William H. Willimon – författare

In theory and in practice, Christians often sever spirituality from social justice. For instance, some Christians assume that spirituality refers to the "inner life" whereas social justice refers to the "outer life," perhaps further equating the former with passive Christianity and the latter with active Christianity. Employing sensitivity to the sources of the Christian tradition as well as the practice of discipleship in the real world, the contributors to this volume seek solid ground on which to build bridges between spirituality and social justice. Organized to highlight both significant conceptual and theological issues, as well as applications to various dimensions of the Christian life, these essays offer penetrating insights from different vantage points into how contemporary believers can connect spirituality and social justice.

The Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching is the most comprehensive reference work on preaching available in the English language. No other book so richly combines concerns for the practice of preaching with theological themes and historical tradition. Its scope ranges from the technical tasks of sermon preparation to thoughtful essays on such topics as narrative preaching, African American preaching, style, and prophetic preaching, as well as a host of issues that are shaping and challenging the contemporary pulpit. Also included are essays that explore the life and work of the church's most influential preachers, including such diverse figures as St. Augustine, Sojourner Truth, and Fulton Sheen.

This brief introduction spells out the major beliefs of the United Methodist Church in a clear, nontechnical style. William Willimon, the beloved United Methodist author, preacher, teacher, and bishop, discusses the great theological themes that United Methodists share in common with all Christians as well as the particular accents and emphases that characterize United Methodist understandings of Christian doctrines. In his engaging style, Willimon opens the door for further study, challenging the reader to move toward a continuing reflection on their faith. This guide will be of great value to those who are beginning their study of United Methodist beliefs as well as those who have long been in the church and want a helpful way to refresh their understandings of the distinctiveness of United Methodist doctrine.

William Willimon, one of the world's most admired preachers, offers his practical and sage advice for some of the most basic tasks of ministry: preparing, delivering, and evaluating sermons; planning, leading, and evaluating worship services; offering public prayers; and celebrating baptism and the Lord's Supper. In addition, Willimon provides creative suggestions for involving laity in worship. Ideal for beginning ministers and veterans alike, A Guide to Preaching and Leading Worship will assuredly become a standard must-have for mainline Protestant clergy.

Westminster John Knox Press is proud to present this special collection of fourteen of Karl Barth's World War I-era sermons--the only English language collection of Barth's sermons preached between 1917 and 1920 when he was a parish pastor in Safenwil, Switzerland. This volume offers a fascinating glimpse into Barth's interpretation of Scripture during a time of great historical significance.Renowned preacher William H. Willimon provides expert commentary on the theological and homiletical substance of each selection and points to the many ways in which Barth's early preaching can enrich the work of preachers today.

A paperback edition of the best-selling commentary on Acts by acclaimed preacher and scholar William H. Willimon.

Should the pulpit be used as a place to address issues of congressional conflict? After first examining the nature of conflict within human groups, William H. Willimon discusses how to prepare sermons on controversial subjects, suggesting ways to use the biblical text to examine divisive issues. He comments on the importance of style and delivery tone when dealing with difficult topics.

Worship--the central task of the Christian community--is the focus of this thought-provoking book. William Willimon moves from theological understanding to the practical skills needed for preaching and worship leadership. He offers useful guidelines for conducting public prayer and for celebrating the Lord's Supper and Baptism. Focusing on preaching, he describes how to construct a sermon, deliver it convincingly, and evaluate it. He concludes with valuable suggestions for involving the laity in worship.

These twelve sermons by renowned author and pastor William Willimon, with responses by theologian Stanley Hauerwas, demonstrate the fruitfulness and difficulty of the interaction between theologians and practicing pastors. In this book, the authors suggest an intriguing way to think about theological work within the church. In this intriguing book, the authors suggest a new way to think about theological work within the church.

Election is a strange word when used in theology. It brings to mind old debates about what God might or might not have done before the foundation of the world. But viewed apart from that historical baggage, the word election is about a central gospel idea: that in Jesus not only does God choose to be God for us but chooses us to be for God. The calling of the disciples in the gospels is a story of election, of how God chooses to transform the world by choosing us to be messengers and agents of that transformation.So it is, says William Willimon, that election becomes not just the content of our preaching but the means as well. God chooses preachers. How unlikelyhow oddis it that God should entrust the proclamation of the gospel to, well, us? This unpredictable, electing God reaches out to save the world and then leaves it in the hands of preachers to get the word out? Through us, through our stammering tongues and faltering hearts, the preached word becomes the Word of God. If you wonder why you drag yourself into the pulpit every Sunday, if you worry that your sermons aren't reaching past the front pew, then read this book and be encouraged. God chooses; God chooses preachers; God chooses you.

