Prof. David Schnasa Jacobsen
Phone: 519-884‑1970 ext. 3493
E‑mail: david.jacobsen@utoronto.ca
Office Hours: By appointment in
Learning Goals:
This course is designed to help students wrestle with several central issues
around prophetic preaching in contemporary Christian churches: the
relationships of prophetic preaching to the gospel, to the Bible, to the
social-political context, and to pastoral ministry generally. Since the course is designed to be a seminar,
students will be expected to wrestle with these issues not only in class but
also through a sermon. By the end of the
course, students should be able to develop their own vision for prophetic
preaching in a way that integrates the above concerns by moving from a specific
Biblical text to a sermon.
Required Hard Copy
Texts:
Brueggemann, Walter.
The Prophetic Imagination. Rev. ed.;
Cole-Arnal, Oscar. To
Set the Captives Free: Liberation
Theology in
Ramsey, Lee. Care-full Preaching.
Resner, André, ed. Just Preaching:
Prophetic Voices for Economic Justice.
Recommended Texts
(Please Purchase only after Speaking with Professor):
Campbell, Charles. The Word before the
Powers.
Childs, James. Preaching
Justice: The Ethical Vocation of Word
and Sacrament Ministry.
Smith, Christine M.
Preaching as Weeping, Confession, and Resistance: Radical Responses
to Radical Evil.
Grading:
The percentage of the final grade goes up with each assignment. One goal of this course is to set a
trajectory for learning. Students need
not fret that a difficult first sermon or presentation dooms them to homiletical purgatory.
As the semester progresses, the opportunities for
growth and improvement increase.
Yet since pastors almost always must produce weekly sermons without
fail, late papers of any sort will result in an automatic reduction of grade by
one letter. The professor also reserves
the right to sigh, grumble, and/or harrumph when late papers are
submitted. So there.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Session 1, (January 8)
Introductions & Discussion of
Syllabus
To prepare for
Session 2, read Resner (Just Preaching...),
chapters 4, 8, 10-12, 15-16, 26, & 30.
Session 2, (January
15)
First Hour: Lecture–“Prophecy in the Old
Testament”
Second Hour: Discussion of
To prepare for Session
3, read Resner (Just Preaching...)
Intro and chapters 2, 3, 5, 6-7, 13, 17, 19, 22, 24, 27 & 31-32.
Session 3, (January
22)
First Hour: Lecture–“Prophecy
in the New Testament”
Second Hour: Discussion of
To prepare for
Session 4, read Cole-Arnal (To Set the Captives
Free)
Session 4, (January
29)
First Hour: Prof. Oz Cole-Arnal,
Guest Lecturer–“Prophetic Preaching in Canadian History”
Second Hour: Book Discussion–Preaching
Prophetically in
To prepare for
Session 5, read Ramsey (Care-full Preaching).
Session 5,
(February 5)
First Hour: Discuss
Ramsey: Preaching Prophetically in a Pastoral Context
Second Hour: Preaching as a Social Act
To prepare for
Session 6, read Brueggemann (Prophetic Imagination)
Session 6,
(February 12)
First Hour: Discuss
Brueggemann’s book.
To prepare for Sessions 7-9, read Smith (Weeping), Childs (Preaching),
or Campbell (Powers)
Session 7,
(February 26)
First Hour: Assignment
1: Group A
Presentation of Smith’s book for class
Second Hour: Groups B and C Respond
Session 8, (March
4)
First Hour: Assignment
1, cont.: Group B Presentation of
Childs’ book for class
Second Hour: Groups A and C Respond
Session 9, (March
11)
First Hour: Assignment
1, cont.: Group C Presentation of
Second Hour: Groups A and B Respond
Session 10, (March
18)
Guest
Presenter: David Pfrimmer. The Gospel in a Pluralistic
Context. Visit to
Session 11, (March
25)
Assignment 2: In-class sermons on a text
Session 12, (April
1)
Assignment 2,
cont.: In-class sermons on a text
Assignments:
1. Book Presentation
Work with your group, covering either Smith, Childs,
or Campbell, to present the content of your selection in class. Students will be marked for how well they (1)
present the material in the first hour and (2) provoke/lead discussion in the
second.
Due Date: Session 7, 8, or 9
Percentage of
Grade: 30%
2. Sermon:
Prophetic Sermon from a Biblical Text
Prepare a full sermon manuscript along with a three-page exegetical and homiletical rationale for your sermon that explains why you
did what you did exegetically and homiletically with respect to a
socio-political issue and relate it to the pastoral context in which it would
be heard. Sermons will be graded on faithfulness
to the text, theological adequacy to a gospel vision of grace and justice, and homiletical savvy.
The sermon manuscript and rationale are due at the beginning of the
Tuesday class one week before you preach.
Sermon manuscripts and rationales not received at the designated place,
date, and time will be docked one full letter grade.
Due Date: One week before Session 11, 12, or 13 (March 18, 25, or April 1
respectively)
Percentage of
Grade: 60%
3. Attendance and Group Participation
In order to learn preaching together regular attendance is expected. More importantly, however, we will attempt to
learn how to preach prophetically as part of a community. Preachers can expect to benefit homiletically
by studying and reflecting with their sisters and brothers in the pulpit and
out. By struggling together with our
readings, presentations, and sermons we will also grow together in ways that we
can hardly imagine. This aspect of our
time together will necessarily require the voicing of perspectives that some of
us often ignore. Yet this is the
greatest blessing preachers can receive.
After all, the Gospel may not come to us who are called to preach,
unless it comes first through the voice of Another. How did Paul put it?: faith comes by hearing.
Due Date: Every Class--Percentage of
Grade: 10%
FINAL NOTES:
Students with disabilities or special needs are
advised to contact U of T’s Accessibility
Services for information regarding
its services and resources. Students are encouraged to review the