Preaching God's Grand Drama: A Biblical-Theological Approach - Paperback

by Ahmi Lee (Author), Mark Labberton (Foreword by)

How can preachers preach biblically faithful sermons that move listeners to positive action? An author on the cutting edge of contemporary homiletics and theology offers a fresh approach to preaching that helps listeners see themselves as actors in God's grand drama. Ahmi Lee presents a unifying "third way" in homiletical approaches (i.e., theodramatic) that reimagines the preacher's role in relation to the Bible, the congregation, and the world. The book not only helps students understand various preaching models but also is relevant to working preachers who want to critique and improve their approach. Foreword by Mark Labberton.

Back Jacket

The sermon is the best weapon in the pastor's arsenal for taking every thought, and our imaginations, captive to Christ, which is why preaching may be the quintessential theological act. But what kind of act is it? Ahmi Lee describes the two prevailing models, didactic and dialogical, and proposes a third model, the dramatic, that preserves the best of the other two while avoiding their weaknesses. Lee's proposal for a theodramatic homiletic provides pastors with the tonic they need to communicate the gospel effectively to our increasingly secularized, disenchanted age.
--Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"Too many homiletics books frustrate their readers with predictable and played out hermeneutical scripts, such as the preacher-as-exalted-interpreter or the preacher-as-humiliated-subject. Preaching God's Grand Drama offers us a better script, a fresher performance than the typical proposals, one that holds promise for preachers and for preaching both now and in the future."
--Jared E. Alcántara, Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University

"For preachers who are weary of having to choose either 'textual' or 'topical' preaching, Preaching God's Grand Drama offers a profoundly rich vision that will inform and inspire an alternative way of seeing that stretches the homiletical imagination to more theologically fitting dimensions. A wonderful example of the kind of integrative thinking we urgently need to practice as preachers and teachers of preaching."
--Michael Pasquarello III, Robert Smith Jr. Preaching Institute, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

"Pioneering new homiletical territory, Preaching God's Grand Drama invites propositional preachers and conversational preachers to explore their respective sermonic philosophies and methodologies. This book presents an intriguing 'third way, ' explaining the art and craft of preaching that will meet and greet a wide spectrum of twenty-first-century listeners."
--Matthew D. Kim, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

"By centering on an encounter with God in both the sermon and the world, Lee proposes a homiletic that encourages preachers to offer an essential balm for our wounded times."
--Paul Scott Wilson, Emmanuel College, University of Toronto

"The Bible narrates a cracking good story. And it is our story! Lee helps preachers perform this grand narrative in ways that will transform everyday lives in the light of God's ongoing dramatic actions in the world."
--Scott Hoezee, The Center for Excellence in Preaching, Calvin Theological Seminary

Author Biography

Ahmi Lee (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is assistant professor of preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. She has served in congregations in the Chicago area in various capacities, and she is an active preacher and speaker worldwide.