What's the Shape of Narrative Preaching?

Bringing together some of the finest voices in contemporary homiletics to examine the different forms as well as the status of narrative preaching, What's the Shape of Narrative Preaching? will give readers much to ponder on this impact topic. Teachers of preaching have long recognized that the Bible is told in story form. Yet the responses to the topic of narrative preaching have varied over the years, from singing its praises to outright rejection. The homiletical landscape is always changing, but what many thought might be a fad is still being discussed in the seminaries and practiced in many a pulpit. What's the Shape of Narrative Preaching? asks: What exactly is narrative preaching? What does it mean to be a narrative preacher? Is narrative preaching at odds with exposition? What are the biblical precedents for such an approach? What kinds of theology undergird narrative theory? What is the role of narrative preaching in a time of rampant biblical illiteracy? How does narrative preaching help to shape congregational life? Contributors include: Charles Rice, Ron Allen, Fred Craddock, Frank Thomas, Thomas Long, David Buttrick, Richard Eslinger, Barbara Lundblad, William McClain, Beverly Zink Sawyer, Thomas Troeger, Robin Meyers, David Schlafer, and Mike Graves.

The Rev. Dr. David J. Schlafer is an Episcopal priest who has taught philosophy, theology, and homiletics at a number of seminaries in different denominational traditions. He currently focuses professional energy as a conference leader and preaching consultant across the United States and in England. Author and editor of eighteen books, he contributes regularly to professional journals in homiletics.

Mike Graves is William K. McElvaney Visiting Professor of Preaching at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri, and Regional Minister of Preaching for the Greater Kansas City Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).