 | "Preaching Rhetorically: Thanks, Aristotle and Apostles" Dr. Martin Marty |
| "Preaching Ironically: Thanks, Reinhold Niebuhr and the Prophets" Dr. Martin Marty |
| "Why Bother" (Acts 17:16-31) Dr. Cleo LaRue |
| "What are You Afraid Of?" (Matthew 25:14-25) Dr. Cleo LaRue |
The 2001 Gladstone Festival of Preaching
March 5 - 6, 2001
Since 1992, McMaster Divinity College has invited noted preachers and scholars to lead the Gladstone Festival of Preaching. This annual event was established in honour of the Rev. Dr. John N. Gladstone, currently Minister Emeritus at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, where he served a distinguished preaching ministry for over 26 years. Previous speakers have included William Willimon, David Buttrick, Tony Campolo, John Stott, Edwina Hunter and Eugene Lowry (a complete list is included below). With its focus on Christian proclamation, the purpose of the Gladstone Festival is to provide students, faculty, alumni, and local church leaders with illuminating and provocative biblical, theological, and pastoral insights for ministry.
Our tenth Gladstone Festival of Preaching, held March 5-6, was hosted by Pastor Gary Caldwell and the congregation of Dundas Baptist Church. They kindly welcomed more than 250 delegates for two days of learning and fellowship with Dr. Martin E. Marty and Dr. Cleophus J. LaRue. Professor Marty is Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of the History of Christianity at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Two of his three addresses, on preaching "rhetorically" and "ironically," are included here. Professor Marty kindly gave permission for MTJM to exercise editorial license in transcribing the tapes of his lectures for publication. We trust that this abridgement captures something of the vitality, imagination, and intellectual acuity of his presentations. We are equally grateful to Professor LaRue, who serves as Francis Landey Patton Associate Professor of Homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary, for the inspiring sermons that he preached at the Festival’s opening and closing services of worship. The full text of both sermons is published here.
Dr. Cleo LaRue "Why
Bother" (Acts 17:16-31)
"What are You Afraid Of?" (Matthew 25:14-25)
Dr. Martin Marty "Preaching
Rhetorically: Thanks, Aristotle and Apostles"
"Preaching Ironically: Thanks, Reinhold Niebuhr and the
Prophets"
Next year’s conference will be a one-day event, scheduled for Saturday, March 2 (location TBA). Our lecturer will be the Rev. Dr. Stephen C. Farris, Professor of Preaching and Worship at Knox College, Toronto, who will address the topic of "Preaching for a Church in Conflict." Preaching and leading worship will be the Rev. John L. Bell, an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland and member of the Iona Community who is well known for his contemporary hymns and musical arrangements.
Legend of Festival Lecturers
1992 William H. Willimon - Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
"Preaching and Evangelism in Today’s World"
1993 David Buttrick - Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
"Preaching Toward God’s Future"
1994 Frederick Swann - Garden Grove, California
Charles Adams - Detroit, Michigan
"Proclamation, Music, and Culture in the Christian Worship Experience"
1995 Anthony Campolo - Eastern College, St. Davids, Pennsylvania
"Preaching to the Youth Culture in North America"
1996 John R. W. Stott - London, England
"A Call to Faithfulness"
1997 Thomas G. Long - Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey
"Taking the Listener Seriously in Preaching"
1998 Edwina Hunter - Union Theological Seminary, New York City
"The Word Made Flesh: Preaching in Christ’s Body"
1999 Paul Scott Wilson, Emmanuel College, Toronto School of Theology
"Practical Lessons for Passionate Preaching"
2000 Eugene Lowry - Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, Missouri
"A New Homiletic for a New Millennium"
2001 Martin E. Marty - University of Chicago Divinity School, Chicago, Illinois
"Preaching in Three Modes: Historical and Contemporary Addresses"
2002 Stephen Farris - Knox College, University of Toronto
"Preaching for a Church in Conflict"