Preaching

A Living Word: Spiritual Reading for Preaching

From its very beginning, Christian preaching has rested on Scripture as its essential and authorizing source. Yet as central as Scripture is to the sermon, Preachers can often struggle to find a living Word for their congregation within the words of Scripture. Many preachers get to the end of the ways of reading Scripture they were taught to use, and still struggle to come up with something to preach for the folks sitting in our pews. Fortunately, the Christian tradition is filled with forms of Spiritual Reading that give us new eyes to see within Scripture a living Word for our place and people. This year, the Preaching Community at Summit will focus on a few of these forms of Spiritual Reading and explore ways in which they can invigorate our preaching. We invite you to join us while we explore these ways of engaging Scripture and how we might incorporate them into our preaching.


COMMUNITY DETAILS

We are incredibly excited to welcome Cynthia Ownby and Dr. Mason Lee as they shape the preaching community at Summit this fall. They enter this conversation from multiple perspectives—that of practitioner, pastor, and scholar—and their varied experiences will certainly foster a rich experience for all who attend. Stay tuned for more information on the preaching community, its sessions, and speakers.

 

Facilitators

CYNTHIA OWNBY

Cynthia Ownby has recently accepted the position of lead minister at Stamford Church of Christ in Stamford, Connecticut. Prior to that, she served at Bering Drive Church of Christ (Houston, Texas) as the spiritual life minister, a position she had held since 2009.  She completed her undergraduate work at Abilene Christian University and holds a Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation and Discipleship from Portland Seminary. She loves ministry with her church family, finding great joy in pastoral care, and creating space to foster intergenerational community and shared spiritual experiences. Cynthia and her husband, Cale, love to travel and try new foods. She also enjoys spending an afternoon with a good book and a cup of tea.

 

MASON LEE

Mason is the Director of Contextual Education and Associate Dean within the Graduate School of Theology, where he has served since 2020. As part of his role, Mason serves on the Siburt Institute Looking Team and works with congregations in interim ministry capacities. Mason, who has a Ph.D. in practical theology/homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary, is passionate about helping preachers and other ministers flourish. When he isn’t writing, teaching, or thinking about ministry, Mason enjoys spending time with his wife, Kelci, their daughters. Addison and Marah, and their two dogs.

 

additional speaker

DR. JEFF CHILDERS

Director of the Center for the Study of Ancient and Religious Texts, Professor of Church History at the Graduate School of Theology (Abilene Christian University)


THURSDAY MORNING SESSION | Dr. Mason Lee & Cynthia Ownby

9:30 - 10:00 a.m. | Introductions and Spiritual Practice

10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. | Engaging with Scripture: Attending to the Verbs

11:00 - 11:30 a.m. | Discussion

 

THURSDAY AFTERNOON SESSION | Dr. Jeff Childers, Dr. Mason Lee, & Cynthia Ownby

1:30 - 2:00 p.m. | Spiritual Practice

2:00 - 3:00 p.m. | Engaging with Scripture: Visio Divina

3:00 - 3:20 p.m. | Coffee Break

3:20 - 4:30 p.m. | Practices of Reading Workshop (Jeff Childers)

 

FRIDAY MORNING SESSION | Dr. Mason Lee & Cynthia Ownby

9:15 - 9:30 a.m. | Spiritual Practice

9:30 - 10:30 a.m. | Engaging with Scripture: Ignatian Imaging

10:30 - 10:45 a.m. | Discussion