INTRODUCTION TO PREACHING
Instructor: Dr. Timothy M. Slemmons
Phone: 563-589-3578
e-mail: tslemmons@dbq.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This introductory course in preaching leads the Commissioned Ruling Elder (CRE) student through the basic steps of sermon preparation: liturgical considerations, text selection, exegesis, formation of a claim, development of a sermon outline and choosing of a form, sermon writing, delivery, and evaluation.
COURSE AND DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES:
Commissioned Ruling Elder training courses offered by UDTSlearning aim to embrace and work to fulfill the seminary mission statement, which reads as follows:
The purpose of the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, an ecumenical seminary of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is to serve the one God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- and advance the ministry and mission of the church of Jesus Christ by preparing women and men for faithful, compassionate, and effective pastoral and lay ministry in congregations, with special attention to rural and native American constituencies, by research and publication in the theological disciplines, and by active participation in the life of the church.
STRATEGIES FOR ASSESSMENT:
This course may only be taken for a Pass/Fail basis. A passing grade is earned by successful completion of the following assignments:
• One devotional, each consisting of 1-2 vv., meditation, and one-sentence prayer
(1 p. max)
• Exegetical summary of sermon text (1-2 pp.), concluding with focus/function
statements
• Sermon outline, with sermon title (1 p.)
• Sermon (4 pp. max)
• Regular on-line participation in posting assignments and responding to peers.
• Self-assessment of sermon and a statement of learnings.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Thomas G. Long, The Witness of Preaching (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press,
1989) ISBN-13: 978-066422943
Timothy Matthew Slemmons, Year D: A Quadrennial Supplement to the Revised Common
Lectionary (Eugene: OR: Cascade Books, 2012) ISBN-13: 978-1610973120
________. The Freedom of Christ: Sermons on Galatians (San Bernardino, CA:
CreateSpace, 2015) ISBN-13: 978-1508593348
Eliot Young, The Word at Work (Charleston, SC: CreateSpace, 2014) ISBN-13: 978-
1500332358
- Teacher: Timothy (Tim) Slemmons