Learning to Speak of God: Patience as a Homiletical Virtue
Ebook
What difference does the virtue of patience make for our ability to engage deeply in the practice of patience? And how does patience help us grasp the something more that is at the heart of preaching excellence? Learning to Speak of God argues that the virtue of patience is vital to our faithful and deep preaching practice; that patience is a homiletical virtue. In doing so, this volume asks us to consider the role of character in preaching and the work of specific virtues as we go about our preaching practice. Along the way, it names the importance of patience as a long-acknowledged Christian virtue and considers anew how this virtue shapes and empowers the practice of those who desire to preach in ways that participate in God's transforming work. For those who study, practice, or care about preaching, this volume identifies how any notion of what it means to preach well calls for those whose practice is infused with the virtue of patience.
“We are indebted to Mason Lee for this discerning work on the homiletical virtue of preaching. This is the kind of vision we need if preaching and the life of preachers are to recover their rightful place within the larger work of God and the formative activity of the Holy Spirit. In this insightful book, we don’t have to choose between God or ourselves but are invited to patiently wait upon divine grace in all our speaking and living.”
—Michael Pasquarello III, professor of Methodist divinity, Beeson Divinity School
“Mason Lee has produced a fine work that challenges homiletics’ primary dependance on the discipline of rhetoric. He makes convincing arguments for the place of patience in the practice of preaching that goes beyond just the public presentation. This virtue enables the preacher to rise above the vices of pride and hastiness. In turn, patience equips the preacher to allow the text to speak on its own, respect listeners’ responses, and take a long-range view of how preaching shapes a congregation.”
—Dave Bland, professor emeritus of homiletics, Harding School of Theology
“Mason Lee revisits one of homiletics’ oldest debates: how does preacherly virtue (or its lack) relate to the credibility of sermons? After reviewing with us the state of play, Lee expands the question itself: What virtue most crucially sustains theological integrity as we engage the web of interpretive practices that carry us to the pulpit? Lee’s surprising answer: patience. The path of patient curiosity Lee traces works to energize and liberate preachers, all the way to Sunday.”
—Sally A. Brown, professor emerita of preaching and worship, Princeton Theological Seminary
- Title: Learning to Speak of God: Patience as a Homiletical Virtue
- Author: Mason Lee
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666797756, 9781666797749, 166679774X, 9781666737820, 1666737828, 1666797758
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666797756
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-12-05T22:27:37Z
Mason Lee is assistant professor of practical theology and director of contextual education at the Abilene Christian University Graduate School of Theology.