The Preaching of the Elders: Princes of the African American Pulpit	30	(21)
John Malcus Ellison: The Personality and Interpretive Mind of the Preacher	31	(2)
Samuel DeWitt Proctor: The Ethical Dimensions of a Sermon	33	(2)
Miles Jerome Jones: On Being an Authentic Preacher	35	(9)
Sermon: From Talk to Testimony (Mark 8:27-30)	44	(7)
3. The Sermon as Interpretation	51	(26)
The Polyvalence of the Sermon	53	(1)
The Deep Symbolism of Plain Words	54	(3)
Textuality and Dialogue Preaching	57	(3)
Understanding and Response	60	(5)
Interpretation of Novels as a Hermeneutical Discipline	65	(6)
Sermon: The Power of God (Ephesians 1:18-23)	71	(6)
4. The Sermon as Art	77	(23)
Beyond the Limits of Reason Alone	78	(3)
Nommo and Kuntu: Word and Style in Preaching	81	(2)
Embodied Preaching: Gestures	83	(7)
A Soulful Sound: The Aural and the Oral	90	(1)
Rhythm and Cadence in Preaching	91	(3)
Style Switching	94	(1)
Sermon: Second Chances (Jonah 3:1-3a)	95	(5)
5. The Sermon as Story	100	(27)
African American Preaching as Imagination	102	(9)
Telling the Story: Narrative Structure in Sermons	111	(7)
Cultural Origins of Storytelling	118	(1)
Sermon: When Jesus Was in the House (Mark 2:1-5)	119	(8)
6. Preaching Plainly: How to Put the Sermon Together-The Harris Method	127	(20)
Preaching and Worship	128	(1)
The Word Made Plain	129	(2)
The Preacher and the Biblical and Congregational Text	131	(2)
Developing the Sermon	133	(7)
Sermon: A Question of Identity-Chaos, Self and Other (Luke 8:22-25)	140	(7)
Notes	147	(8)
Index	155