Kindling Desire for God: Preaching as Spiritual Direction

The discipline of preaching has undergone several evolutionary momentsin the past century, focusing on its purpose as being variouslypersuasion, explanation, and, most recently, communication. Ofparticular and lingering influence has been Harry Emerson Fosdick's"preaching as counseling" model, which urged therapeutic,individualistic methods upon the pastor. In the search for a model ofpreaching that is apt for our postmodern moment, Kay Northcuttrespectfully eschews these earlier models and suggests that the "what"of preaching should consist in spiritual formation or the practice of"spiritual direction" - pointing listeners to God. Taking an evocative, rather than "how-to," approach, Northcutt notes the gaps created by these earlier models and makes a case not only for framing preaching as an "attractive art" but also for understanding the preacher'sauthority as particularly religious in nature. By demonstrating thedynamics of her model of preaching as spiritual direction, the authorprovides readers with a new paradigm for developing their ownhomiletical discipline.

Kay L. Northcutt is Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa. Northcutt is a recipient of three Associated Church Press writing awards.