Chorus of Preachers

Sam’s sermon is rich, meandering, full of charm and gentle wit.  His lengthy diversions and digressions are skillfully woven into the fabric of the sermon. 
  
But mostly what I admire about his sermon is that it is a gospel-grounded attack upon much of what the modern university stands for and many of the idolatries that hold us captive, especially the idolatry of “success.”  Yet Sam makes this attack with graciousness and thereby seduces us into receiving his sermon."

A bishop in the United Methodist Church, Professor Willimon served as the dean of Duke Chapel and professor of Christian ministry at Duke University for 20 years. He returned to Duke after serving as the bishop of the North Alabama Conference from 2004 to 2012. Willimon is the author of 70 books.

He then notes that Archbishop Romero had recently written to President Carter, warning him not to send further military aid to El Salvador because it would be used to extend a reign of repression. Solemnly quoting from the sermon Archbishop Romero preached at the funeral mass of Father Octavio Ortiz Luna and four youth, who were assassinated by the National Guard in 1979, Bishop Armstrong states: 'We live in a world in which sin is enthroned and the kingdom of God means a struggle. It is a struggle in which we have no need for sword or gun … This struggle we conduct with guitars and hymns; a seed is sown in the human heart and the world is transformed.' Then, raising his voice, he reminds us, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." The seed of Archbishop Oscar Romero has been sown.”

I would now add, "And that seed has given much fruit in El Salvador and around the world.'”

Professor Tinoco Ruiz is a practical theologian whose work centers on the intersection of homiletics, pastoral care, and evangelism. She sees in the sermons of Saint Óscar Romero a profound response to the traumatic injuries the marginalized and oppressed people of El Salvador were experiencing during the years he was the archbishop of San Salvador (1977-1980). Influenced by Saint Romero’s preaching, Professor Tinoco Ruiz is exploring how preachers can effectively address the trauma experienced by marginalized and oppressed communities, particularly the community of undocumented immigrants from Latin America in the United States.

She came to the dedication service for the window, and I still remember her benediction from that service— if not the words, then the power behind them. A few years ago, a photo turned up from a clergy colleague in California: a picture of then-retired Bishop Kelly at an Annual Conference meeting, holding my daughter, Emma, who was just a baby at the time, in 1999.

Before all of this occurred, while still serving in the Virginia Annual Conference, Rev. Leontine Kelly preached this sermon at Duke Chapel, in the year of the US bicentennial. Here, she preaches on the “Character of Christian waiting.” Kelly says Christian waiting is a faithful patience that acknowledges the sovereignty and activity of God. But she also warns us that waiting is not sleeping. Christian waiting is characterized by hope, and as such, remains awake, engaged, and active. Christian waiting finds expression in the discernment and activity of discipleship, in the work of Christian witness.

I was particularly drawn to a story Kelly tells in the sermon from her childhood living in her father’s parsonage and her brothers’ discovery in the dark cellar of a tunnel connecting the parsonage to the Church in Cincinnati, not far from the Ohio River. They later determined that this tunnel was part of the Underground Railroad. Not in the “lovely woodwork” or the “beautiful chandeliers” of the Church, Kelly says, but rather, in this dark and dusty basement tunnel, “there is a witness of this Church, a witness underground.” This is the character of Christian waiting, according to Kelly.

I teach courses and write about evangelism and Christian formation, and I think about the shape of Christian witness. This sermon is a powerful reminder that our hope is in God who holds the past and the future and in that faith we can be patient. But waiting is not sleeping, and our witness continues in our discipleship, even the smallest acts offered up in the face of overwhelming and immovable circumstances. Even in a tunnel in the basement. Even in Leontine Kelly. Even in us."

Professor Conklin-Miller teaches courses in Christian formation, mission, evangelism, and ministry in the Wesleyan/Methodist tradition. Drawing from conversations in theological ethics, missiology, practical theology, and the Methodist theological tradition, Conklin-Miller’s research considers the theological relationship of the Church and the world and the connections between ecclesial practices of formation and faithful witness. . His most recent book is  Leaning Both Ways at Once:  Methodist Evangelistic Mission at the Intersection of Church and World. As an ordained elder in the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Conklin-Miller has more than a decade of experience serving local churches in Southern California as an associate pastor, co-pastor, and senior pastor. 

Rev. Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley's research interests include how liberation theologies and contemporary missiologies inform leadership strategies for pastoral leaders globally. An ordained Baptist pastor with ministry as an urban missionary, denominational leader, congregational pastor, theological education, and global missions executive, Goatley's publications include Were You There?: Godforsakenness in Slave Religion; A Divine Assignment: The Missiology of Wendell Clay Somerville and editor of Black Religion, Black Theology: Collected Essays of J. Deotis Roberts. He is the director of Duke Divinity School's Black Pastoral Leadership Collaborative which discerns, designs, and disseminates leadership strategies from the Black Church for the Whole Church.

Lester Ruth is a historian of Christian worship with particular interests in the early church and the last 250 years, especially the history of contemporary praise and worship. He is passionate about enriching the worship life of current congregations, regardless of style. He believes that careful reflection on the worship of other Christians—whether past or present, whether Protestant, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox—can serve to enrich the church today. Dr. Ruth is a member of the Charles Wesley Society and served as president until the spring of 2016. He recently co-authored Flow: An Ancient Way to Do Contemporary Worship with contributions from Duke students and alumni. He and Dr. Swee Hong Lim are working on a larger history of this same liturgical phenomenon to be published in 2021, called A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship: Understanding the Ideas that Reshaped the Protestant Church.