Feb 28, 2008 Print This Article

Concordia Seminary to Host Day of Homiletical Reflection

Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, will host its 6th Annual Day of Homiletical Reflection on Wednesday, May 7, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the Seminary’s Clara and Spencer Werner Auditorium. The event is designed for pastors, students involved in homiletical education and others interested in the proclamation of the Gospel in today’s world. Registration for the Day of Homiletical Reflection is $20.

Dr. Richard L. Eslinger, professor of worship and preaching at United Theological Seminary, Trotwood, Ohio, will speak on “The Character of the Preacher: Exploring the Homiletical Virtues.”

As part of United Theological Seminary’s outreach through the Institute for Applied Theology, Eslinger is director of the Center for Worship, Preaching and the Arts, and has developed projects and seminar offerings on the sacraments and on preaching, with teaching congregations around the country, as well as in the region. Eslinger is author of numerous books on preaching including A New Hearing: Living Options in Homiletic Method; Narrative and Imagination: Preaching the Worlds that Shape Us; Pitfalls in Preaching; The Web of Preaching and his current book project on “homiletical virtues,” exploring particularly the character, ethos, and spiritual health and vitality of the preacher and the congregation.

Sectional presentations include “The Character of the Preacher: Truthtelling” by Dr. Richard L. Eslinger; “God’s Top Ten” by Dr. R. Reed Lessing, associate professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Seminary; and “Martin Luther: Christ’s Presence as Preaching” by Dr. Ed Grimenstein, a Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Army chaplain.

An interview of Eslinger by Dr. Dale Meyer, president and professor of practical theology at Concordia Seminary, will conclude the program.

The Day of Homiletical Reflection combines the annual Wenchel Lecture that promotes critical thought about preaching and practical enhancement in this art with the Ernie and Elsie Schneider Endowment for Excellence in Preaching that fosters support for innovative 21st-century proclamation.

For more information, contact the Office of Continuing Education and Parish Services at (314) 505-7486, [email protected]; or visit the Seminary’s Web site at www.csl.edu.