Celebration of Biblical Preaching:
preaching the story
Oct. 7-9, 2013

Leaders

 

 

Grace Imathiu

Lead Pastor, Community United Methodist Church, Naperville, Ill.

A native of Kenya, Grace Imathiu is an ordained elder in the Methodist Church in Kenya. Imathiu was educated in Kenya, the United States, Israel and England. As a preacher and Bible study teacher, Imathiu is in constant demand worldwide. She is especially a favorite among the youth and has been a preacher at the International Christian Youth Conference and the National Christian Youth Conference. Additionally, Imathiu has led Bible studies and been a guest preacher at many conferences in the United Methodist Connection. She is author of “Words of Fire” and “Spirit of Grace,” a collection of sermons.

 

Tom Long

Bandy Professor of Preaching, Candler School of Theology; Coordinator of the Initiative in Religious Practices and Practical Theology

Dr. Long's research interests are contemporary homiletical theory,
biblical hermeneutics and preaching. His most recent book, What Shall
We Say? Evil, Suffering, and the Crisis of Faith, explores questions
of God and human suffering, and was named “2011 Book of the Year” by
the Academy of Parish Clergy. Long’s 1989 book The Witness of
Preaching—now in its second edition—is one of the most widely used
texts on preaching, appearing on class reading lists in seminaries
across the country and world. In 2010, Preaching magazine named The
Witness of Preaching one of the 25 most influential books in preaching
for the last 25 years. Long’s Preaching from Memory to Hope was named
as one of the “top ten books for parish ministry published in 2009” by
the Academy of Parish Clergy.

The author of 20 books to date, Long is a frequent contributor to The
Christian Century and the Journal for Preachers, and a popular
presenter at preaching conferences worldwide. He is an ordained
minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

 

David Lose

The Marbury E. Anderson Chair in Biblical Preaching, Luther Seminary

David Lose joined Luther Seminary in 2000 as an assistant professor of homiletics and has also served as academic dean. David Lose is a popular speaker who has lectured and led workshops internationally. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, Lose holds Master of Divinity and Master of Sacred Theology degrees from The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He earned his doctorate in homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary. Ordained into the ELCA in 1993, Lose served three congregations in New Jersey between 1993 and 2000. Lose is the author of “Making Sense of the Christian Faith,” “Making Sense of Scripture” and “Confessing Jesus Christ: Preaching in a Postmodern World,” which was named one of the top 10 books of 2004 by the Academy of Parish Clergy.

 

bRian McLaren

Author, speaker and activist

In 1986, Brian McLaren founded Cedar Ridge Community Church, a trans-denominational church in the Baltimore-Washington area. In 2006, he left the pastorate to devote himself full time to writing and speaking. Time magazine called him one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in America. McLaren has been active in networking and mentoring church planters and pastors since the mid-1980s, and has assisted in the development of several new churches. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland, where he earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. In 2004, he received the Doctor of Divinity degree from Carey Theological Seminary. In 2010, he was awarded a second Doctor of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including “A New Kind of Christianity,” “A Generous Orthodoxy” and most recently, “Naked Spirituality.”

 

Phyllis Tickle

Editor, Religion Department, Publishers Weekly; author and speaker

Phyllis Tickle is the founding editor of the religion department of Publishers Weekly. She is the author of more than two dozen books, including, “The Great Emergence,” “How Christianity is Changing and Why,” “Emergence Christianity—What it is, Where It Is Going, Why It Matters” and “The Words of Jesus.” She has served as a college teacher and as the academic dean to the Memphis College of Arts. Tickle received the Mays Award in 1996 for her work in gaining mainstream media coverage of religion publishing. She also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Berkeley School of Divinity at Yale University and North Park University.