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9781443821513

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Kieran Beville discusses the powerful wind shift of Postmodernism, the subtle ways it is affecting society and how preachers must reset their sails to become effective. In this scholarly primer the author engages with philosophers and the leading homileticians of the day. His approach is succinct without getting bogged down or becoming superficial. Dr Beville's book provides clear and useful handles for understanding the elusive nature of postmodernity. He writes chiefly for teachers and students of the art of preaching in western societies yet this is a practical book that will encourage all those engaged in preaching and other forms of Christian communication. Preachers who ignore the urgent challenge of this book do so at their own peril and at the risk of talking to themselves in the stale backwater of irrelevance. -Dr Geoff Pound, Theologians Without Borders Kieran Beville's Preaching Christ in a Postmodern Culture is an extremely helpful analysis of the crisis that has overtaken preaching with the emergence of postmodernity in western culture. He rightly demonstrates that a full-blown embrace by the church of the postmodern critique of past ways of communicating the gospel, in particular, the traditional emphasis on preaching, is a sure path to theological and ecclesial disaster. On the other hand, he rightly points out that it is not at all helpful for the church to be sullen and reactionary at this turn of events in western culture, trying to live in some past `golden age' when things were done right! Beville guides the reader through this modern-or should one say postmodern!-Scylla and Charybdis and provides a helpful template for preaching that takes due cognizance of the new cultural paradigm and that also emphasizes the vital importance of clear communication of the best news a human being can hear. Highly recommended. -Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin, Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky; and Research Professor of Irish Baptist College, Constituent College of Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland

Kieran Beville discusses the powerful wind shift of Postmodernism, the subtle ways it is affecting society and how preachers must reset their sails to become effective. In this scholarly primer the author engages with philosophers and the leading homileticians of the day. His approach is succinct without getting bogged down or becoming superficial. Dr Beville's book provides clear and useful handles for understanding the elusive nature of postmodernity. He writes chiefly for teachers and students of the art of preaching in western societies yet this is a practical book that will encourage all those engaged in preaching and other forms of Christian communication. Preachers who ignore the urgent challenge of this book do so at their own peril and at the risk of talking to themselves in the stale backwater of irrelevance. -Dr Geoff Pound, Theologians Without Borders Kieran Beville's Preaching Christ in a Postmodern Culture is an extremely helpful analysis of the crisis that has overtaken preaching with the emergence of postmodernity in western culture. He rightly demonstrates that a full-blown embrace by the church of the postmodern critique of past ways of communicating the gospel, in particular, the traditional emphasis on preaching, is a sure path to theological and ecclesial disaster. On the other hand, he rightly points out that it is not at all helpful for the church to be sullen and reactionary at this turn of events in western culture, trying to live in some past 'golden age' when things were done right! Beville guides the reader through this modern-or should one say postmodern!-Scylla and Charybdis and provides a helpful template for preaching that takes due cognizance of the new cultural paradigm and that also emphasizes the vital importance of clear communication of the best news a human being can hear. Highly recommended. -Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin, Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky; and Research Professor of Irish Baptist College, Constituent College of Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland

""Kieran Beville discusses the powerful wind shift of Postmodernism, the subtle ways it is affecting society and how preachers must reset their sails to become effective. In this scholarly primer the author engages with philosophers and the leading homileticians of the day. His approach is succinct without getting bogged down or becoming superficial. Dr Beville's book provides clear and useful handles for understanding the elusive nature of postmodernity. He writes chiefly for teachers and students of the art of preaching in western societies yet this is a practical book that will encourage all those engaged in preaching and other forms of Christian communication. Preachers who ignore the urgent challenge of this book do so at their own peril and at the risk of talking to themselves in the stale backwater of irrelevance.""—Dr Geoff Pound, Theologians Without Borders""Kieran Beville's Preaching Christ in a Postmodern Culture is an extremely helpful analysis of the crisis that has overtaken preaching with the emergence of postmodernity in western culture. He rightly demonstrates that a full-blown embrace by the church of the postmodern critique of past ways of communicating the gospel, in particular, the traditional emphasis on preaching, is a sure path to theological and ecclesial disaster. On the other hand, he rightly points out that it is not at all helpful for the church to be sullen and reactionary at this turn of events in western culture, trying to live in some past 'golden age' when things were done right! Beville guides the reader through this modern—or should one say postmodern!—Scylla and Charybdis and provides a helpful template for preaching that takes due cognizance of the new cultural paradigm and that also emphasizes the vital importance of clear communication of the best news a human being can hear. Highly recommended.""—Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin, Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky; and Research Professor of Irish Baptist College, Constituent College of Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland

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Dr. Kieran Beville is an experienced Christian newspaper columnist. A former teacher of English (language and literature), History, Communications and Media Studies, he is now Pastor of the Lee Valley Bible Church (Baptist) in Cork, Ireland. He has taught theology on leadership training programmes in Eastern Europe and Biblical Studies in India. He is an international conference speaker on the themes of 'Mission,' 'Postmodernism' and 'Preaching' and has authored three other books: Exploring Ezra: The Secret of Spiritual Success (Day One Publications, 2004), Cultivating Christian Character: The Fruit of the Spirit (Day One Publications, 2005) and Jonah: Pride & Prejudice (ISPCK, 2010).

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