Countdown to Sunday: A Daily Guide for Those Who Dare to Preach - Softcover

Erdman, Chris William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 158743203X ISBN 13: 9781587432033

Publisher: Brazos Press, Div of Baker Publishing Group, 2007

Synopsis

Chris Erdman remembers a time when preparing his weekly sermon left him frustrated and uptight. Twenty years later, he found a new way to prepare sermons that changed his life. In Countdown to Sunday, he shares the lessons he has learned. A seasoned preacher and instructor of new preachers, Erdman breaks down his methods of preparation and delivery from Monday through Sunday. Believing that preaching is something lived, he shows not only how sermons grow gradually but also how preachers can learn to preach "on the run." With practical advice and insight, Erdman also covers preaching for weddings and funerals, around the time of elections and wars, on the street, and in the hospital. The result is an invaluable guide that will become a daily companion for preachers, whether experienced or not.

About this title

About the Author

Chris Erdman (DMin, Columbia Theological Seminary) is senior pastor of University Presbyterian Church and teaches preaching and leadership courses at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, both in Fresno, California. He is the author of Beyond the Chaos: Living the Christian Family in a World Like Ours.

From the Back Cover

"Too many homiletical guides promise easy success by preaching, in essence, someone else's sermons to someone else's congregation. Chris Erdman shows you how to preach your own sermons right where you are. In these meditations he models for us the day-by-day spiritual formation of a preaching life. Read them and discover a weekly process that liberates God's Word to tell a congregation--and their preacher--extraordinary things. Put them to work and find your preaching made more authentic and effective."--Beth Maynard, coeditor of Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog

"Chris Erdman describes how, through the week, through faithful discipline, the preacher peels off the many masks of the text until he or she comes face to face with God. But in the process, the preacher peels off his or her own masks, and, like it or not, comes face to face with himself or herself. This is a book to challenge and encourage preachers, and is also a book for anyone who is ready to come face to face with the truth."--Sam Wells, Duke Divinity School

"Chris Erdman has written a wise, encouraging book for us preachers. Karl Barth said that 'preachers dare'--Erdman gives us renewed courage to stand up on Sunday and preach the Word made flesh."--William Willimon, Bishop, United Methodist Church

"Practical and prophetic! Practical because it walks where I walk. Countdown to Sunday walks my daily walk as the sound of Sunday gets louder and louder with each passing day. I loved reading a chapter a day--Chris has become a preaching mentor for me. Prophetic because Chris tackles difficult issues head on--violence and war, politics and justice. I was also greatly encouraged by Chris's transparency and honesty. He gives me great hope that I can become a better preacher as I face my weekly countdown to Sunday."--Jamie Crook, senior pastor, University Covenant Church, Davis, CA

"These short meditations are surprising. Lulled by Erdman's casual conversational style, we are not prepared to be hit in the eye with a painful perception of our pride or to be struck by the glorious truth of some piece of good news. Erdman's testimony will help us all to preach more faithfully."--Marva J. Dawn, author of Talking the Walk

Edition details

• Publisher: Brazos Press, Div of Baker Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 158743203X
• ISBN 13: 9781587432033
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208