Foxhole preachers and suburban Christians
Several noteworthy new items at the InterVarsity Press website recently: a new installment in the Online Pulpit column, and a new book.
In the latest Online Pulpit column, Candie Blankman takes a look at one of the unique challenges of ministry–what she calls “foxhole preaching,” or the temptation for ministers to look at each sermon as a single, isolated project. Blankman suggests that rather than “popping up” each week to deliver a sermon and then retreat back into the church office, pastors and assistant pastors alike would benefit from planning out their sermons with a much longer time period in mind–weeks and even months! That’s an ambitious undertaking, but Blankman argues that results are well worth the extra effort.
Secondly, IV Press has quite a bit of information up about a new book called The Suburban Christian, an exploration of what it means to be a Christian in 21st-century suburbia. There’s a lengthy interview with Albert Hsu, the author, about the book; and you can also keep up with Hsu’s thoughts at his blog.
