Additional information
by Mark Ellingsen (Author)
Mark Ellingsen's new Lectionary Preaching Workbook will be a wonderful resource for pastors for decades to come. I say this because I find the book to be exegetically sound, theologically strong, homiletically creative, liturgically sensitive, and imminently practical in the best sense of that word. Practical Theology of the highest order -- that's what describes Ellingsen's workbook. A modest hope is that preachers who have found themselves timid about approaching the lectionary will see in Mark Ellingsen's workbook a way to test the waters, and eventually dive in. Ellingsen provides here the opportunity for that homiletical leap of faith!
William J. Carl III, Ph.D.
President and Professor of Homiletics
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Lucy Lind Hogan, Ph.D.
Hugh Latimer Elderdice Professor of Preaching and Worship
Wesley Theological Seminary
Washington DC Mark Ellingsen's Lectionary Preaching Workbook (Series IX Cycle A) is a rich and stimulating resource for preachers, especially those who manage the adamant deadline (really, lifeline) imposed on preachers by weekly worship. Each section is filled with theological reflection, liturgical sensibility, exegetical sketches, along with sermon prompts, outlines, and "gimmicks." This last is his own word for what amount to suggestions for why a sermon on a particular text can be made to matter to both preacher and audience... Ellingsen's stated intent is to be an unbiased conversation partner with the preacher and in this goal he is careful to provide a range of options for topic and approach for each occasion... The closer a preacher is to wanting to continue in the Protestant tradition if theologically informed, exegetically nuanced, liturgically sensitive, and rhetorically focused preacher, the more that preacher will find Lectionary Preaching Workbook a sturdy companion.
Henry J. (Hank) Langknecht
Haman-Pfahler Professor of Homiletics and Christian Communications
Trinity Lutheran Seminary
Columbus, Ohio Mark Ellingsen, a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), has been a professor of Church History at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, since 1993. He graduated magna cum laude from Gettysburg College (Pennsylvania) and Yale University, from which he received three master's degrees in divinity, arts, and philosophy, as well as his Ph.D. He has authored eighteen books including Sin Bravely: A Joyful Alternative to a Purpose-Driven Life (Continuum) and The Integrity of Narrative (Wipf and Stock). He and his wife have three grown children. When he is not writing or teaching, Ellingsen enjoys discussing politics, sports, and playing guitar.
