Voices Crying Out in the Wilderness: Contemporary Theologies of Preaching

'Voices Crying Out in the Wilderness' is a sample of contemplative preaching—preaching that is either singularly or a mixture of doctrinal, evangelical, pastoral or prophetic. Doctrinal preaching is primarily informative and demonstrates practical witnessing of tenets of the Christian Faith. Evangelical preaching seeks to persuade the listener to trust, try or endure the Gospel as means of both temporal survival and eternal reward. Pastoral preaching “comforts the afflicted” by transforming the pew into a gurney or couch whereby the conditions of our human existence and real life needs in the time of separation and disappointment are addressed (not denied) and attended to with care. Prophetic preaching “afflicts the comfortable” by turning over the tables established by the absolutism of powerbrokers from both apart and from within the community of faith; as a means of advancing a Christ-centered agenda of social justice where there is an ethos of no Jew or Gentile, bond or free or male or female.