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This book focuses on pastoral and lay leadership in the African
American church. It deals with the internal and external issues
such as the tendency toward a bifurcated mentality and practice
such as the 'this is business' syndrome as well as the social issue
of race and affirmative action. Ministers and laity in the black
church must actively engage themselves in overcoming the inequities
that are still endemic to life in urban America. Harris affirms
that affirmative action policies are more important than ever in
obtaining a degree of social justice.
Description: No Longer Bound is about the intersection of reading
comprehension and interpretation that leads to the development of a
powerful and transformative sermon. Reading facilitates the
interpretive process, which is the essence of any sermon. The
sermon is an interpretation of an interpretation and as such
presents itself as a new gospel message. The ability to write and
preach a sermon is an exercise in freedom. The book is grounded in
a narrative theological form that begins with the author's
experience and filters that experience through the lens of
hermeneutic philosophy and theology. Reading and preaching
constitute the thread that runs throughout the book. The book
suggests that the sermon is the philosophic theology of Black
practical religion inasmuch as the Black church is central to
religion and culture. This is a fresh and new understanding of
homiletics, philosophical theology, and interpretation theory that
is intended to produce better preachers and more powerful and
life-changing sermons by all who endeavor to preach. Endorsements:
"James Henry Harris is the only preacher and professor I know who
can so easily blend together in one book the plaintive messages of
American slave songs of the nineteenth century, the rigorous
inquiry of European philosophy of the twentieth century, and the
challenges confronting black preachers in the twenty-first century.
. . . All preachers would do well to read this challenging and
insightful book and apply its lessons to their pulpit ministry "
--Marvin A. McMickle, President and Professor of Church Leadership,
Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School "So much more than a great
book on the art of the sermon--and it is that --James Henry Harris
has given us a fully realized theology of dialogue and liberation.
In astonishingly deft and astute ways, he juxtaposes his own
autobiography with commentaries on philosophical theology,
literature, postmodern society, and life in diverse African
American communities. A fine, critical work of narrative art in its
own right, No Longer Bound guides us--issue by issue, question by
question--into the passion of 'preaching as an act of love.'"
--Larry D. Bouchard, Professor of Religious Studies, University of
Virginia "Here is a compelling, multi-leveled account of preaching
in the Black church, integrating biography, Scripture study,
homiletics, philosophy, and theology. Harris tells the story of his
dual African American legacies: of slavery and racism on one side,
and redemptive preaching on the other. He gleans a theology of
preaching from his years as a professor of homiletics, as a pulpit
preacher, and as an activist for civil rights and religious
freedom. . . . It is an intellectually spicy and soulful account of
how preaching the word can liberate the spirit." --Peter W. Ochs,
Professor of Modern Judaic Studies, University of Virginia "This is
a deeply personal book. James Henry Harris weaves threads from his
rich life of ministry and learning, all lived out against the
backdrop of a racially charged land, into a beautiful tapestry of
faithful and courageous preaching. Harris manages to bring a host
of strong thinkers helpfully into the conversation--Cone and
Ricoeur, Derrida and Dubois, and many others--without ever losing
the clear and confident sound of his own voice." --Thomas G. Long,
Professor of Preaching, Candler School of Theology, Emory
University About the Contributor(s): James Henry Harris is
Professor and Chair of Preaching and Pastoral Theology at Virginia
Union University and Senior Minister at the Second Baptist Church,
both in Richmond, Virginia. He is the author of The Word Made Plain
(2004) and Preaching Liberation (1996). He is a recipient of the
Henry Luce III Fellowship in Theology and a past president of the
Academy of Homiletics.
Preaching mediates the word of God into a cultural matrix. And no
American preaching has done so more effectively and powerfully than
African American preaching, claims noted homiletician James Harris.
Known for its rhetorical strength, social-justice orientation, and
dead-on connection to the community's lived experience, black
preaching is here analyzed and proposed as a model for all
preaching. Harris here grounds black preaching in the
self-understanding of the historic black church and its most
prominent preachers, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Samuel Proctor.
Harris also explores the hermeneutical and aesthetic dimensions of
preaching, especially at the intersection of the sacred text and
the broader culture. He then lays out the specific distinguishing
characteristics of black preaching, including verbal cadence and
rhythm, use of gestures, and, most thoroughly, the narrative model
of sermon. His last chapter, "Preaching Plainly," provides specific
instructions on how to put the sermon together employing this
model.
For all preachers who take seriously the church's role as a
catalyst of social and spiritual transformation, James Harris
advocates the salient features of liberation preaching, especially
as exemplified in black-church settings.
A taut analysis of black liberation theology, connecting
scholarship to practical congregational ministry. The chapters of
this book focus on liberation and evangelism, the urban community,
and black theology as well as church administration, worship,
education, and self-esteem.
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