The Company of Preachers: An Anthology

Richard Lischer is James T. and Alice Mead ClelandProfessor of Preaching at Duke Divinity School. Beforejoining the Duke faculty, he served as pastor of Lutherancongregations in Illinois and Virginia. A graduate ofConcordia Senior College and Concordia Seminary, he alsoholds an M.A. in English from Washington University in St.Louis and a Ph.D. in theology from the University ofLondon. He is the author of numerous books on preaching,theology, and ministry, including A Theology ofPreaching: The Dynamics of the Gospel and theprize-winning The Preacher King: Martin Luther King, Jr.and the Word That Moved America. He is also theco-editor (with William Willimon) of the ConciseEncyclopedia of Preaching. The story of his firstpastorate, Open Secrets: A Memoir of Faith andDiscovery, has been widely anthologized, and his mostrecent Eerdmans book, The Company of Preachers, wasnamed Best Book in ministry in 2002 by ChristianityToday. The End of Words is based on his Lyman BeecherLectures in Preaching delivered at Yale Divinity School.Professor Lischer and his wife live in Orange County, NorthCarolina.

Walter Brueggemann
"As constant and recurring as preaching is in the church, it is a practice that is endlessly inscrutable in its performance. In our time of peculiar bewilderment, the sermon is especially odd in its performance and in its possible impact. Richard Lischer's 'reader' on preaching is a reminder that we do not need to reinvent the wheel. Others before us and alongside us have thought well about the mystery of preaching. This valuable collection will benefit both beginners and veterans who may be at a point of rethinking. The representative voices in these pages invite such rethinking and make clear that preaching at its most faithful is not the property of any sect or perspective but stretches us all beyond our inclinations to the True Subject of such proclamation."

Thomas G. Long
"A marvelous collection of essays. Richard Lischer has assembled a roomful of sparkling intellects for a cracking good conversation about preaching. He gathers thinkers from across the ages and around the world and invites them to share their wisdom on every major preaching theme. The result is a dialogue that bristles with energy, refreshes our memories, stretches our minds, and whets our appetites for more."

Henry H. Mitchell
"A superbly selected and edited collection -- a marvelously rich resource for purposes of perspective as well as for insights into the homiletic artistry so greatly needed for preaching in the shifting cultural context of today."

Fleming Rutledge
"Richard Lischer is one of the most valuable people working in the church today. He has poured all of his knowledge and experience into this compendium of homiletical treasures. For those of us who still believe that the Word preached is the power of God, this volume will be a cherished companion in our libraries for many years to come. I can't imagine any preacher not wanting this rich resource."

Gardner C. Taylor
"With this volume Richard Lischer may claim clear title to being the most discerning and definitive chronicler and eulogist of the history of preaching in nearly a century. One would have to go back to 1905 and Edwin Charles Dargan to find a work that approaches the quality of The Company of Preachers, and Dargan's account admits that it concludes on 'the threshold of the modern world."

The Expository Times"A treasure house of homiletic wisdom! This superb collection can guide, inform and stimulate all who practice and value the Christian tradition of preaching, and who are concerned for its renewal today."