Preaching and Worship

The Critical Role of the Imagination in Preaching and Spiritual Formation
Skye Jethani 
We teach people truth and we teach them skills, but their lives remain unchanged. Why? For generations the church has been neglecting the role of the imagination in the process of spiritual transformation. We will explore how many Christians' imaginations are held captive by our consumer culture, and how to illuminate them once again with a vision of life in God's kingdom through preaching and spiritual disciplines.

Finding God in Tough Texts: A Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic
William Webb
At times Christians bump into some very disturbing passages within Scripture. We might call many of these "Tough Texts". For example, Exodus 21:20-21 permits slave masters to beat their slaves with a fair degree of severity and it does so by positively invoking (instead of rejecting) the notion of people as property. Is this the God we worship? This workshop session will explore a redemptive-movement hermeneutic (RMH) that should prove helpful in finding and sensing God even in these tough texts of Scripture. Okay, when was the last time you preached the slave-beating texts of Scripture?

Corporal Punishment Passages: How Should We Preach CP Texts Today?
William Webb
From a parental perspective I could have alternatively titled this seminar, "A Perplexed Parent Ponders His Spanking Practices". This discussion is a fun one. Marilyn (my wife) and I have come on something of a stumbling-in-the-dark journey as parents. Who doesn't feel a little stretched after raising teenagers? Yet, we have also been progressing on a fascinating academic journey in our lives as we have struggled with how to teach and preach the CP texts in a hermeneutically responsible and cogent manner. In this session I will engage several approaches to the instructions of Scripture about corporal punishment that will hopefully renew an interest in putting them back into the forum of pulpit ministry and parental address.

Keeping Preaching Fresh
Will Willimon
Easter, again? How do pastors keep the attention of their congregations over the long haul? How does the gospel contain, within itself, renewable resources for ministry? How do we preach, over time, without having the gospel go limp?

Reading and Preaching the Whole Bible for Mission
Chris Wright