Preaching
Hard Spaces, Divine Invitations: Leaning into Difficulty and Finding the Good Word God Has Given You.
Ours is a challenging time for preachers. Congregations are in decline, leadership teams are anxious, and our members are divided and suspicious. Those called to preach in this climate are pressured from every side. But what if this were also a time in which preachers have a unique invitation to speak a Word from the Lord as never before? Could it be that this challenging season holds a holy discomfort, one that can lead us to discover our true calling as those charged with preaching a Word from the Lord for this time and place? The preaching community at Summit this fall will create space for preachers to reflect on the challenges they face in their preaching ministries. We invite you to join us while we lean into these questions, so that we might discern God’s invitation to participate in the good work God is already doing in your church community.
COMMUNITY SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | “Preaching in Disorientation” | Cynthia Ownby and Mason Lee
2:00 - 3:30 p.m. | “Preaching in Re-Orientation, Part 1” | Cynthia Ownby and Mason Lee
3:30 - 4:00 p.m. | Conversation and Fellowship
4:00 - 5:30 p.m. | “Preaching in Re-Orientation, Part 2” | Don McLaughlin
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13
8:45 - 10:45 a.m. | “Preaching in Orientation” | Cynthia Ownby and Mason Lee
Facilitators
CYNTHIA OWNBY
Cynthia Ownby lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband Cale. She is the spiritual life minister at Bering Drive Church of Christ, where she has served 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 loves to travel, try new foods, and spend an afternoon with a good book and a cup of tea.
MASON LEE
Mason Lee is assistant professor of practical theology and director of contextual education at the ACU 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.
session information
In addition to community sharing, opportunity for discussion, and fellowship, the preaching community can also look forward to three larger sessions led by Mason Lee, Don McLaughlin, and Cynthia Ownby.
DON MCLAUGHLIN
Preaching Minister, North Atlanta Church of Christ (Atlanta, GA)
“Reorientation”
SESSION DESCRIPTIONS
Session 1: Disorientation | Mason Lee & Cynthia Ownby
The first session of the preaching community will focus on the challenges of preaching in our contemporary moment. Every preaching ministry is unique, and this session will give the community of preachers space to acknowledge those challenges within a community of encouragement and support. But beyond merely naming those struggles, the preaching community will explore the world of the Psalmist to discover how the Psalmist helps give language and vision to our present moment.
Session 2: Reorientation | Don McLaughlin
The second session of the preaching community turns from challenges to renewal. Continuing our journey with the Psalmist, the preaching community will explore ways in which the various challenges of our ministries can also become the site of God’s ongoing action through which we receive a new word to proclaim. In this session we will hear from Don McLaughlin who will speak with the group about the need and promise of preaching today.
Session 3: Orientation | Mason Lee & Cynthia Ownby
The final session of the preaching community will be a time of encouragement as we imagine our return to our various preaching ministries. Having moved from an acknowledgement of the struggles of preaching through the divine invitation that rests within those struggles, this final session seeks to help those gathered imagine how they might step back into their preaching and work with the good word God is inviting them to proclaim.