Those who have preached the Revised Common Lectionary know it’s hard to come up with new insights on texts that they’ve encountered before. And it’s harder still when the preacher lacks good conversation partners.
Yet, as Karoline Lewis, The Alvin N. Rogness Chair of Homiletics, recently wrote in a Dear Working Preacher column, “You never know what interpretive gem might surface when you put texts in conversation.”
So when preachers see a new pathway into familiar texts, they’re likely to rejoice.
“Thanks, Karoline, for opening up a fresh pathway into an overly familiar text—always a gift. I think you are on to something that will help us poor preachers be in dialogue with the world as we serve the Word,” said Pastor Lawrence Wohlrabe in response to Lewis’ commentary.
That’s what Working Preacher does—it opens up new pathways for preachers. WorkingPreacher.org is a free online resource provided by Luther Seminary. The site provides insight, conversation, dialogue and wondering with others who stand in the pulpit week after week.
And the numbers indicate that it’s treasured by many. The site has posted significant gains in the last year, including:
- a 24 percent increase in overall traffic, or more than 7 million annual visits
- an 18 percent increase in first-time visits to the site
- more than double the number of visits from mobile devices
- a 50 percent growth in visits to Spanish-language commentaries in the past eight months
If you want to support quality biblical preaching in your congregation—or if you are a preacher in need of conversation around tough texts—be sure to like the Working Preacher Facebook page or follow the Working Preacher Twitter feed to join the conversation and share great preaching insights with your colleagues and friends on social media.
Gifts to Luther Seminary’s Sustaining Fund keep resources like Working Preacher, Enter the Bible and God Pause free for church leaders wherever they serve. With your ongoing support, Luther Seminary continues to provide excellent free resources to enrich faith lives around the world.
All gifts to the Sustaining Fund will be matched through June 30 by the Make it Happen Challenge. Your gift will be matched 1:1 by a generous donor who is dedicated to the mission of Luther Seminary and the future of the church.