About the Book
Shook Foil Books Young Preachers Compilation is a collection of twenty thoughtful sermons from young (under forty-years-old) church leaders. Springing from a diverse array of ministry contexts, these sermons reveal the strength, creativity, and thoughtfulness of today’s emerging voices. This collection will inspire and challenge through biblical insight and faithful exegesis. Social justice themes include domestic violence, the church and inclusivity, and women in the Bible. The featured preachers are: Jeffrey E. Bryan, Ryan Estevan Taylor Byers, Millason Dailey, Keeva Kase, Jennifer Morrow, Todd Noren-Hentz, Rebecca Ann Curtis, Sarah Walker Cleaveland, Jessica L. Bratt, Kurt Esslinger, Katie Mulligan, Stephen McKinney-Whitaker, Richard W. Voelz, Julie Dunson Meredith, Mihee Kim-Kort, Stephen Friedrich, Michael D. Langford, Polly R. Toner, Catherine Chang, and Todd Edmondson.
Purchase
The compilation can be purchased from the following locations:
About the Publisher
Shook Foil Books is a new digital publishing company committed to supporting God’s kingdom through high-quality, thoughtful, Christian ebooks. Wholly ecumenical, they support young and emerging voices, take risks, and seek God’s will for the church. They are independently owned and are run by a team of experienced pastors, scholars and editors. For more information about upcoming books and publishing through Shook Foil Books, visit their website at www.shookfoilbooks.com.
Editor’s Note
By Erik W. Dailey
What a joy to be a part of this project! It is truly an honor to work with so many thoughtful and faithful young preachers, who take joy in doing God’s work. I am blessed!
Every week, in churches around the world, people gather to hear God’s word preached and listen for the movement of the Spirit. But here we have a collection of sermons once preached in a pulpit but now written down. Knowing that preaching is a verbal art form, enhanced by the preacher’s own style of elocution, I have in fact edited this volume for reading. I have worked to maintain each preacher’s own rhythm and style while also striving for readability. My hope is that while you read, you will feel connected to the preacher, as if you were sitting right there in the pews. What’s more, these sermons are not artifacts of a specific worship service in a specific church. Rather you, the reader, are the congregation. Read these words and allow yourself to be pulled and moved by the Spirit. These aren’t sermons for someone else, somewhere else. They are for you, right now.
You will notice that each sermon begins with a passage of scripture—some short and some long. These sermons are connected to and expound upon the Word of God. Each sermon is a clergy-person’s reflection on a biblical passage, bringing its light to us, today. A sermon is not simply a preacher’s thoughts and opinions, but rather an interpretation of scripture, formed through prayer and meditation. I can say with great confidence that each entry in this collection was written through a faith-led process.
Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t answer the question “What defines a ‘young’ preacher?” For our purposes, everyone represented here, as of 2012, is under forty and within the first ten years of their ministry. These are experienced pastors, but ones who are still fresh and new within the profession. I marvel at the great diversity of ministry contexts seen here. There are solo pastors, associate pastors, chaplains, college professors, social justice workers, and professional parents. God calls us to do God’s work in so many different places!
Again, it has truly been a joy to work on this project and publish the words of these twenty, fantastic young preachers. God is present in our midst!
Read an excerpted sermon, published on Unbound: “Throwing Stones,” a sermon about domestic violence, written by Julie Dunson Meredith.
Unbound Social