This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable.The Intrusive Word follows William H. Willimon's widely acclaimed Peculiar Speech: Preaching to the Baptized. Whereas the latter pondered the implications of speaking week after week to the believer, this volume considers what it means to preach to those who have not yet heard the gospel in its life-changing, disruptive fullness.The Intrusive Word presents preaching as an act of evangelism in today's church. In his lively, pointed, and at times humorous style, Willimon shows how today's pastors must revise their preaching task as part of the church's joyful attempt to proclaim Christ. Each chapter is followed by one of Willimon's own sermons illustrating his concerns in a practical, biblical way. Readers of this book will experience rebirth and renewal in their own lives as the Word of God gracefully intrudes. Pastors and students of homiletics will find imaginative models of evangelistic preaching that demonstrate that "preaching in the service of anything less than a living, intrusive God is not worth the effort."

This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. This critical yet constructive assessment of the current state of higher education in America exposes the disconcerting causes and effects of failed campus life while posing real solutions for reforming today's colleges and universities. Convinced that America's institutions of higher learning now face a crisis — that they are not meeting the educational needs of their students, that faculty members can do better — William H. Willimon and Thomas H. Naylor here propose bold changes in the nation's undergraduate educational system. By looking at academic life from the students' point of view — the text is filled with real-life situations, reflections from students, and poignant illustrations — The Abandoned Generation evaluates American colleges and universities on the basis of the quality of the lives that they are now producing. Willimon and Naylor take an honest look at three realities of student life — substance abuse, indolence, and excessive careerism. They then evaluate the underlying causes — the sense of meaninglessness in student life and the absence of community. Finally, they build a provocative four-tier strategy for change — restructuring the academy, teachers who actually teach, curriculum reform, and the creation of learning communities.

In this trenchant analysis of American society, Thomas H. Naylor and William H. Willimon take an unabashed stance against the belief that "bigger is better" and warn that size and technological complexity are not risk free. There is a grave price to be paid for our uncritical affirmation of bigness, universal solutions to problems, dehumanizing uniformity, and standardized mass production. Naylor and Willimon argue that our government, our cities, our corporations, our schools, our churches, our military, and our social welfare system are all too big, too powerful, too intrusive, too insular, and too unresponsive to the needs of individual citizens and small local communities. They propose specific strategies for decentralizing and downsizing virtually every major institution in America, including America itself. The authors audaciously call for the peaceful dissolution of the United States through secession and provide a thoughtful game plan for achieving this controversial objective.

William Willimon combines the latest findings in Lukan scholarship with the pastoral, educational, and theological concerns of the local church to provide a new interpretation of Acts. He bases his commentary on the idea that the purpose of Acts was not to make Christianity acceptable to the Roman state but rather to preserve the integrity of the church against the onslaught of classical culture.Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

Many of America’s greatest Protestant preachers—Paul Tillich, William Sloane Coffin, Barbara Brown Taylor, Fleming Rutledge, Peter J. Gomes, Billy Graham, and others—have spoken powerfully from the pulpit of the “great towering church” that is the spiritual and architectural center of Duke University. This collection of fifty-eight of the most notable sermons proclaimed from that pulpit commemorates the seventy-fifth anniversary of the groundbreaking for Duke Chapel. It is a sweeping panorama of sermons selected and edited by Bishop William H. Willimon, Dean of the Chapel for twenty years and one of the most widely read writers on preaching in America.

Opening with the sermon preached in June 1935 at the dedication of the Chapel and closing with one by Willimon delivered at the beginning of the 2003–4 school year, this volume presents Protestant Christianity at its most eloquent and prophetic. Some sermons are pure meditations on biblical texts; others are period pieces in the best sense of the term, reflecting on such contemporary concerns as civil rights, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, and the wars in Europe, Vietnam, and Iraq. Willimon provides a brief introduction to each sermon, commenting on the work and thought of the preacher. Diverse in subject and style, the sermons collected in this volume are a treasure for those who love fine preaching, a resource for those studying the history of homiletics, and a light to rekindle the memories of those who have worshiped in the Chapel over the years.